This past weekend, a group from XC Ottawa, Carleton U, and the NADC travelled to Mt. Tremblant
to participate in the Grand Prix des Couleurs. This is a weeekend event, starting on Saturday
with kids races and continuing on Sunday with a choice of a Mountain bike race, an uphill race
straight up the downhill run or the extreme version which winds through the bush. This is the
event that we participated in.
The race started near the parking lots at the bottom of the town. We ran through town (which is
all uphill) ....but the real race began when we reached the bottom of the downhill run. Very shortly
we took a right into the bush and climbed a very long series of steep stairs, a good way to build
some lactic acid right off the start! At the end of the stairs, the trail became a bit more gradual
(a grind of steep ups mixed with false flats met us here) and after a while, there was even some flat
and tricky downhill parts (not my specialty...). This did not last long though, and was followed by
more of the same. Just when you felt that the top must be nearing, the trees were thinning and you
were running over flat rocks (slippery and on a big angle) you came running into a clearing and look
up.......what did you see?? not the finish line, but another huge peak yet to climb! This part for
me was about 30minutes in...luckily I was warned by the group that went last year! (their story wasn't
as pretty). So, it was back to the grind, ski striding and running what you still could, breathing
super hard on the never-ending hill while your legs slowly start to shut down. Finally, a water station
appeared, but being too tired to drink properly, it didn't do much for the thirst (it was a hot and
humid day). After this came the real challenge...the course just started to climb, forgetting about
any flat sections! A consistent climb through the bush led to a more open hill that was the steepest,
longest section of the course. Just when you thought your legs couldn't take any more, the course turned
again and headed straight up the downhill slope at the very top of the mountain (I knew I was nearing the
end because there was a little boy saying, “5 minutes Papa!! allez!” to the man behind me)....and you were
finally there!
To give you an idea, Karl Saidla won in a time of 39minutes.......a very slow and painful 6km!!!
| Men |
| Place | Name | Location/Club | Time | Diff. | Pace (km/hr) |
| 1 | SAIDLA, Karl | XCOttawa/NADC/CU | 0:39:27.45 | 07.91 |
| 2 | MCCARTHY, Ed | NADC/Nat. Jr/CU | 0:40:56.85 | 0:01:29.40 | 07.62 |
| 3 | MOREL, Sheits | NADC/CU | 0:43:40.80 | 0:04:13.35 | 07.14 |
| 4 | LEVEILLE, Benoit | QC CAN | 0:44:50.40 | 0:05:22.95 | 06.96 |
| 5 | KLASSEN, Dana | NADC/CU | 0:46:02.97 | 0:06:35.52 | 06.78 |
| 6 | SNIDER, Graydon | CU | 0:46:29.63 | 0:07:02.18 | 06.71 |
| 7 | COTE, Cright, Joel | QC CAN | 0:46:49.79 | 0:07:22.34 | 06.66 |
| 8 | MAMEN, Chris | NADC | 0:47:04.36 | 0:07:36.91 | 06.63 |
| 9 | LUSSIER, Patrick | QC CAN | 0:47:08.11 | 0:07:40.66 | 06.62 |
| 10 | CODETTE-HUDON, Felix | QC CAN | 0:49:21.60 | 0:09:54.15 | 06.32 |
| 11 | MARTIN, Christopher | NADC/CU | 0:49:47.28 | 0:10:19.83 | 06.27 |
| 12 | RENNIE, John | NADC/Nakkertok | 0:50:37.04 | 0:11:09.59 | 06.16 |
| 13 | SICOTTE, Vincent | QC CAN | 0:51:09.45 | 0:11:42.00 | 06.10 |
| 14 | LEDUC, Bruno | NADC | 0:51:33.10 | 0:12:05.65 | 06.05 |
| 15 | PROVOST, Alexandre | QC CAN | 0:54:01.13 | 0:14:33.68 | 05.78 |
| Women |
| Place | Name | Location/Club | Time | Diff. | Pace (km/hr) |
| 1 | CARBONNEAU, Claudia | CAN | 0:51:20.19 | 06.08 |
| 2 | MCTAVISH, Megan | XC Ottawa | 0:53:56.76 | 0:02:36.57 | 05.78 |
| 3 | THIBAULT, Nathalie | CAN | 0:56:12.47 | 0:04:52.28 | 05.55 |
| 4 | KERSHAW, Linnaea | NADC / CU | 1:02:17.43 | 0:10:57.24 | 05.01 |
| 5 | RUDOCHYK, Linnea | NADC / CU | 1:04:51.11 | 0:13:30.92 | 04.81 |
| 6 | GHENTER, Ingrid-Maria | CAN | 1:06:33.86 | 0:15:13.67 | 04.69 |
| 7 | NELSON, Louise | CAN | 1:27:54.92 | 0:36:34.73 | 03.55 |
Interesting Reading. . .
"Vauhti Waxes. . . the conditions are always right!"