Earlier this year a friend said, “Come spend the weekend with me and a couple of cool girls at Mt. Washington in May. Oh and also on the Sunday we’ll do the Snow to Surf Relay, and you’ll be our roadie”. Of course she had me on “weekend using a lot of cool girls”; besides, May seemed like a considerable ways off.
In 2010 could be the 29thrunning of the Snow to Surf Adventure Relay in the beautiful Comox Valley area. The race starts on Mt. Washington which has a downhill ski leg and leads to the Comox harbour a couple of hours later. We was the Frontrunners Foxxy being partially sponsored by Frontrunners, a sports store in Nanaimo. Frontrunners Foxxy features a strict no training policy, which led me to think that people were a variety of casual weekend warriors.
By late Saturday afternoon we linked to our other team mates in the lodge at Mt. Washington. The snow level was unbelievable for this late inside season. We trekked over the snow towards the cabin we had arrived staying in along to seek out the steps to achieve the entranceway. In the cabin the patio door was completely snowed in and looked like an ice cave. We spent the evening bonding because the veterans regaled tales from past races. This became while i heard the horror stories of team members past and present having stellar athletic pasts. “Oh my”, I figured to myself, “won’t they be surprised by their new team member tomorrow?”
The next morning i was up early (early for me personally anyway) to aid our downhill skier. The skiers consider the chair lift up, leave their skis at the top of the mountain then walk as a result of the beginning line. On the sound with the gun there is a short, steep run look out onto their skis. There exists a stern warning posted to impress ensure that you put on your own skis at the top of the run.
At the bottom of the ski run, the downhill skier passes the wrist-band for the Nordic skier. The skier hands off to a road runner. Usually the road runner hands off and away to a trail runner, but because of the extraordinarily high snow level, this season there have been two road running legs instead. One of our runners described “Well, I’ll definitely be utilizing both my running legs”. A mountain bike leg takes the race down to Comox Lake the place where a kayaker zig-zags over the lake in order to meet the path bikers. We, the roadies, ride a distance of just below 30km and hand off and away to a final leg, a 2-man canoe leg.
There’s a lot of holding out along the way. Fortunately for me personally, my transition spot was with a sunny beach at Comox Lake. In spite of such a tranquil see the nerves begun to bundle up as the kayakers begun to arrive. Because amount of cyclists on the beach dwindled my nerves tangled increasingly more unsure when to expect my team mate coming across the lake. Now they called my team number and i also wheeled my bike out to my start area. While i took the wrist band from my team mate, the nerves disappeared and that i was off. Odd that I always forget the amount of I really like riding my bike.
I’d never raced before. I’d never ridden a short distance in a event before. I wasn’t sure how you can pace myself to get a 30km leg. My best guess was that it should take me about 1:10 – which is the same length being a spin class. That is what I caused to choose how tough to push. It absolutely was an excellent ride – mostly flat by rolling hills. While i came through town and took an additional turn on the water, a new boy was signalling will slow down when i entered the transition area. Already? I saw my team mate right away, passed the wrist band to her and checked out my own time 57:25.
The logistics behind the transitions can be a nightmare, which merely the well seasoned team leaders can configure. Car 1, driven by Kayaker, transports Runner 1, Runner 2 and Mountain Biker. Car 2 dropped me off at the beginning of my road bike leg and proceeded for the start of canoe leg. Car 3 was driven by Nordic Skier to the beginning of her leg, where Downhill Skier picked it up after her leg. Downhill Skier retrieves the true secret from your secret hiding spot after which heads down the course picking Nordic Skier and both runners when they raced. Car 3 then proceeds with a coffee shop along my leg of the race to cheer me on because i go by. Once I’ve went by to raucous cheers and hollering, as well as their coffee cups are refilled they visit the beginning of the canoe leg. This is when they makeover and Cars 2 and 3 proceed to the end in the race. Mountain Biker retrieves key from secret spot after handing on Kayaker and waits for Kayaker who completes her leg after which paddles back over the lake. Car 1 transporting Mountain Biker and Kayaker go on to the finish from the race. Have it? Don’t feel sick – clears up, but they are there to pick out me up in the same way promised.
By the end of the course, at Comox Harbor day spa san francisco raucous cheers and hollering as Canoeists arrive. This can be then more logistical issues as the canoe should be reloaded onto someone’s roof rack, there’s of gear exchanges in one car to an alternative, including a mtb and also a road bike. Then there’s the car park change-room, that begins very discreetly, but soon bras are flying and bare bums take presctiption display as everyone changes their clothes.
Now we gathered to talk about our stories. Individuals were very pleased with their leg and merely as promised, it was an incredibly fun event. It is a real community event and everybody seems to know everyone else at all the transition points. People appear to keep coming back year in year out to sign up again. Our post-race joy was brief as we had to get back traveling i really may get on the 5pm ferry time for Vancouver. It turned out a mad dash to Nanaimo, and i also found out that you can still get a ticket to the ferry even if the sign says “now boarding”.
