Location and Schedule

On Saturday, 30 March 2013, two event durations will be offered: 3 hours and 90 minutes. You can do either on foot or on bike. The headquarters will be at Central Park, a block away from Constitution Plaza and Millbrae Library.

This is the fifth annual Millbrae Street Scramble. Check out the description and our calendar of Street Scramble events!

This event is the tenth in the 2012/2013 Urban Adventure Hunt series, and your next chance to collect points and win a trip to the series Final, the San Francisco Night & Day Challenge.

Event schedule: 08:30 Registration and check-in open, Central Park 09:00 Maps are available for route planning 09:40 Briefing and instructions 10:00 Start, all divisions, foot and bike 11:30 Finish, 90-minute divisions 11:45 Snacks and refreshments are served 12:00 Awards, 90-minute divisions 13:00 Finish, 3-hour divisions 13:30 Awards, 3-hour divisions
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Transit directions: BART, Caltrain, or SamTrans bus to Millbrae Station. Central Park is a 15 minute walk from the station. The bus may be able to get you closer.

You will score checkpoint visits by texting us the answer to the question on your scorecard. Checkpoint visits will be instantly tabulated, and scores available upon the teams' return. If you'd rather not use the cellphone for any reason, you can instead circle answers on the paper scorecard. More details are here...

This is the map that was used for last year's Millbrae Street Scramble:

The Street Scramble Experience

Street Scramble races can be enjoyed by anyone who (a) can travel under their own power for 90 minutes—walking, running, biking, or moving in a wheelchair; (b) can follow a street map; and (c) likes to explore.

(Strollers and power wheelchairs are OK for those who need them. If you can't read a map, you can be on a team with someone who can.)

When you arrive at a Street Scramble event, you will check in (most events don't sell out and allow onsite registration). Then, an hour before the start time, you will receive a map with thirty (or so) checkpoint locations circled. Each circle has a number between 10 and 99. The point value of the checkpoint is equal to its number rounded down to the tens; for example, Checkpoint 35 is worth 30 points; Checkpoint 12 is worth 10 points. The back of your map will have a description of a feature to be found at each checkpoint, such as "Statue" or "Pier". You will also receive a scorecard with the same information as on the back of your map; use this scorecard if you are not using electronic scoring.

You (together with your team, if you have a team) will then plan which checkpoints you will try to visit, and in what order. You can visit as many or as few checkpoints as you want, and in any order. Your team will need to stay together at all times. You can change your plan as you go along, but it's very helpful to at least start with some kind of plan.

About 20 minutes before the start there will be a pre-Scramble-race briefing, at which the event director will review rules and safety. There will be a countdown to the start, after which you will head out to visit checkpoints. Again, your team must stay together at all times. Checkpoints are found at the precise centers of the circles on the map. When you arrive at a checkpoint location, look for the feature described on the back of your map.

At most locations, you will need to answer a simple multiple-choice question, found on the back of your map and on your scorecard, to prove you were there. Example:

35   Statue, NE side: What is the last word on the plaque?
(a) Arts   (b) Commission   (c) Space

If you are not using the electronic scoring system, circle the correct answer on your scorecard and proceed to another checkpoint. Also write down the time of your checkpoint visit.

To participate in the 90 minute division, you must return to the event center within 90 minutes. To participate in the 3 hour option, return within 3 hours. You can decide which option you want while you're out there. Returning on time requires planning!

Our maps run the gamut from specially surveyed and produced city and wilderness maps to improved USGS topographic maps, and sometimes include off-the-shelf (off-the-screen?) maps. We use information from a variety of sources. Our maps only have a few street names on them, and often no street names at all—so it will be important for you to keep track of where you are on the map.

It is perfectly fine to utilize other maps you may bring, or to look at a map on your smartphone. You can also use the phone's GPS; any GPS units, altimeters, and pedometers are all fair game—but please don't get so distracted by the gadgets as to lose track of vehicle traffic!

When you return, you will turn in your scorecard; if you used electronic scoring, your score will be ready and waiting for you. (In case your phone turns out to be less sweat-resistant than you thought, we can handle answers that are partially submitted electronically and partially handwritten.) All team members must finish together at the same time; your official finish time is when the last team member arrives at the finish line. It is important to be on time because you will lose points for each minute you are late. We will keep your scorecard, but you get to take your map home with you. If your answers are handwritten, we will tally your score while you enjoy refreshments, included in your entry fee. After refreshments, awards will be given out for those with the highest scores in different divisions and categories.

As a minimum, we will award the best men, women, and mixed teams in the following categories: Juniors (each team member must be 20 years of age or younger on 31 December 2013), Masters (40 or older on 31 December 2013), and Open. Awards will also be given to the best family teams; a family team is one that has anyone 20 years of age or younger, and also someone 21 years of age or older.

If you have further questions, you may be able to find answers to them on the Equipment and Detailed Rules pages.

Entry and Registration

The first 50 teams to enter get technical-fabric T shirts with the Street Scramble design. That's right, a complimentary shirt for each and every team member! Please select the shirt size during the registration process. These shirts can be obtained at the event only if we do not sell out, or if there are cancellations. If you would rather not have another shirt—even as cool as this—we offer a discount.

The design shown is for the 2013 Mission Street Scramble. Design for the Millbrae event may be slightly different.

Pre-registration is open. Team members may enter together (be entered by the same person), or separately. If you would like to go with a team, but don't know your teammates' names yet, you can enter yourself and other members can join the team at a later time.

As with all events by Get Lost!!, fees for teams, including families, are capped. Three, four, or five people enter at the team price; each team member gets a map. The fees are:

90 minute event	Individual	Team	Cal-ARA Team
Enter and pay on or before Monday 04 March	$39.00	$74.00	$66.60
Enter and pay on or before Monday 25 March	$49.00	$94.00	$84.60
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 26 March	$59.00	$114.00	$102.60
3 hour event	Individual	Team	Cal-ARA Team
Enter and pay on or before Monday 04 March	$39.00	$74.00	$66.60
Enter and pay on or before Monday 25 March	$49.00	$94.00	$84.60
Enter and pay on or after Tuesday 26 March	$59.00	$114.00	$102.60

Fine print: Each team member of the first 50 teams that enter must be entered by the last entry deadline in order to be guaranteed a shirt in her/his size. Because of the lead time involved in printing the shirts, it is not possible for us to provide shirts to late-entering participants.

More fine print: Team member additions after the deadline increase the price, so as to account for the extra cost associated with providing supplies and insurance to the participants at the last moment. Team member substitutions are always free.

The maximum team size at Street Scramble is 5 people. We have found that it becomes increasingly difficult for larger teams to stay together throughout the event, which is required by the rules. If you aren't sure how many of your friends will show up, you are welcome to enter everyone on the same team and then split the team if more than 5 people do show up. By participating as multiple teams, your group will quite possibly be eligible for more awards!

Discounts!!

On top of these prices, we offer the following discounts:

Bay Area OC member registering her/himself	–	$5.00
Active-duty military (at least one member in a team)		early fees apply through the day of the event
No shirt(s)	–	$7.00 individual,	$14.00 team
Family (at least one participant age 20 or under)	–	$10.00 per team

The BAOC discount only applies to individuals, not teams. That is, a registration for two people who are both BAOC members will cost less than the team price. A three-person team is always best off taking the team deal.

Examples:

• California ARA team of 4, standard registration including shirts: $21.15 per person
• BAOC member going solo, early registration, no shirt: $27.00
• Family of 3, day-of-event registration, no shirts: $30.00 per person

These discounts are taken and combined automatically by the registration system. Make sure to indicate the team association, individual participant's club membership, and the correct (or at least approximately correct) ages for the team members.

We accept credit cards online through Google Checkout, and cash, checks, and credit cards on site.

Go register!!

Event-Day Information

1. Parking

Ample parking is available on Palm Avenue next to Central Park. Please do not park in the library lot, since we are not using the library.

The registration will open at 8:30 am.

2. Safety

Safety is our first priority. All cyclists must wear a helmet and stop at all stop signs and red lights. The worst place to cross El Camino Real, the busiest street in the area, is at Millbrae Avenue; the wait time for a green light is shorter just about anywhere else. Cars sometimes do not stop at pedestrian crosswalks across El Camino in downtown Millbrae; please exercise extra caution, and make eye contact with the drivers.

The course does not U.S. Highway 101, but it does cross Interstate 280, a freeway. The two underpasses at which you can cross are accented with red-triangle access signs.

We strongly encourage you to wear a Street Scramble safety vest to enhance your visibility. You can borrow one from us at no charge.

3. Urban Adventure Hunt series 2011/2012

This event is the tenth one one in the series. Here is last year's announcement, but in brief, it works this way: Each Street Scramble event is worth a maximum of 1000 points, and Mill Valley and Santa Cruz Street Scramble events, with their 7-hour competition, are worth 1600 points. We will add together the points from the 12 events that are scheduled between late June of 2012 and late May of 2013. If your team participates in the 90-minute division, we will multiply its points by 1.5; if it is in the 7 hours, there is no penalty, enjoy all the extra points that a long run or ride in the city entails! In order for event scores to count for the series, your team should keep the same name, compete in the same age/gender category, and maintain at least one common member for the Street Scramble events it participates in.

Prizes: In each category (foot and bike; Open, Masters, and Juniors; Men, Women, and Mixed; and Family), there is a single first-place award to the best team, and it is a free entry to San Francisco Night & Day Challenge in 2013. A team has to participate in at least three Street Scramble events in order to be eligible for the award. But furthermore, we'll combine your points from the Street Scramble events and SFND, and a few very lucky—or fast—teams will win an expense-paid trip to the Seattle Night & Day, which occurs about a month after SFND!! We will showcase one or two categories for this award.

We are sorely late with updating this year's series standings, and hope to do this very soon (as soon as we recover the results of last year's Mill Valley Street Scramble).

4. Event rules

Each team must stay together throughout the event. It is not allowed to split up to cover more ground.

Travel under your own power only. It is not allowed to take BART, SamTrans, or cabs.

It is not allowed to look up answers to checkpoint questions without actually going to the checkpoint; in particular, you cannot use Street View, Panoramio, or the likes. Using Street View would be just like driving past everyone in a car at a running race! You can, however, use the map on your smartphone, and GPS. You are welcome to use any and all maps of the area you may bring.

Please stay off private property.

5. Bikes

All checkpoints except one are immediately reachable by bike. For the one, you will have to walk about 300 meters; the bike is best left parked on the nearby street. A road bike is unquestionably preferred over a mountain bike for this event.

6. Map and course notes

The map for this event is at 1:24,000 scale. It is a legacy product, an improved USGS topographic map—perhaps the last time you get to use one of these at a Get Lost!! event! The map does not have most street names. We added some but not all large and prominent buildings.

Sometimes you can go through a city block, but most times you can't. We added some details to help guide you, showing walkways, alleys, and large parking lots. If it's a solid-gray block on the map, with no detail shown, it's safest to assume you can't get through. In addition to trail and street symbols, entrances and access points are shown with red arrows that point to where you can enter a block. For parks shown in green, you can get into the park from streets immediately adjacent to the park (i.e. when there is no gap between the black street and the green of the park), as well as at points shown with the red arrows.

There are a number of points to cross the train tracks. Each time a street is shown crossing the tracks, you can cross (please wait for the train to pass if the gate is down; trains run once an hour in each direction). You can also cross through the BART/Caltrain station, on its upper level. You will not be entering a paid area if you do that. You may not enter the train tracks at crossings other than the legal crossings, nor run or walk along the tracks.

The course has been designed by Tavor Baharav and Vladimir Gusiatnikov. There are 30 checkpoints worth the usual 1000 points. The optimum actual distance to get all of them is about 50 km along actual streets and trails, with plenty of climb.

The late penalty is 10 points for each minute, or fraction thereof. Remember, you can switch from the 90 minute division to the 3 hour division at any time, even while you are on the course.

7. Cellphone scoring

Cellphone scoring will be offered for this event, and here's a short tutorial.

Our receiving phone number is +1 503 567 8924. (It spells out LOST X24. Hope you aren't.)

Start with registering your team's cell phone number. You can send us answers from more than one cell phone. We don't pull the phone number information from your registration, so this step must be done for at least one phone. From this phone, send us a text message that says T followed by your team number. You will find out your team number at check-in, or if you would like to complete this step early, e-mail us and we'll let you know your team number. For example, if your team number is 142, text

T 142

You will receive a short confirmatory message. It may take a few seconds for the system to issue a confirmation to each of your commands and answers, sometimes up to about half a minute, more if your phone moves in and out of coverage.

After you have registered your team number, you're clear to head out on the course! One of the neat features is the ability to retrieve checkpoint questions and answer choices as you go. Just say Q? followed by the checkpoint number, like this:

Q? 42

And now to the most important part—sending us answers to checkpoint questions! Just send us the checkpoint number and the answer choice, in this order or answer first, with or without a space; the answer (as all commands) is case-insensitive. For each answer, you get a short confirmatory message.

Please take care in answering the questions. Sometimes, teams give a literal answer, for example if the answer choices are (A) 1; (B) 2; (C) 3, a team can text 2. This answer will not count as a wrong answer and the system will simply ask you to try again. Only the first valid answer choice counts. If you send in a wrong answer choice, for example if the correct answer is B and you say A, the mistake cannot be corrected.

You can find out how many checkpoints you have visited, and how many points they are worth, by texting S?. This score is not graded; that is, the points are calculated without take into account whether your answers are correct or not.

The full command set is

Q?  R?  S?  T/T?  U  W?

We already went over most of those. The remaining commands are: R? tells you how long your team has been on the course; T? replies with your team number on record; U is used to unsubsribe the phone number; and W? lets you know which ones you got wrong.

The system is currently on Eastern time. We may or may not be able to fix that before the event. Finally, if you encounter an error message, please let us know after the event.

Please do not send praise, comments, blame, bug reports, missing checkpoint notes, or status updates to this number—they are all quite welcome, but use +1 971 998 0321 instead. They will all be read and acted upon.

We will not be using QR codes at this event.

8. Pen-and-paper scoring

When you mark your answer, please also make sure to write down the time you visited each checkpoint. Doing this is not mandatory, but allows for some entertaining post-event route analysis. Your finish time will be taken when you hand in your score sheet.

9. Millbrae Street Scramble

Millbrae is where Street Scramble started in the Bay Area in 2006. MerGeo and Get Lost!! were very fortunate to enjoy the title sponsorship of Millbrae Chamber of Commerce for the first three Street Scramble events. The relationship did not continue in 2012. Unfortunately, we found that all twelve of our other urban venues have higher participant appeal than Millbrae, and attract more sponsor interest. In addition, you can only visit the parks of Millbrae so many times before the challenge becomes repetitive... So, the 2013 event is your chance to say farewell to Millbrae, Burlingame, San Bruno, and Hillsborough—for the time being. Our 2014 event in the April time slot will be in San Francisco's Twin Peaks neighborhood... and perhaps we'll return to the northern Peninsula after the course gets a bit of rest, and if you—the participants—are again excited about racing through the neighborhoods and enjoying the views of the Bay, the airport, and Crystal Springs reservoir.

Event staff:
Tavor, Zachi, and Vladimir

We maintain a discussion board for all our events on Attackpoint. Popular among adventure-sports athletes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries, the site is the one to go to for the latest adventure-running news, schedules, discussion, and gossip.

Forum for the Millbrae Street Scramble.

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Facebook event for the Millbrae Street Scramble.