Suburban Rush Race Report

It was so nice to race in the sun, as the clouds parted and the temperature rose to the mid-teens for this year's version of the Suburban Rush. Jeff, Carey and I caught the ferry over Friday night and enjoyed an amazing sushi dinner with friends Marc Campbell of Helly Hansen and his wife Catherine. Jeff and Catherine teamed up for the ordering and we were treated to a Japanese feast. I'm not sure what I was expecting with the Suburban Rush. I knew it was going to be a relatively short race, and that it was geared to first time adventure racers. I have a fairly good knowledge of Port Moody's local trails after living there for four years, but I wasn't sure which ones the organizers were going to include. The race started frantically as our Helly Hansen mainland counterparts Gary and Todd, arrived at the start lines seconds before the start. Gary and Todd set the pace up a relentless 3km climb to the bike transition. More comfortable on the bikes we caught up to the mainland Helly boys and enjoyed the lead for the first time in the race. The course brought us down the winding singletrack of the Academy trail into Buntzen lake park for a navigation section. To say the least despite a positive attitude and having a great time, we must have been directionally challenged as we emerged from the stage almost 15 minutes behind Gary and Todd with 3 other racers between us. With Jeff setting the pace, we caught the lead solo competitor, but had to settle for 3rd overall on the day. It was a great race, with just under 2hrs and 20 minutes of racing, my legs were fully spent. Lina Augaitis of Steed Cycles and Helly has a strong race and was the first woman to cross the finish line. The day was capped off with a visit to Steed cycles to pick up my new bikes, a Giant XTC Carbon hardtail and a ANTHEM equipped with SRAM/TRUVATIV/ROCKSHOX goodies. I love new toys. Steed Cycles rocks. Congrats to Gary, Todd and Lina for strong performances, and a big thanks to the organizers and volunteers for hosting an amazing event.

MOAB TRAINING CAMP

YETI SEASON FINALE

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!

  

 

Riemer and Mark take 1st and 2nd at Dirty Duo

Teammates duking it out!

Kim and Jason 3rd in Relay

Defending a title blows. If you don’t win it’s considered a failure and everyone seems to be gunning for you. I was trying pretty hard to downplay my anticipation of the 8^th annual Dirty Duo, one of the best North Shore events. Although the Duo offers up a full menu of racing options, 50km run, 25km run, 15km run, 30km mountain bike ride and relay the title event is the solo category, where athletes first run a 25+ km loop of Mt Seymour’s finest trails including Ned’s Atomic Dustbin then transition to the bike to repeat a similar 30km loop. I’m a huge fan of the technical nature of the Seymour trails. Riding Ned’s on a xc bike is an amazing rush and truly extends the bike and the rider to their limit.

Kim Steed of Steed Cycles, had given me a good pre-race talk and said that after looking down the list of participants that I had a good chance. After racing all these years I’ve come to realize that there’s always some unknown athlete a lot faster than you waiting to make their mark. In 2007 uberathlete Wendy Simms put the boots to me, and I was only able to win by seconds as she chased me right down to the finish line. This year I knew that my chances of winning were going to be slim as my training partner and team mate Jeff Riemer was in great shape. For the past two months he had punished me on our weekly training rides. Competition between close friends and teammates is a strange thing. On one hand, you have your own personal desire to succeed, yet on the other side if you’re going to get beat it might as well be by a good buddy.

The race started quickly with Mark Bennett racing in the relay category taking the lead and pushing the pace. Jeff and I settled in with 50km athlete Jen Segger, who set a great pace. The first two and half hours went by quickly. I felt pretty shattered entering the transition, but I was anxious to get on my bike. Jeff was right behind me, incredibly since it was only his 1^st year of running and the first time he’d competed at this distance. I told myself that if I could get to the top of Ned’s before he did that I could win. The entire time I was on the bike I felt like I was being chased by Satan. Every time I felt myself slowing down I stood and hammered on the pedals, I knew Heffay was coming. Near the top of Ned’s I thought I was home free, no sign of any riders until I heard this big whoop, freaking Riemer. I rode Ned’s fast and loose, probably having my best ride ever down the classic trail. I didn’t come out of my pedals once. Praying I wasn’t going to flat I finished the Camp Brick trails cautiously and sprinted for the finish. It wasn’t until that final minute that I realized how much I had wanted to win this race. This little race, that the big time pros ignored was my race for another year. I was stoked crossing the line, my sponsor and friend Kim Steed, who finished 3rd in the relay after a great run was there as well. I was super happy to win wearing the Steed colors. Riemer finished 60 seconds behind me. Jeff had put 35 minutes into the next competitor who had started the bike ride at the same time. With twins expecting in August I know that this might be my last season of competitive racing. As I take Jeff on a tour of all my favorite races I can only hope that he’ll win next year and for years to come, but for 08 I get to be the Dirty Duo champ one more time.

As always we'd like to thank the fantastic volunteers, sponsors and organizers for hosting an amazing event.

Written by JMark

Spring is in the air and....

... smiles are on our faces!   What an amazing weekend of training!  Some pics from our ride today, fueled by delicious homemade banana bread french toast (a.k.a. the breakfast of champions) we had good times, fast legs, fun riding!  

Race Report: YETI #3 Grouse Mountain

Big Jay Latiff  - Hammer Down

K-Mag  

 

 

 

It was another early morning wake-up for Team Helly Hansen as racers Jeff Riemer, Kristenn Magnusson, Justin Mark and Jay Latiff made the dash for the 6:30 am boat to Horseshoe Bay. The team was joined by trainer/coach/photographer Carey Sather 3 time overall women's 10km Yeti Champion now 11 weeks pregnant carrying twins. With team members Stephan Jakobson, Ceri Merritt, Robin Dutton, John Loewen and Bobbie Taylor unable to race Team Helly met up with their last minute addition and potential saviour Andreas Hestler at the base of Grouse. Andreas had joked earlier in the week about skipping the tram ride and hiking to the top. Turned out he was serious. After a bumpy and nauseated trip up the skytram (I freaking hate amusement park rides.) The team crammed into the washroom to gear up for the day's event. Dreams of blue skies and high sunshine were dashed by a cold fog mixed with light snow. Earlier in the season I had promised the team that each course would be progressively easier, I was wrong. The Grouse course, with 15cm of new snowfall and fresh cut powder singletrack, turned out to be a real grind. Colin Dignam and Andrew Clarke led the race out, followed closely by a half dozen other racers, including team HH members Justin Mark and Jeff Riemer. Jason Loutitt who was running very strong made a hard charge on the hills to take the lead halfway through the race. The top 10 stayed relatively close until the summit. Usually in most races the uphills is where the race is decided, however  a 2km straight shot descent to the finish really favoured the strong downhill runners. Justin, Andreas and Jeff finished 7th, 8th and 9th overall respectively, each losing a couple places on the downhill. Jay Latiff finished up in the top 20 with his strongest race to date and Kristenn finished in 4th just off the podium. Despite missing half the team, it looked like Team Helly was going to pull out an overall team victory. No such luck, turns out Andreas had secretly defected to TEAM ATLAS CANADA earlier that morning, succumbing to a lucrative contract offered up by cunning team manager and course designer Dave Howells. Helly's fate was sealed, outmanuevered and undergunned the team failed to qualify for the Team Category with only 4 racers. Seems like I have a lot to learn about being a GM in the cutthroat world of professional snowshoeing. Team Helly Hansen would like to thank the organizers for a fantastic event and all the wonderful volunteers for donating their Saturday. See everyone at the Snowshoe Championships at Cypress.

Written by J. Mark

RACE REPORT: YETI #2 Mt. Seymour

Kristenn's unique stretching routine

Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island

Justin Mark of Team Helly

Justin, Stefan and Jeff at the finish

It was a miserable 5 AM start for Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island as Jeff, Kristenn, John, Justin, Stefan and Ceri boarded the 6:30 AM ferry from Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay.  Halfway across the strait snow started falling, cleary a daunting sign.  The race looked to be very competitive as Team Atlas, and Team Yeti were on display with their new jerseys.  This year's version of the race boasted a new demanding course that consisted of two smaller loops sandwiching a larger loop on the west side of the mountain.  The race started out on a downhill with Stefan setting the pace followed by Andrew, Justin and Gary.  Last year's Yeti Cypress winner Colin Dignam of Team Atlas made a strong move halfway through the first loop to move to the front of pack.  The course was excellent, different from Mt. Washington in that much of the race was run on established singletrack snowshoe trails. To make things more challenging, course designer Dave Howells threw in some freshly tracked powder sections.  After completing the grueling second loop many of the athletes thought the race over, only to be led out for the last 3km loop.  It was definitely a tough race. In the end to no one's surprise the race was won by Helly Hansen's Stefan Jacobson, followed by Colin Dignam and Andrew Clarke.  Helly's Justin Mark and Jeff Riemer rounded out the top 10. John Loewen finished strong with a smile on his face and admitted that snowshoeing is a far departure from conventional running.  On the womens side of things the race was won by Cheryl Beatty who beat most of the mens field.  Ceri and Kristenn both finished in the top 10.  For the team awards Team Helly had to settle for 2nd, losing to North Shore Athletics by 20 seconds. In the overall series results this puts the two teams dead even, as a miscalculation in the Mt. Washington results accidentally awarded 1st place to North Shore Athletics when in reality Team Helly Hansen had won by 20 seconds.  This sets up a great battle at Grouse Mountain. Can't wait. Team Helly Hansen Vancouver Island would like to thank the organizers and volunteers for hosting another excellent event.

 Check out the video of the start!