Jocelyn (Raced 2008 & 2009)

Hi! I’m Jocelyn (above right), and I raced in SOAR 2008 and 2009 with my good friend Emma (above left). Emma had heard of SOAR through a friend, and we both decided we were crazy enough to give it a try. We put our application together, took some amazingly awesome application pictures, and crossed our fingers that we would be one of the lucky teams selected. Thinking about the fateful ‘you have been accepted’ email still brings a smile to my face. Participating in SOAR as a Racer (2008-2009), and as a Director (2010-2017… and maybe again someday) is not a decision that I regret at all! SOAR was one of the best experiences of my life.

My best memory while racing in SOAR was a Detour challenge where Emma and I could either paint each other’s face like a tiger, or try to find an audio clue burned on 1 CD amongst thousands (or so it seemed). We quickly decided that our artistic skills were more likely to pull us through the challenge faster than the ‘luck’ we would require to find the CD. We painted AMAZING tiger faces, and were out of the challenge in a haste. The thing about SOAR is that you are SO focused on the next task, that you can forget where you just where, or what you had just done. This was the case for me as Emma and I read the Travel clue following the tiger challenge and headed to our next destination. As we were looking for a ride, I noticed that people kept giving us strange looks… I thought to myself ‘Gee, this is an odd town!’ I then realized both of us were still in our tiger makeup, and likely looked like fools trying to hitch a ride. We had a good laugh about it!

Emma and I did a lot of fundraisers for SOAR, but our best one was a Silent Auction. We asked local businesses for donations, and put them up for bidding in person and online. The fundraisers really helped us in our races, because we were able to buy quite a few Tune-Ups to help us along our way.

As for race tips, my best advice would be to go out there and give it your all! In fundraising, in racing. I think it also helps to know your strengths and your partner’s strengths and to go into each challenge knowing which of you is leading your team through that particular challenge. Communicate clearly! And, of course, Read. Your. Clue.