St. Paul’s 9th annual Amazing Race has a Wild West finish

The New Ulm Battery fires off the cannon, staring St. Paul’s 9th annual Amazing Race competition. At the sound of the gun, the teams are able to run to their vehicles and drive to the first challenge on their clue list.
NEW ULM – At 1 p.m. Sunday, a round of cannon fire from the New Ulm Battery signaled the start of St. Paul Lutheran School’s 9th annual Amazing Race competition.
This year 24 teams took part. Each team was given a starter clue that sent them to one six locations around New Ulm. Teams would need to visit all six of the locations and return to St. Paul’s Lutheran School to finish the race. The six stops were the New Ulm airport, Washington Learning Center (WLC), Lykka Books, St. John’s Church, Royal Oaks Center and the Martin Luther College (MLC) football field.
At each site, teams were asked to complete a specific challenge. Amazing Race committee chairwoman Amy Rich said this year, most of the challenges were themed after the Wild West. At WLC, teams learned to square dance; learned roping tricks at Royal Oaks and at Lykke Books teams taste tested BBQ sauce.
Competition turned out to be a little more challenging than last year. Rich said typically, the first team crosses the finish line crosses at 45 minutes. This year it took a little longer with the winning team crossing the line just under the 53 minute mark.
Winners were the Gunderson family consisting of Paul Gunderson, Meredith Gunderson, Linnea Gunderson and Nils Gunderson. In addition to winning the race, the Gundersons won the award for best team name: “We’ll See You in our Rear View Mirror.”

The Gunderson family were the first to cross the finish line for St. Paul’s Amazing Race. Nils Gunderson was the first to cross the line followed by his sister Linnea, his mother Meredith and his father Paul Gunderson. The family finished the contest in under 53 minutes.
The team name proved prophetic since they won the competition by an over five minute margin. The second place team finished in 59 minutes.
The victory for the Gundersons was a longtime coming. Meredith Gunderson said this was the fifth time they competed in the race but the first time they won.
“The first time we played it we had our daughter in a baby carriage and that slowed us down,” She said. “I think we got second to last that year.”
This year the Gundersons were able to really work as a team to complete the challenges. They agreed the hardest challenge was line dancing. Nils Gunderson said it was hard because they had no idea which way to spin when dancing.
Nils Gunderson said his favorite challenge was at MLC. The family had to transfer a plastic disc across the field using tennis rackets. It was a physical challenge, but the Gundersons completed it relatively quickly.

The Gunderson family poses with the race banner after taking first in the competition. The family has competed in the race for the last few years, but this is their first win. (L to R): Nils Gunderson, Meredith Gunderson, Paul Gunderson and Linnea Gunderson.
Linnea Gunderson said the easiest challenge was the mental challenge at the airport. The family flew through that challenge.
Second place, consisting of Laura, Dean and Reagan Lochner, Poppie Schmoller and Nadia Zarnstorff confirmed the line dancing challenge was the hardest.
The roping challenge at Royal Oaks Center did prove challenging for several teams, but most appreciated the fun of roping a chair.
This was the 9th year of hosting the Amazing Race contest. The program began as a fundraiser for the improvements to St. Paul’s Lutheran Elementary. Rich said the event continues to help cover the cost of the construction project. The event has also proven to be extremely popular with families. Team participation is always strong.
Rich counted this year as a success because every team that crossed the finish line were happy.
“All the teams came back smiling and that is the goal,” she said.
- The New Ulm Battery fires off the cannon, staring St. Paul’s 9th annual Amazing Race competition. At the sound of the gun, the teams are able to run to their vehicles and drive to the first challenge on their clue list.
- The Gunderson family were the first to cross the finish line for St. Paul’s Amazing Race. Nils Gunderson was the first to cross the line followed by his sister Linnea, his mother Meredith and his father Paul Gunderson. The family finished the contest in under 53 minutes.
- The Gunderson family poses with the race banner after taking first in the competition. The family has competed in the race for the last few years, but this is their first win. (L to R): Nils Gunderson, Meredith Gunderson, Paul Gunderson and Linnea Gunderson.
- The teams competing in St. Paul’s Lutheran take off with the gun.
- The teams competing in St. Paul’s Lutheran take off with the gun.