I'm kind of sad. Sad that the Yeti snowshoe race series is over for another year!
Last fall I was super curious when Justin & Carey started talking up the Yeti's. I love running and I love the snow, so was this going to be awesome or what? Then I tried running my first snowshoe training sessions and races.... and quickly learned that, in many ways, it was nothing like running, it was way (holy cow WAY) harder! However, once I got that little difference figured out the Yeti's started to grow on me and now here I am preparing a blog report for the last race in the series, and feeling a bit sad that it's over!
The series went out with a bang at the Cypress Event, with the Yeti series final and the Canadian National Snowshoe Championships combined, it was another stellar event from start to finish. The course was fabulous and I heard many veteran racers refer to it as a favorite. The conditions were a bit sloppy in the open sections, kinda felt like you were running in a giant slurpee, but when your doing it with 175 other people and Dave Norona's emcee'ing is cheering you on somehow you still get through! Luckily the slurpee sections were few, and the shaded single track was in great running shape, which allowed speedy performances to dominate the day.
Our fearless leader Justin lead the team (and most of the field!) into the finish line, placing 3rd in the open men's category and wowing us all. Jeff who's usually hot on Justin's heals was instead hot with flashes of his week-long-fever-hell, and had to throttle-back on the intensity and focus on finishing. Throttling-it-up was 'Big Jay' Latiff; he had his best Yeti finish so far this season in an awesome performance and laid down a very impressive finishing sprint (see photo documentation below). I had a great run, loved the rolling single track and managed to hold off a few girls hot on my heals to hold 4th place in the open women's category. Also running with us at Cypress were Trevor Davis and Norm Barmeier, who, in their third time on snowshoes, also had super strong runs and huge smiles at the finish!.... how does the Yeti do that to people?.... hammer them to the ground, max out their heart rates, put them nearly into respiratory distress... and yet still have them smiling at the finish line?! It's awesome.
The smiles carry on through to Taylor's Crossing Pub where the awards have been held after each of the last three Yeti races. An awesome venue with great service and free Sleeman's Beer for the racers, not to mention quality food deals! The sponsors showered us with door prizes and awards, and allow us the backdrop to forge new friendships and foster old ones. Good times thanks to the Yeti experience!
A huge thank-you to all the sponsors for supporting an outstanding race series. An extra special HUGE thank-you to Helly Hansen for keeping us warm in some exceptional gear and for continuing to sponsor the Yeti Snowshoe Race Series! We're looking forward to next year already!
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