The XX Annual IdiotarodNYC
In 2004, Idiotarod NYC held their inaugural event and on Saturday, January 28, 2023, they held their twentieth annual* edition on the streets of NYC. Idiotarod XX featured about 20 teams who push shopping carts from one location to another, with the route being a secret to the participants and especially New Yorkers who came across the spectacle on an unseasonably warm Saturday in winter. The racers were told to meet at the east side of Fort Greene Park at noon, which also had a greenmarket and composting going on simultaneously that caused some confusion.
After an announcement by Idiotarod judge Anney Fresh, who revealed the first checkpoint of Singers, the teams departed the park, but not without being obstructed by members of Team S Cart GO, who dressed as snails and blocked the path out of the park, utilizing their cart, bodies, and slime against their competitors. Their commitment to getting in the way of other teams and leaving slime in their wake would earn them the Best Sabotage prize later that day.
After spending time at Singers, the racers were then headed to Wonderville, the second checkpoint. At that checkpoint, the judges had a theme of NASCAR, which coincidentally mirrored an Idiotarod team, Talladega Days, a reference to the 2006 comedy film starring Will Ferrell. Numerous onlookers had no idea what was happening on the street but seemed to enjoy the spectacle, with a few participating and vowing to join next year.
The racers departed Wonderville to head to Talon Bar on Wyckoff Avenue, but I bypassed the final checkpoint to hang at Wonderville with friends a little longer and go straight to the end. In my years of attending Idiotarod, I never made it to the final location to witness the awards being distributed and the destruction of carts, since I usually had other plans that evening (usually concerts). I made my way to The Deep End in Ridgewood, Queens that was the final stop on the 2023 route, to have dinner before the teams flooded the bar.
During the awards ceremony, trophies were given out to most of the teams by Anney and Rody, with the final categories receiving cash in addition to a trophy, and team Mad Max: Furry Road taking home Best in Show. After the ceremony, racers congregated in an alley to destroy the decorative shopping carts they built with the help of a tree, some rope, tools, and many black garbage bags to contain the mess that was made.
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Idiotarod didn’t happen in 2021 and was combined with the 19th edition in 2022, which was postponed to the first Saturday in March rather than late January.
Idiotarod XX on 1/28/23 results:
BEST IN SHOW: Mad Max: Furry Road
MOST AWESOME FINISH LINE PARTY: The Deep End (team Mystery Meat Machine)
BEST COSTUMES: NYC Apartments
BEST CART DESIGN: Honey, I Shrunk the Cart
BEST SABOTAGE: S Cart GO
BEST BRIBERY: The Princess and the Pea Pee
MOST CONFUSING: Venus in Furs
MOST IDIOTIC PERSON: Martin of Cheese Whizards
HOTT MESS AWARD: It’s Getting Hot in Here
BEST CULTURAL REFERENCE: Kevin McCarthy’s Quinceañera
BEST VIRGINS: Talladega Days
SEXIEST: KK’s Lust Bunnies
HONORABLE MENTION: The Champions
CULTURAL ZEITGEIST: Not Enough Tub in the World and The Loofahs
BEST ATTEMPT: Exterior Department of Caution
CHECKPOINT RULES: Tie between Checkpoints 1, 2, and 3