FREEPORT — Liz Funke has been competing in the Amazing Place Adventure Race for the past three years.

But this year, she said, it “means more than ever.”

The Amazing Place Adventure Race, hosted by L.L. Bean, is a team competition that benefits the American Cancer Society. According to the race web page, contestants navigate their way through Freeport to “discover clues and complete various physical challenges and tasks that require brain power, such as solving puzzles, discovering historical locations and strategizing as a team.”

Funke, who lives in Durham and works as an administrative assistant for L.L. Bean, will be competing with her husband, Brian, friend Sherry Phillips and coworker Andrea Olsen.

“Last year, I got the team together and said, ‘We have to do this again. This is really fun’,” Funke said. “This year is a little bit different for us.”

On Aug. 12, the team, called Marcy Strong, will be competing in honor of two of Funke’s friends who were diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. One lives locally and is receiving care at her home; Funke’s other friend lives in Iowa.

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“Before it was all about the fun and this year it’s really about raising money and awareness for American Cancer Society,” Funke said. According to ACS’s website, the race had raised almost $4,300 from 21 teams and 58 participants as of Tuesday afternoon.

The race will start on Sunday in the L.L. Bean Discovery Park on Morse Street. There is a limit of 25 teams for each of the races two “heats” – which start at 10 a.m. and noon.

The first heat is a timed competitive heat and the second is a family friendly non-timed event. Each typically takes two to three hours to complete.

“Some teams go out and shop and others are running throughout the whole thing,” Funke said. She recalled last year’s challenges included fashioning something out of fabric at Maine Woolens and pitching a tent at The North Face.

Marcy Strong, she added, will hopefully compete in the timed heat.

“I always join these races and they always have some sort of fundraising aspect to them,” Funke said. “But this year it’s even more meaningful … This year I really want to bring it home.”

There is still time to sign up for Sunday’s race. There is a $25 per person registration fee to participate, which counts toward fundraising. Each team member is asked to attempt to raise $100, with prizes for top teams. To register or donate, visit community.acsevents.org.

“I encourage everyone to sign up,” Funke said. “It’s a fun event and for a great cause.”

Jocelyn Van Saun can be reached at 781-3661, ext. 183 or jvansaun@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter @JocelynVanSaun.

Andrea Olsen, left, Brian Funke, Sherry Phillips Gleason, front, and Liz Funke will compete in this year’s Amazing Place Adventure Race on Aug. 12 in honor of a  friend who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. The Freeport race, which is in its third year, benefits the American Cancer Society.


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