Idiotarod XXI
Full gallery available on my website here.
On Saturday, January 27, 2024, the 21st edition of Idiotarod returned to the streets of New York City. Now that the race has been around for over two decades, it’s finally old enough to legally enter its own checkpoints that are bars. Nearly 20 registered teams competed in a race with a secret route for prizes, glory, or infamy. Each team came up with a theme, games, bribes, and food and drink items. The night before, the starting location was revealed to be at Grand Army Plaza at noon. Once the teams gathered at Grand Army Plaza, an announcement was made by Anney Fresh which revealed that the first checkpoint was 99Rogers, with racers on the move shortly after 1PM. The second checkpoint was Wonderville, in Bushwick, but the Idiotarod Instagram account initially posted the incorrect location. The stories post told people to head to Bar Cornelia for checkpoint 2 which was actually the third one. A correction was eventually posted but I imagine some people following the race online headed to the wrong place prematurely and possibly caused confusion among others (hence, this checkpoint winning the Best Sabotage award instead of a team). The race’s finale was at The Deep End, where carts were destroyed after the awards ceremony. The Gimp My Ride team took home Best in Show which meant that the same team won the big prize for a second consecutive year (they were Mad Max: Furry Road in 2023).
I left the race before the racers departed for checkpoint 3 since I had to head to The Museum of Modern Art in the evening. The gallery above covers from 12-4PM before I made my way home before going to Manhattan. I’m so happy that Idiotarod is still going after all these years and I am looking forward to Idiotarod XXII in 2025, which makes it the 20th anniversary of attending my very first Idiotarod race.
Results of Idiotarod XXI on Saturday, January 27, 2024 BEST IN SHOW: Gimp My Ride BEST COSTUMES: Orcapy Whale Street BEST CART DESIGN: Hurtz Gold Member BEST BRIBERY: Hot Cucumber BEST SABOTAGE: Checkpoint 3 THE FUTURE OF AMERICA: Dance Dance Revolutionaries BEST PRESCRIPTION DELIVERY SERVICE: Dr. Who’s Line Is It Anyways? PAVLOVIAN CHILD TRAP: One Fell Scoop BEST BACKROOM CASINO: Clam’s Casino TIN FOIL HAT AWARD: Space Junk BEST FINISH LINE: The Deep End LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: Anney Fresh
HONORABLE MENTIONS LITTLE ORPHAN ANNEY AWARD: CARTapus CARTastrophe ROOKIES: Traitor Joe’s, Suds n’ Buds, Loaf Gang
