The two-man chair race is a data center game that doesn't need the data center. This event could be held in an office full of cubicles (or a skate park) just as easily, but the data center environment provides some unique opportunities and will be the focus of this writeup. In this event, two people and an office chair race against time to complete a certain number of laps of a predetermined circuit. The team with the lowest completion time is awarded the victory. Proper preparation helps to make smooth execution possible.
The order of teams in competition is determined by random lot and may be broken into multiple heats. These help to assure that unfair advantage given to later teams by watching the early ones is minimized.
In preparation for the two-man chair race, either a referee (perhaps the host) sets the course up alone, or the contestants work toward a consensus on track development. The route must be clearly marked (traditionally with words and arrows in electrical tape), the teams must get a walk-through of the course before competition time, and sometimes, each team is given a one lap trial after which, strategy can be discussed.
In the simplest form, the track could be a square path through the data center that must be raced so many times around. More excitement is generated with the inclusion of: selectively missing floor tiles, floor pullers stuck in the path, dead ends that must be climbed over, U-turns, cables stretched across the path at different elevations, closed doors, etc. As you can imagine, the complexity of the course (and the required gyrations for completing it) is limited only by your desire to inflict harm on the athletes and your creativity.
Racers are free to race in any format they find most useful. Both people running while guiding the chair is fairly common. One person riding the chair and using legs and arms to guide, swing, and rebound while being pushed by the other is also fairly common (and in some variants, required). Some course features require alternative approaches like carrying the chair between the people or handing the chair over a tall obstacle.
When engaging in this sport, keep in mind the degree of noise that this generates. It would be easy to alert others in the building to your cavorting, which might have undesirable consequences.