Springhill Parents Astound In Amazing Race

If you happened by Lafayette BART Sunday you may have snickered a little at groups of intense-looking parental units bustling about in their solid color t-shirts, shouting, sweating and sprinting in all directions. They displayed a public abandon rarely achieved outside the walls of Petar's or maybe even the Roundup.

Those in the know recognized them as ever-so-entertaining Springhill Elementary parents actively engaged in Springhill's Amazing Race school fundraiser. Sunday's festivities began along Springhill Road with the first challenge to round up 30 pieces of trash and count it out for the Race Masters.  Imagine – folks paid to clean up the neighborhood! 

Then it was off to Briones to find the mystery person bearing the next clue.  Running up the trail in periodically colorful (minus the black and gray) groups, they shouted the required signal -  "Springhill Scorpions Rock" - to everyone they passed in hopes of finding the holder of the next clue.  Each group eventually discovered Julie Donlon hiding behind a tree in a camouflage hat and it was Julie who directed them to the BART station for the beginning of their truly public spectacle.

Gray Team arrived at the BART station first, but Navy Blue displayed superior clue-finding skills and boarded the train for Walnut Creek.  The remaining teams hit a bottleneck due to a train delay and had to make do by trading barbs with their rivals as they rode together to Walnut Creek. Fighting the fear of a certain penalty, Red Team ended up making the trip in their minivan.  A delightful ride on the free trolley enabled each group to secure a required photo with the driver.

Highlights from the Walnut Creek performance included: finding the appropriate can of sardines and liter bottle of Malty from the nearby Mediterranean store; consuming same in front of the Race Masters; and solving a complicated jumble puzzle using store addresses to spell the last name of Springhill's beloved principal – Mr. Wodhams.

The Navy Blue Team of Jeff and Beth Hutson and Robert and Cindy Kuo ended the race as champions. Black Team came from behind to take second place thanks to their exceptional jumble skills and Gray went from first to last (well, at least they finished ahead of that disqualified red team). Gray Teammate Darcy Talbot stole the day with a fall in the middle of Locust Avenue.  A true team player, Darcy didn't let a bit of road rash stop Gray Team from finishing the race.  Those Scorpions are tough.