After breakfast we decided upon which distance we were to race 3 or 6 km a choice that for a few proved difficult. Once the athletes had convinced the coaches of their decisions we set out to pre ski the very first section of the race; It was a small loop separate from the rest that we hadn't skied yesterday. We regrouped again 25 minutes before the race for a large group warm up led by Erik and myself. Most of us have written our own individual race report which you can read below, if you care to.
Torin's race report:
I raced about two and a half KM before I fell and screwed my knee up so I Had to DNF.
Torin
Erik's race report:
I had a pretty good race. The hills were big but I over estimated them because I had pre skied the course the day before. During the pre ski I felt dead because the hills were massive, but in my race today I had plenty of energy to make it up those hills. I took my race way too easy at the start because I thought it would be harder than it actually was. I made it past the first two big climbs with plenty of energy to spare, so I stepped on it. I went very hard for the second half of the race almost sprinting up the hills. Half way through I saw Torin laying on the ground but he told me to keep racing so I did and when I saw Chris near the end of the race I said "Torin is down" and I had a good finish. After my cool down I saw Torin laying in the sled behind the snow mobile. He hurt his knee but he's doing okay. That sums up my race.
Erik
Emily's race report: that bloody race!
Our race day dawned cold and windy, the conditions were great. The snow was icy and fast and while everyone was tired and sore, we were all excited. The first part of the race was hardest. A couple hard up hills followed immediately by some pretty big downhills. The first downhill had a soft patch where a I had fallen during the pre ski, so I was extra conscious of that patch making sure to keep my feet moving. I made it past it, and then in my celebration promptly lost my balance and toppled over on the flat. So much for that.
The next hill was called the roller coaster, and despite its name I'd had no issues on the pre ski and wasn't worried. I pushed off and tucked, keeping my feet moving and feeling the wind rush by me; one of the best race feelings. I got to the bottom incident free, and started to pull out of my tuck. Suddenly my ski caught an edge, and before I had time to catch myself I face planted nose first onto my pole. My first thought was get off the course. My second thought, well, wait a sec.... Is that blood? My question was quickly answered by a second drop, then a third, unmistakeable against the white snow. Crawling over to the side, I quickly realized that I was going to have to wait it out. As the red stain on the snow grew larger, Torin called out from 15 feet ahead of me. Limping over on his twisted knee, the two of us sat together in the snow watching racers go by us, slowing down, looking at all the blood on the snow, and having a moment of panic. We reassured them that we would be
fine and to continue their race. Judging by my race time, I must have been sitting there about 15 minutes before I was able to ski again. From that point the rest of the course was surprisingly easy, and I crossed the finish line without any other incidents, though I looked like I'd been in a fight. I cleaned up ok, though my nose is still pretty sore.
Even with all its incidents, the last part of my race went very well and I had a lot of fun.
Emily
fine and to continue their race. Judging by my race time, I must have been sitting there about 15 minutes before I was able to ski again. From that point the rest of the course was surprisingly easy, and I crossed the finish line without any other incidents, though I looked like I'd been in a fight. I cleaned up ok, though my nose is still pretty sore.
Even with all its incidents, the last part of my race went very well and I had a lot of fun.
Emily
Mhari's race report:
After an unusually successful warm up I tore off my warm up tights and threw them expertly up to the second storey balcony rail, (where I then left them behind) and stood ready to go in my undeservedly flashy red race suit. As the soon as the timer beeped I slowly edged my foot over the line. My race plan was to slowly build so I was in no rush. The first part of the race was a relatively flat loop in the valley where I found my groove and picked up the pace, just a tad. Net came the race loop, which made up the rest of our race. The race loop starts with a long uphill, which I think is the most difficult hill of the whole course as it's not quite steep enough for excuses. It's also where Flin Flon skier, Parker, passed me for the first time. I submitted the hill just barely keeping Parker and his teammate Hannah in view. Unfortunately for them, the next big downhill took them both out. I crested the hill and started down only to notice that not only was there a large downhill but there were two skier shaped obstacles at the bottom! Through immense skill (pure luck) I stayed on my feet (barely). My right foot was in the leftmost classic track, my left foot was suspended in the air over the deep snow, my arms were flailing and my torso was miraculously still upright. It was with this excellent technique that I propelled myself halfway up the next small bump, thanks physics! The next section of my race was rather uneventful, Parker passed me again after recovering from his fall, I kept my pace reasonable although maybe not as fast as I should have and enjoyed the slightly frightening downhills. Coming up to the roller coaster downhill I spotted fellow red river skier Emily Hunt. I picked up my speed slightly, determined to catch her, a feat that she made very easy by punching herself in the face mid fall at the bottom of the hill beside Torin, yet another fallen skier. Once again I was spared, I somehow stayed on my feet today even though I'd fallen on every second hill yesterday. The next section of my race consisted of strong flats and a slightly pathetic climb up coaches hill, luckily there was no coach present at the time to critique my skiing. After summiting this last hill I realized that perhaps I hadn't been building enough and picked up my speed, saving only enough breath to quickly update coach Chris of Torin's well being (his fall had been a nasty one). The race ends in a downhill, assuring a strong finish. All told it was a fun race and I look forward to a rematch with Grady, a Flin Flon skier, who I later learned, beat my by only 5 seconds.
Mhari
After finishing our races those of us who could still walk went for a short cool down, partly because we are good athletes who now the importance of a good cool down but mostly because we wanted one last chance to enjoy the beautiful trails. We packed up after our cool down and enjoyed our last meal at the Flin Flon ski club.
Upon hearing that our trip to the candy bar was at risk, after lunch we quickly finished loading the vans, said our goodbyes and raced away, my warm up pant still hung on the banister. The candy bar is a very strange place, best described as a bulk convenience store. Many a bad decision was made in the store, Torin bought a pack of 120 pixie sticks and Erik and I purchase almost 2kg of spearmint leaves (300 leaves) of which we barely touched the surface of in our drive. When we exited the store I was handed my forgotten pants. Lora lee had chased us down at the candy bar to hand deliver my warm up pants, and had already left by the time I had finished lugging out the largest bag on candy I have ever seen.
Stocked up with candy and tired from our race we headed out on what would become a historic road trip. I am, however, going to have to leave you hanging as I am exhausted and have a splitting headache. Time for homework! jk I never do my homework.
Mhari
After an unusually successful warm up I tore off my warm up tights and threw them expertly up to the second storey balcony rail, (where I then left them behind) and stood ready to go in my undeservedly flashy red race suit. As the soon as the timer beeped I slowly edged my foot over the line. My race plan was to slowly build so I was in no rush. The first part of the race was a relatively flat loop in the valley where I found my groove and picked up the pace, just a tad. Net came the race loop, which made up the rest of our race. The race loop starts with a long uphill, which I think is the most difficult hill of the whole course as it's not quite steep enough for excuses. It's also where Flin Flon skier, Parker, passed me for the first time. I submitted the hill just barely keeping Parker and his teammate Hannah in view. Unfortunately for them, the next big downhill took them both out. I crested the hill and started down only to notice that not only was there a large downhill but there were two skier shaped obstacles at the bottom! Through immense skill (pure luck) I stayed on my feet (barely). My right foot was in the leftmost classic track, my left foot was suspended in the air over the deep snow, my arms were flailing and my torso was miraculously still upright. It was with this excellent technique that I propelled myself halfway up the next small bump, thanks physics! The next section of my race was rather uneventful, Parker passed me again after recovering from his fall, I kept my pace reasonable although maybe not as fast as I should have and enjoyed the slightly frightening downhills. Coming up to the roller coaster downhill I spotted fellow red river skier Emily Hunt. I picked up my speed slightly, determined to catch her, a feat that she made very easy by punching herself in the face mid fall at the bottom of the hill beside Torin, yet another fallen skier. Once again I was spared, I somehow stayed on my feet today even though I'd fallen on every second hill yesterday. The next section of my race consisted of strong flats and a slightly pathetic climb up coaches hill, luckily there was no coach present at the time to critique my skiing. After summiting this last hill I realized that perhaps I hadn't been building enough and picked up my speed, saving only enough breath to quickly update coach Chris of Torin's well being (his fall had been a nasty one). The race ends in a downhill, assuring a strong finish. All told it was a fun race and I look forward to a rematch with Grady, a Flin Flon skier, who I later learned, beat my by only 5 seconds.
Mhari
After finishing our races those of us who could still walk went for a short cool down, partly because we are good athletes who now the importance of a good cool down but mostly because we wanted one last chance to enjoy the beautiful trails. We packed up after our cool down and enjoyed our last meal at the Flin Flon ski club.
Upon hearing that our trip to the candy bar was at risk, after lunch we quickly finished loading the vans, said our goodbyes and raced away, my warm up pant still hung on the banister. The candy bar is a very strange place, best described as a bulk convenience store. Many a bad decision was made in the store, Torin bought a pack of 120 pixie sticks and Erik and I purchase almost 2kg of spearmint leaves (300 leaves) of which we barely touched the surface of in our drive. When we exited the store I was handed my forgotten pants. Lora lee had chased us down at the candy bar to hand deliver my warm up pants, and had already left by the time I had finished lugging out the largest bag on candy I have ever seen.
Stocked up with candy and tired from our race we headed out on what would become a historic road trip. I am, however, going to have to leave you hanging as I am exhausted and have a splitting headache. Time for homework! jk I never do my homework.
Mhari
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| A beautiful day for technique |
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| Ball control |
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| Ready to go |
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| Saturday night pre ski keeners |
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| Hannah practicing her falls |
I think I need a haircut
heading off for a cooldown
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| Torin starting his race |
Torin finishing his race
Dat booty
David starting stong
Erik tearing it up
Jodi with the hammer down
Levi getting some glide
Me chilling on the course
Smiling through the pain
Group warmup
The whole gang.
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