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Athletes brave cold for Shuffle

Schieven, Ray each ski 77 kilometres in four hours to claim top spots

With temperatures hovering around minus14 Celsius and a stiff wind blowing across the lake, participants in the fourth annual Lost Lake Shuffle had a little extra incentive to keep moving on Saturday.

The cold kept the numbers down, according to organizers, but more than 50 skiers turned out to the race, making laps of a 3.5 kilometre course.

The big story was Pemberton’s Arlene Schieven, who kept pace with the top men to complete 22 laps of the course, a total of 77 kilometres, in the solo four-hour category. She smiled the whole way, while keeping a pace of more than 20 kilometres per hour.

"I felt good the whole way through," she said. "Last year there were more ups and downs for me, and it was more tiring. When I felt myself dropping off this year, for the last hour I started drinking Coke and that helped out a lot."

Schieven managed the same number of laps this year in heavier clothing as she did last year in considerably warmer and sometimes faster conditions.

"Last year I think I was trying to go too fast. This year I sat back a little and tried to go at a more consistent pace, and I made the same number of laps.

"I really only have one speed and I’m comfortable at that pace."

Schieven will likely do the Whistler Nordics loppet, and is also hoping to do a 50 kilometre skate marathon at the end of the month.

This year the top male solo skier in the four hour category was Whistler chiropractor Keith Ray, who has competed in the team and solo categories in the past. He completed 22 laps of the course, finishing his last lap ahead of the rest of the field.

Ray said he had no idea how many laps he completed or how close his competition was. "I just put my head down, and tried to stay warm," he said.

"It was cold out there today and that wind was ripping across the lake. Every time I thought I had warmed up I’d come through the start line again and that wind, and I’d just freeze all over again. I think I had an inch of ice standing up on my head by the end."

Ray said he intended to go slow and steady, but with freshly tuned skis and a few weeks of good training behind him he got off to a strong start. Once he found himself in the lead about halfway through the first lap, he started to compete.

He built up a good lead over the first three hours, then hit a wall. For a half-hour he struggled, cramping up in his quads and triceps. He made an effort to drink and eat more during those laps, and said he felt better for the last 20 minutes of the race.

Ray was sure that his competitors had closed the gap during that low period, and picked up the pace again for his final laps.

"I never knew where they were, and there’s no way to check so you just have to keep skiing," said Ray.

"The longest day of (cross-country) skiing that I’ve had this year is about two hours, so I wasn’t sure I’d get through this, so it might have helped to have a little pressure on me."

In the women’s solo four-hour category, competitive orienteering specialist Marie-Cat Bruno finished second to Schieven with 20 laps, or 70 kilometres. Anne Gillespie was third with 18 laps.

In the men’s four-hour category, Robin Suopanki was second with 22 laps, and Robin McKinney third with 21.

This year organizers also offered two-hour solo categories, recognizing that it’s a bit early in the season for many athletes to consider a full four-hour race.

"We got a late start this year with the trails, and it just made sense to offer a shorter solo category," said race organizer Chris Waller of the Whistler Cross Country Connection.

In the women’s two-hour, marathon mountain biker Lesley Clements was the top racer with 11 laps. Heather Sherwin and Maribeth Callahan were second and third with 10 laps each.

The men’s two-hour category went to Lars Valoen with 14 laps, followed by Todd Eastman with 13. Mountain bikers Dave Burch and Matt Bodkin kept pace with each other the entire way, and in the end Bodkin crossed the line a second ahead of Burch.

In the teams of three category, the top co-ed team was Foster Foster – Catherine Boniface, Ross Nichol and Jim Bowers – with 20 laps.

Team Haywood Securities – Bernard Leroux, Paul Sabiston and David Lyall – completed 23 laps to win the men’s team event.

In the women’s team category The Cougars – Carolyn Rodger, Gail Morrison and Branda Davison – completed 20 laps. They edged out another team comprised of Annie Kvick, Maria Misederholm and Laurie Broker, which collected 18 laps on the day.

In the family category, the Metza’s (Robbie, Birken and Braden) edged out the Reiths (Ian, Austin and Owen) 14 laps to 9.

Another mention should go to junior racer Bobby Bunbury, who beat his previous record to finish with 15 laps – 52.5 kilometres – over four hours.

Despite the lower turnout, Waller said the race went smoothly.

"From my end we were happy with the turnout in spite of the weather," he said. "In four years these have been the most challenging conditions to work through, with gusting winds and cold temperatures for the valley. Congratulations to everyone who came out and participated, especially the volunteers without whom the event wouldn’t happen."