The Wolfpack Environmental Student Association and the local blog trianglefixies.com are partnering to stage WESAcat, an Alleycat bike race, Saturday starting at the Belltower.

The event will not be just an Alleycat race, however.  There will also be a trick competition after the race, according to the organizers. Alleycat races are informal, and stress participation over competition. 

William Hardy, a senior in computer engineering and a blogger with trianglefixies.com, said all participants will get a list of clues at the start of the race.

“It’s going to be a lot like a scavenger hunt.  Some of the clues are pretty direct, but others will make you think,” Hardy said.  “At each checkpoint, you’ll have to do a fun activity, which may be something silly, taking a picture or completing a task.”

The race will cover approximately 15 miles and will take place around N.C. State and downtown Raleigh. The race will begin at 1 p.m., with registration starting at 11:30 a.m.

“At the beginning of the race, everyone will receive a list of clues and a map.  The outermost boundaries of the map are the outermost boundaries of the race,” Hardy said. 

Sponsors of the Alleycat race have donated prizes, which the organizers said they plan to give out for a variety of accomplishments. 

“We’re definitely going to do the traditional prizes, too,” Sonum Nerurkar, a senior in environmental technology, said. 

Samantha Walker, a junior in zoology and one of the organizers for the WESAcat event, said the idea came about after brainstorming with WESA. Casey Clapp, a transfer student in urban forestry, originally had the idea to do an Alleycat race and trick event.

“Casey [Clapp] had the idea to do this over the summer, but it didn’t work out, so we decided to do it as a group now,” Walker said.

The group started planning the race and after-event in November.

“We had our first planning meeting in November and met every two weeks prior to February, when we started meeting every week,” Walker said.

According to Nerurkar, there were six or seven people heavily involved in planning the race.

“Everyone who was really involved in planning the race is an N.C. State student,” Nerurkar said.

According to Walker, all proceeds from the event will go to WESA.

“We want this to be an environmentally friendly event, too,” Walker said.

According to Hardy, he mainly helped with publicity for the event.  He also created a video to promote the WESAcat race.

The race will begin with a “le mans” start, meaning everyone will place their bikes in one location and the race will not begin until everyone is registered and has received their clues, according to the WESAcat website.

People who want to race are encouraged to pre-register on the WESAcat website (wesacat.com), or they can register in person on the day of the race.