Twenty guys ran with the bathroom, not to it, at the first Outhouse Race at Terre Hill Days Saturday.
Outhouse teams, Terre Hill Fire Company Engine 3-12, left, and Martindale Mennonite Mafia, right, run
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Gene Sensenig takes cover from the hot sun in the driver's seat of
the Old Road Hillbilly's privy dur
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The "House of Pain" team races to an easy victory during their first race Saturday.
The Terre Hill Fire Company Engine 3-12 team pushes their outhouse down the street.
Nearly 200 people watched from under the shade of trees, porch rocking chairs, or scalding sidewalks in 93-degree heat as five homemade privies-on-wheels were pushed down Main Street, Terre Hill, by four-man teams.
Three men on each team pushed a potty 500 feet while a "driver" sat on the throne.
The goal? A cash prize, a plunger-crowned toilet paper trophy, and the celebration of silliness.
Four twentysomething friends who dubbed themselves the Martindale Mennonite Mafia won the victory with their outhouse, "House of Pain."
Shane Sensenig, 21, of Terre Hill, said his team named the outhouse for the injuries they sustained building it.
"People might take it another way though," he said through a shy, dimpled grin.
In the first heat of the competition, the Mafia faced team Ace in the Hole's "Royal Flush."
The Ace team was serious about silliness with members dressed as a playing card king, queen and joker.
But from the starting line, Ace in the Hole was out of control, making a hard right across lanes and narrowly missing the Mafia.
There were long delays between rounds while organizers fretted over how to pair the odd number of teams for eliminations. Meanwhile, competitors and spectators wiped their brows, downed bottled water, and waited.
Borough Council President Jeff Cassel rode the commode in the red, white and blue "Air Fart One."
The team didn't fare well, coming in last because of shaky, swivel wheels like those on a bad shopping cart.
The Old Road Hillbilly team captured the second prize of $80 in its "Popsgottago" privy.
Terre Hill Fire Company Engine 3-12 won $60 for a third-place finish. The fire-engine red "Wagon 3 HAZ-MAT" was a crowd favorite sporting a flashing red light and siren.
After the race, the Terre Hill Days Committee was already discussing ways to get the kinks out of the outhouse event.
"I think it went well this year, for a first year," committee member Jon Styer said.
"A lot of people really didn't know what it's about and they're out here looking," Mayor Bob Rissler said. "Hopefully, they'll come out here next year with an outhouse to race, too. We hope for it to grow."
Jeannette Scott is a Sunday News staff writer. Contact her at jscott@lnpnews.com or at 291-8689.
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