I searched all of FlyerTalk and am really surprised to find not one post on this activity. CitySolve is a solve-the-clues-run-around-town race that takes place each Saturday in different major cities throughout the USA. It's like a mini one-day Amazing Race. The website is citysolveurbanrace.com . This activity is soooo FlyerTalker-appropriate, any of the weekly races would be a great excuse for a quick trip. Diehards could enter several races around the country.

Yesterday my 22-year-old daughter and I participated in the Phoenix race (our hometown, so no travel involved for us). We had a great time, along with about 100-150 other participants. My daughter had accidentally found the activity online and she convinced her old mom (yours truly) to enter the race as the other half of her team.

We prepared for the race by making sure we had matching Under Armour shirts and filling our Camelbak water packs. We armed ourselves with local maps, daughter's Blackberry, and 2 cellphones. We enlisted my cousin as our support staff, she was at home ready to use google and mapquest to help us solve clues and find destinations (outside help is OK, including phoning friends, seeking help from people on the street, etc.).

All travel for the race must be on foot or by public transportation - no taxis, bikes, skates, etc. We drove to the nearest light rail park & ride, bought unlimited ride tickets for bus/train, and rode the light rail to the nearest stop to the restaurant that served as the starting and ending points for the race. We verified that our digital camera was working, teams were required to photograph themselves at each stop on the race to prove they were there and that they solved the clue correctly.

The race started right on time at 11am with a multiple choice question, the answer determined the first "CityPoint" where the clues for the rest of the race were waiting. After picking up the clues packet, we used the Blackberry and made calls to at-home-cousin to figure out all ten clues. As we made our way to the first clue stop we noticed people taking photos at Symphony Hall, which was NOT the answer to one of the clues. Yea, all those people would be penalized 30 minutes for having a wrong answer!

It took us two and a half hours to complete the race. We walked and ran up and down Central Avenue for miles, having our photo made at various restaurants, stores, public art sculpture, and the entrance to an apartment complex. We were passed up by many other racers, but we finished the race before many of them. Our goal was to finish in the top 25 teams, to "qualify" for the National Race in New Orleans.

I will insert here that I was, by way far, the oldest person involved in the Phoenix race. I walk around our neighborhood on occasion, but that's the extent of my fitness routine. We ran very little during the race, but when we got to the last block before the finish, there was a team right behind us. My very fit daughter started running, shouting over her shoulders, "Run, mom, you can do it," and similar encouragements. The other team couldn't overtake us and we checked in as team #24.

In the end we won the senior category prize and were awarded a $50 gift certificate to the restaurant (Coach & Willie's near the Arena and Ballpark). All participants got a swag bag that included a t-shirt and several other items. Final results will be posted on the website tomorrow afternoon. Those rankings will take into account bonus points and deductions for wrong answers. We are thinking we might gain a few places due to quite a few people missing "The Met" clue.

We haven't decided if we'll participate in the New Orleans race, there's plenty of time to think about it. If we do decide to go I'll definitely be "in training" for it, so that we can run more than walk. I'm writing this as a "trip report" to encourage other FlyerTalkers to check out the CitySolve website and enjoy this mentally and physically challenging fun day. The homepage of the website includes a listing of all the 2010 cities and dates.