Sheldon, Iowa — A Sheldon native is half of a two-person team that won the first-ever riding lawnmower race from the west coast to the east coast.
Katie Knight, along with her Team Pink partner Tiffany Gil, beat four other teams in the “Great Grass Race,” a journey chronicled for a reality television show.
The race began in Los Angeles on July 10th, and ended up in Tampa, Florida, where Katie and Tiffany literally had to push their riding mower and the trailer it towed across the finish line.
Teams got points for organized challenges and mini-races at various points during the race, with those points helping improve each team’s chances of winning the Great Grass Race.
Racers were dependent upon the kindness of strangers throughout their entire journey, not being allowed to take money, food, beverages, gasoline for their mowers, or even a tent with them on the journey.
The first leg of the journey found the teams traveling from Los Angeles to Pueblo, Colorado, with the second leg taking them to St. Louis. The third and final leg of the race ran from St. Louis to Tampa.
After the race was over, Team Pink members Katie and Tiffany say they’re not the same people they were when they left Los Angeles in July. Or, in Katie’s words, “I’m a lot different than when I started.” Team Pink told the TV camera that they won the race by “staying under the radar” and by “allowing the other teams to underestimate us.” Tiffany, with a smile, also said she had GPS trackers that she now needed to remove from all the OTHER teams’ trailers.
In addition to Team Pink’s win in the first Great Grass Race, Team Green finished 2nd, Team Red took 3rd place despite being a one-person team whose sole member broke a wrist, which required surgery, along the way. Team Neon finished 4th, with Team Blue taking 5th in the Great Grass Race.
The Great Grass Race episodes are available to view at watch.menacevision.com.
