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Mild Millies on top of Peak to Valley race

Snow makes for slightly slower times to the bottom
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Fastest Man Marcus Waring recorded the fastest time at another successful Peak to Valley race on Friday. Photo by Justa Jeskova - coastphoto.com.

The Peak to Valley race is hard enough without limited visibility and fresh snow on Friday, and soft course conditions for the Saturday group, but that didn’t stop 400 racers from dropping in at the top of the Saddle and carving 180 giant slalom gates on their way to Creekside. The total distance was more than five kilometres, with a vertical drop of just over 1,440 metres.

Teams were put in age groups based on their combined ages. Each team required one female racer, and they were ranked according to their combined time on the course. Two members of each team would race on each of the two days.

This year the winning team was the Mild Millies, with a combined time of 24 minutes, 38.73 seconds. The Millies were in 175-199 age group, and included Liz Thompson, Tom Prochazka, Steve Fleckenstein, and Kent Wills.

In second, in the same age category, was team Swiss Movement in 25:02.16. The team included Janine Linder Joris, Stanislas Rey, Eric Rey and Roger Joris.

In third were the Crested Beauts in 25:08.51, also winning the 149 and under age category. The Beauts were Jon Johnston, Charlotte Whitney, Joe Hertz and Bill Buchbauer.

In the age categories, there were five teams in the 250 and Up category this year, which is an average age of 62.5 for participants. The winner in this category was Babes with Age in 28:30.76, featuring Grace Oaks, Andrée Janyk, Bob Kerschbaumer and Bob Switzer.

In second was Fifi in 29:18.09, with Owen Owens, Helen Bertrand, Rod McNeil and Peter Finley. Third belonged to Going Slowly Downhill in 36:51.89, with teammates John Rollett, Bridget Duckworth, Albert Vancitters and Jim Quan.

In 225 to 249, the top team was Jules’ Jewels in 26:37.01. Racers were Terry Daly, July Lajoie, Bernhard Kahlert, and Butch White.

Second were the Eastern Flyers in 26:50.64 — Lou Fenniger, Valerie Gillies, Bill Furse, and Lloyd Henderson.

Third were the Fabrictime Cruisers in 26:55.94 — Neil Baker, Joy Fera, Ted Astells, and Chris Vajda.

In 200 to 224, Team Spirit came out on top with a time of 25:14.04. The team included Kary Firstbrook, Geordie Trusler, Philip Beauregard, and John Townsend.

Next up was Team Morgold in 28:28.71 — Peter Dey, Joan Wilson, Paul Venner and John Wadsworth.

In third place was Aging Fast in 29:00.75 — Dave Mackinlay, Christian Piersanti, Darryl Clarke, and Catherine Sloan.

Behind the Mild Millies and Swiss Movement in the 175 to 199 age group was Raven Madness, with a time of 25:13.76 — Denis Ebacher, Ken Chaddock, Wendy Harrison, and Jamie Edwards.

In 150 to 174, the Subprimers were the top team in 25:32.75. The racers were Marcus Waring, Veronica Vackova, Stewart Smith and Paul Rattenbury.

Close behind were the Willies Fischermen in 25:42.89 — Chris Kent, Jordan Williams, Alex Kolier, and Tom Tompson.

In third were Lady and Her Tramps in 26:05.78 — Hilary Hendriks, Michael Peier, Tom Jackson and Roger Zogg.

Behind the Crested Beauts in 149 and Under were Hoopla in 25:38.67, with Spencer Hoopes, Sead Causevic, Tove Pashkowski, and Jeff Hume.

In third were The Super Roosters in 26:04.64 — Eric Rousseau, Sarah Hornes, Shawn Fleming and Peter Smart.

Awards were also given to the top individual racers.

On Friday, the top three men were Marcus Waring in 5:41.56, Sead Causevic in 5:44.73, and Chris Kent in 6:04.17. The top three females were Hilardy Lindh in 6:14.58, Alex Kolier in 6:23.86, and Janine Linder Joris in 6:39.63.

On Saturday the top men were Stanislas Rey in 5:21.73, Dana Williams in 5:24.59, and Philip Beauregard in 5:34.39. The top women were Charlotte Whitney in 5:59.70, Tove Pashkowski in 6:01.22, and Liz Thompson in 6:01.54.

Tickets for the 2009 Peak to Valley race will go on sale in June, and as usual are expected to sell out quickly. For more information visit www.whistlerblackcomb.com.