Idiotarod

For the Alaskan Iditarod, see Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

The Idiotarod is a shopping cart race in which teams of five "idiots" tie themselves to a (sometimes modified) grocery store shopping cart and run through the streets of a major metropolitan area. The race usually features people in costumes and themed floats. The races are fun competitions where sabotage, costume, and presentation are rewarded. Sabotage such as tripping competitors, throwing marbles or large obstacles in their paths, and the spreading of misinformation such as false route information are common.

The Idiotarod is named after the Iditarod, a 1,000 mile dog-sledding race in Alaska.

Idiotarods take place in Ann Arbor, Asheville, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Iowa City, New York City, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, Seattle, St. Louis, Toronto, Los Angeles, Vancouver and Washington, D.C. though the original race was founded in San Francisco in 1994 as the "Urban Iditarod".

See also

• Kinetic sculpture race
• Portland Urban Iditarod
• Wife carrying
• Wok racing
• Zoobomb
• Carts of Darkness, a documentary about shopping cart racing

References

• Chicago's Urban Idiotarod - The Chiditarod
• Chiditarod 2007 Video
• Downtown St. Louis Idiotarod
• Ottawa Idiotarod 2009 News Article
• The Phoenix Idiotarod