Despite the massive snowstorm that hit much of southern and eastern Ontario, Thea’s Race was a great success! Dave Mallory, the main tracksetter, worked hard on the race course all weekend. It’s a big job when you receive 51cm of fresh powder in 48 hours! (So that makes 410cm of snowfall so far this year). Looking out my window this morning I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to make it, but turns out that snow will never stop a cross-country skier from making it to a race!
Apparently Thea’s race usually has tricky klister conditions, but not this year! It was definitely a hard wax day with more powder than I knew what to do with. I found myself changing my technique a bit to accommodate the soft conditions. I think the key was to keep your knees and hips high and forward during the herring bone run. Megan and Karl had the smart idea of attaching larger baskets to their ski poles so they wouldn’t sink into the deep snow.
The race was postponed an hour and a half but people’s spirits were still high. The kids had built a jump in the woods and were practicing on it to keep warm. The winds were howling but the heavily treed Nakkertok North area providing the much needed shelter.
Having never been to Nakkertok North, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The trails were excitingly narrow and windy (especially since I didn’t ski the course before the start!). They reminded me a lot of backcountry skiing. Sometimes you had to duck under the branches- it was definitely more interesting than skiing in the Parkway. The older skier’s races consisted of 3km loops.
This race is named after Thea Holloway, a founding member of Nakkertok who made great contributions to the development of women in the sport of cross-country skiing. Thea’s Race is one of the only races which feature two women’s trophies. One trophy was awarded to the fastest 10km female and the other to the fastest 6km female. This year’s 10km winner was XC Ottawa’s Megan McTavish and the 6km winner was Michelle Workun-Hill from Nakkertok.
Danielle and Julie McVicar.
Carleton and Nakkertok skiers.
Carleton's a family team.
Justin's fall caught on film.
Big Air.
Big snow = Big jumps!
50 cm of snow and a trail needs grooming....call Dave Mallory.
and call Marc Mineault.
Sue Holloway on the megaphone
checking the results...
Old school trails at their best!
"Setting the Stage. Setting the Pace.
La mise en scène. Au rythme du client."