Challenge Nation Hawaii! My experience...

Challenge Nation Hawaii!  Pre-race

So today I competed in my first ever Challenge Nation race!  It's an urban adventure race/scavenger hunt around the Honolulu area.  Registration was $50, but I got a deal through Groupon which I only paid $20 for, and there was also a special registration price if you registered before May 30 which was $30.
This was their first year in Hawaii so there was a huge turn out.  There were about 650 people competing in teams ranging from two people or more.  I raced with my sister and the other half, and our team name was District L.
Each team was given a list of 12 clues.  We had to complete 11 out of the 12 and take a photo at each stop with all team members.  We could walk or use public transportation, and we were allowed to use smart phones as well.
The registration took place at Gordon Biersch at Aloha Tower.  We got there early, at about 12:00 (event kicked off at 1:00) to get our bib numbers and sign a waiver.  As 1:00 approached they asked for team captains to form a circle so they could start handing out the clues.  There was a short count down and the race started promptly at 1:00.  There was a huge rush at the beginning as everyone tried to get their teams organized and figure out the clues.  Our strategy was to figure out all of the clues first (or as much as we could) and then head out.  It took a few minutes to figure out the clues, but they weren't too hard.  

 Take a photo of a license plate containing X or Z in its license number.

 Find a person with an out-of-state drivers license and take a photo with them and your team making the shape of the state with your hands (it's supposed to be North Carolina)

King Kamehameha Statue

 Monday is officially his big day. Find the spot his likeness was drenched in flowers and give us the best impression of his pose

Kawaihao Church

 Find the "Westminster Abbey Of the Pacific". When the clock is pointing to a number (:05, :10 etc) snap a photo with your teams bodies spelling out HNL

Find this aPEALing object. You want the one given to Hawaii by the Department of Treasury in 1950, not the other replica in town.  When you find it, act out your most American scene with the target.

 There are two of these memorials in town that the guys in the next clue will never put out (HFD). Find the older of the two.

Mission Houses Museum

Take a photo with any building or structure older than 1850. When you reach it, act out a scene from that era in Hawaiian life.

Iolani Palace

 On the southwest grounds of this one-of-a-kind regal feature, you'll form a human pyramid.  You'll know you're in the right spot if you can see a coronation pavilion nearby.

Hawaii Theater

Find any stage, theater performance hall etc, that is not within 100 yards of any other clue site. May we suggest an old post office that's now a theater?  Once there, along with at least one other stranger or another team, act out your favorite movie or play scene.

 Find a screw that's not a Philips or a Flathead and is more than a whopping three feet in diameter. Give us your best maritime pose in the photo.

Did you know you were wearing a clue this whole time?  Find the ten coded digits on your body and ring them up to hear your next challenge:  Take a photo with any boat captain or behind the wheel of a boat.

We finished in 1 hour and 19 minutes, in 69th place!  Challenge nation was so much fun!  The clues were a easier than I thought they would be, and closer in distance than I had anticipated.  We were able to walk/run everywhere and finished in pretty good time.  There were 164 teams competing that day so I think we did really good.  A word of advice for future participants: read the clues carefully!  There are specific directions for each stop, and they do penalize you for mistakes at the finish line.  I would definitely do this again next year!  Has anyone else competed in Challenge Nation?