Epic React Search Party
So at the beginning of our marathon training, we decided it would be a good idea to convince about fifty people to run around Koreatown to look a pair of missing shoes that weren’t really missing. Here’s my dissertation on the KRC SEARCH PARTY.
So if you’ve been out to one of our special runs before, you probably know what you’re getting into. And that is not having any idea of what you’re about to get into. We try to do things a little differently. You’ll probably run, you’ll probably laugh and possibly maybe get leave with something special.
This past Valentine’s Day, we led Los Angeles on a scavenger hunt to some Koreatown landmarks before ending at a mattress store to reward everyone with the then all new Epic Reacts before they hit the shelves. And with the holidays coming up, we thought what better way to give then making everyone race each other after a long run to find shoes that weren’t missing in the first place? Tis the season.
As the story goes, I lost my favorite pair of Epic Reacts on a Tuesday, posted up 100 missing posters on a Friday and assembled a search party on a Saturday. The only thing is I forgot a digit of my phone number in the contact, whoops. The teams of five ran around Koreatown collecting the faulty posters all while asking strangers and local businesses if they’ve seen the missing Reacts.
The team to collect the most posters would win a pair of Epic Reacts. As expected, it was a mad dash. After the strategies were formed, mobs of runners were stopping into every store on every block asking to find these shoes.
For a lucky few, we hid Golden Epic Reacts at some of the establishments we frequent most. The posters were mostly taped to light posts, newspaper vending boxes, and payphones. Some were high up and some were slightly hidden.
The idea and design partly came from my hours and hours of playing Red Dead Redemption 2 and catching bounties in the wild west. One idea was to have strangers on the street ask the teams for a quick favor. If the teams stopped and helped them then they would be rewarded with a Golden Epic React. Arthur Morgan would be proud.
At the end of the day, Agus, Jonah, Donna and Dri of Fourplay took home the prize. — Training for a marathon is difficult. Choosing to go out and run is fucking hard. But if we can remember to have some fun in-between, it gets easier. Also, I'd like to formally apologize to all the business we loitered in and bothered on that Saturday.
Words by Duy Nguyen
Photos by Duy Nguyen and Paddy Moynahan
More photos here.