Grow Chiropractic’s “Find the Spine” returns after year hiatus

“Whenever I see first time hikers, people getting healthy and people getting out with their family and friends,” says Marc Grow, owner and op­erator of Grow Chiro­practic, organizer of the annual Find the Spine scavenger hunt, “That’s what puts a smile on my face, that’s what makes it worth it.”

Left to right:

• Marc Grow (right) gives a big thumbs up to the spine-finders. Photo courtesy of Find the Spine.

• A past player finds the femur and claims their prize. Photo courtesy of Find the Spine.

• The walls of Grow Chiropractic are lined with memories of past adventures during Find the Spine. Photos by Ty Gant.

Find the Spine, as Grow describes it, is a community-oriented treasure hunt designed to inspire outdoor ad­venture, appreciation for the local trails and bonding chances between loved ones, along with the chance to win the grand prize money. “I wanted to get people healthy and get them outdoors with their families. I moved out here for more fam­ily time, that’s why I left the big city in the first place … and Find the Spine is my way of doing that. Of course, the money can make it a bit more enticing, money’s a good mo­tivator, and if it gets people that otherwise might be unhealthy or isolated out and adventuring, then it’s worth it.”

The event, averaging around 2,000 partici­pants, is free to partici­pate, but if the sleuth who finds the spine does so wearing one of the Find the Spine t-shirts purchased for $10 at the kickoff event, the grand prize they earn doubles from $2,500 to $5,000. In addition to the grand prize, local businesses can sponsor smaller Find the Femur days over the course of the event, with daily clues giving participants a chance to win $500 by finding that day’s femur. “It’s all based in the community,” says Grow. “I focus on local people and local businesses; I look at this event and say, ‘if it were my business and I was sponsoring, this is how I would want my business to be treated.’”

Grow credits his wife Kaisi as the coordina­tor of the clues and events, stating, “My amazing wife is such a good organizer … she puts in a thousand more hours than I do planning this thing. She comes up with the puzzles, she coor­dinates with the spon­sors, she runs social media … and it’s not all pre-written. She’s the wizard behind those riddles, we’ll adjust them if we see people getting the gist, make sure they’re steadily homing in. She’ll give me a clue in the morn­ing and I’ll say, ‘That tells me nothing,’ then she’ll break down the hints in the wording, and I say ‘wait, that’s almost too good of a clue.’” Prompted for a highlight over the course of the event’s run, Grow replied, “Just seeing people and families get out and adventure togeth­er puts a smile on my face … I guess it is special when a kid is the one who finds it. We’ve paid for three different first cars!”

When asked about Find the Spine taking a break in 2025, Grow replied, “We’re taking it a year at a time. It’s a huge amount of work and preparation that goes into this thing. It’s six months out of our year planning, half the year goes to planning it … but we got a ton of good feedback and support even when we had to cancel. I think people were bummed we didn’t do it, and as people came out with more positive comments, that’s the sort of thing I need to hear to know we want to continue doing it. I love feedback, I want people to know they can talk to me about what can be better … I also want to hear when it was a good time and people are looking for­ward to it.”

Find the Spine 2026’s kickoff dinner is slated for March 10, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., where participants can pick up the shirt that sig­nals their entry for the $5,000 prize - as well as enjoy the free BBQ dinner, bounce house and other entertain­ment, courtesy of grant support from Kane County. The clues will begin the next morning at 7 a.m., for the Spine as well as the first day’s sponsored Femur. For more information, visit the Find the Spine pages on Facebook or Instagram, or inquire with Grow Chiroprac­tic or the Kane County Office of Tourism.