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Thursday
March 28th, 2024

great grass race liberalCompetitors in the Great Grass Race receive their challenge and instructions Saturday in front of the Quality Inn in Liberal. Liberal is just one of the many stops the competition has taken, and there are many more stops along the way for the competitors. L&T photo/Elly GrimmELLY GRIMM • Leader & Times

 

There are many reality TV competitions for people to watch and recently, one of those competitions mowed its way through Liberal. 

This past weekend, participants in the Great Grass Race motored their way into Liberal. The race is a competition comprised of six teams of two who partake in the nearly three-month race from California to New York. Instead of driving in vehicles, walking or biking as many people going cross country do, however, they’re racing on lawnmowers.

“I wanted a show that everyone could relate to while also forcing people, including strangers, to work together toward a common objective,” show creator/executive producer Denis Oliver said in a statement about the inspiration for the show. “This long lawnmower ride is a metaphor for our longing to bridge the tremendous distance we feel between each other right now.” 

The 3,000-mile cross country race began July 10 and is expected to end in mid-October, with a potential prize of nearly $100,000. The teams’ only supplies are a Craftsman T110 mower, a trailer, and their people skills. Everything they gain throughout the race has to be donated to them from people they meet along the way, including shelter for the night.

“There are 22 episodes out so far and it's a really fun show that shows people they shouldn't let fear paralyze them and if there's something they really want to do, they should go for it,” participant Andy Sensnovis said. “Most of us are volunteers, although there is one guy who has an agent who's helping with some things, and there are some other sponsors for the show. I had heard about it one day in passing and thought it sounded interesting, so I thought 'Why not?' I did a lot of mowing when I was younger, so that wasn't a problem, and it's been a great way to see the U.S. so far, so it gave it a shot and it's been great so far. The competition starts in L.A. and ends in New York, and there are challenges we all have to do along the way, and one of the challenges brought us to Liberal and Dorothy's House. We're all sticking together for a little bit until we're all 100 percent comfortable being on our own on the road, and then at that point is when we'll actually be full-out racing, and that will probably be around St. Louis when that happens.”

Sensnovis said so far, he has been able to see many parts of the U.S. Sensnovis is from Michigan and his partner, John Zack, hails from New Jersey.

“We were previously in Dodge City for their annual event at Boot Hill and after all of that, we were told to come to Liberal for that challenge, which was ultimately for us to each recreate a scene from 'The Wizard of Oz,' and then all of those scenes will be put together for a special film project,” Sensnovis said. “It's really hard to pick just one thing because it's all been so much fun so far. One big thing though that comes to mind is how everything's timed out just about perfectly – there have been a few points where I've broken down and needed a new part or something like that, and there's been someone who's been able to help with that. There are so many good people who have helped me so far and I wish I could do more than just say 'Thank you' to them for how they've helped me.”

Overall, Sensnovis said, there have been many things to enjoy while participating in the competition and taking the trip.

“At home, I ride my motorcycle around quite a bit, but I tend to avoid the highways because there are too many hazards that make me uncomfortable,” Sensnovis said. “With this, we're driving at a point where we're fast enough to not completely interfere with traffic, but we're also driving slow enough to where we're not in as much danger like if we were driving in regular conditions. I've liked this experience in its entirety so far, I've gotten to see a lot of the U.S. in a fun way.”

With the challenge in Liberal, Sensnovis said the anticipation was really fun. 

“The main thing was none of us knew anything about it, none of us had any idea what would go on – it could've been something really fun or something really miserable, but we didn't have a single clue what we'd be in for,” Sensnovis said. “I got here to Liberal on a prayer and shoestring basically because I ran out of my spare parts and it was Friday evening before I could get my stuff properly fixed. Our challenge in Dodge City involved us being in a Nerf gun war and in another challenge we had to drive a distance with a full container of Worcestershire sauce while driving.”

Among the other contestants is Kassie Sisco, 34, of Newkirk, Okla. 

“It’s going to be hard because I haven’t really been away from my family for that long,” she said in a statement about participating in the race. “This was new and interesting, and I needed some challenge in my life, so I figured why don’t I go for it? Sometimes you’ve gotta jump out there somehow and try something exciting and new.”

Sensnovis added he is excited for the rest of the trip. 

“I hope I get to meet more awesome people and see a lot of different parts of the rest of the U.S. we'll be traveling through, it's great seeing the country on a lawn mower at the speed we're going,” Sensnovis said. “It's great seeing how many different people are out there and I can't wait to continue exploring other parts of the U.S. We're on Facebook and Instagram and other social media, so people can follow us on those sites, and we'll be posting pretty frequently as far as where we'll be heading and all that.”