Are you a Seattle mobile phone geek who likes to run and run and run? If so, you'll probably want to don your jogging shorts, sneakers and Camelbak this Saturday for a one-of-a-kind event taking place in downtown Seattle. It's called the Verizon Urban Challenge, a citywide scavenger hunt of sorts which combines elements of the popular reality show The Amazing Race with mastery of a HTC smartphone. Fifty teams of two are expected to compete in 12 challenges throughout the city in what the organizers are calling "a grueling test of head-to-toe and between-the-ears strength."

Each team will be provided with an HTC Incredible or HTC Merge, with team members using those smartphones to crack codes at 12 checkpoints throughout the city. The first team to reach the 12 checkpoints and correctly complete the challenges -- which involve mental and physical tasks -- wins $3,000, two HTC Merge devices and two $125 Verizon Wireless gift cards. There are also prizes for second the third place.

And what happens if you break out your iPhone or another smartphone while navigating the course? Well, the rules clearly state that you'll be kicked out of the race.

This is pretty smart marketing by HTC and Verizon, and beyond that it just sounds like a ton of fun.

I'd be out there for sure on Saturday (even with the rain forecast) if I didn't already have Halloween plans.

In fact, my brother and I competed in a similar Urban Challenge in Seattle a few years back. That was in a pre-smartphone era, so we continuously called family members and friends to do research on home computers while we raced to places like Tini Bigs bar in Queen Anne and the very elusive Abraham Lincoln Building in downtown Seattle.

The Seattle competition marks the first Verizon Urban Challenge, but the wireless company plans to roll out other races across the country next year.