Students will race makeshift chariots down Manning Street this Saturday after Taste of Manning.

“We’re going to provide materials for competitors to build a chariot,” said sophomore Ethan Bock, events team lead for Campus Rec, which is running the event. “We bought dolly bases and we’re going to get a bunch of wood, nails, hammers, saws, and tape. They’re going to build a chariot on top of the dolly.”

Teams can be any size, said Bock, and they will have an hour to construct a chariot. Construction begins at noon and the race is at 1 p.m.

“We had a huge turnout for Naval Battle,” Bock said. “It has the same general premise. If you like constructing something and being creative, then there’s a big draw to come out even if you don’t want to be in or pulling the chariot.”

During the race, one person will be in the chariot while the other will be in front pulling it down Manning Street, Bock said. Charioteers are free to throw water balloons at their competition.

“They can try backpedaling,” Bock said. “They can try to pull it with their hands behind. They can use ropes.”

Campus Rec will place straw bales at the end of the track and along the way to stop and slow down competitors, Bock said.

“I had to tell a couple of people, ‘No, you can’t make wooden spears to throw at people,’” Bock said.

Senior Caleb Greene signed up with his housemates from the off-campus house “Egypt.”

“While all of our chariots are currently at the bottom of the Red Sea, we will build a chariot worthy of the pharaohs for the race this Saturday,” Greene said. “We are expecting to win glory and etch our names into the history of chariot racing here at Hillsdale College.”

Students can sign up online through a spreadsheet in the Student Activities Office newsletter.

“You could also just show up to watch,” Bock said. “It’s going to be entertaining. There’s going to be chariot crashes. There’s going to be people throwing water balloons to slow down their competitors. It will be fun to watch, build, or actually race.”