Epic. Ridiculously Cool. Totally Unique. Thoroughly Exhausting. All words used to describe the amazingness that was 2010′s Ski To Sea. Flight of the Photons had a BLAST, and we dominated… pshh, like there was any doubt :)
Since the race started on top of Mt. Baker, I wasn’t able to see the start of the race nor any of the first 3 transitions, but the race photographer got lots of quality shots. The race started at 8AM and LJ got the relay goin’ with the XC Ski leg:
4 mile XC ski (36:28); 8th in Division
Kelsi was next with the downhill ski leg:
XC to downhill ski transition
2.5 mile hike/DH ski (33:01); 8th in Division
Thayne cruised down a steep 2,200 ft elevation drop during his 8 mile running leg:
8 mile run (54:57); 5th in Division
Chase took the 4th leg, the 38.5 mile road bike:
38.5 mile road bike (1:54:58); 13th in Division
Then came my leg, the 18 mile canoe section!
At the canoe transition
Ely and I showed that river who’s boss, but holy cow it was tough! I brought my superawesome waterproof one-time-use camera with me, and though we paddled hard core 99.99% of the time, I quickly snapped a few pictures along the way. Haha, Ely’s face cracks me up in this picture…
Passing under bridge 3
After an hour and a half of canoeing my arms were getting SO sore/tired, but we had no idea how far we had left. It started to rain a little and I got kind of cold, but we kept trucking along.
18 mile canoe (2:31:47); 11th in Division
When we finally made it to the canoe/mtn. bike transition, we had to drag the canoe out of the water and through the transition area to hand the timing chip to Erin. My arms and legs felt like jello. LJ had delicious kettle corn waiting for us… mmmm…
Erin took off and despite a tough fall, she powered through her mountain biking leg:
14 mile mtn. bike (1:37:40); 36th in Division
And Rachel brought us home with her kayaking leg:
5 mile kayak (1:40:38); 54th in Division
Our team finished the 90 mile, 7-leg relay race in 9 hours and 49 minutes,
placing 54th/94 for our division and 358th/464 overall.
It was a tough but AWESOME race!
Ski to Sea Team at the finish
It was pretty chilly and drizzling rain by the end, but we were all smiles … Bruises, sore muscles, and all! :)
