The annual Whistler Loppet
has taken place in some interesting conditions recently, with new snow the past
two years, and frigid weather the year before that.
This year’s race, the 30
th
annual, was perfect, hovering around zero degrees Celsius at the start and
warming up slightly as the day went on. The races also got underway in the
sunshine, which was a welcome sight for those athletes that took a few seconds
to look up from the fast track.
The senior athletes raced a
28.7 km course, the recreational racers went 17.9 km, and junior racers went
anywhere from 2.8 km to 6.7 km around the Nicklaus North golf course.
In the senior women’s race,
Whistler’s Joanna Harrington took the gold medal with a time of 1:25:56, just
over four seconds ahead of Minttu Repo of the Whistler Nordics. Maria Lundgren,
an instructor for the Whistler Nordics youth programs, was third in 1:26:51.
Tom McCarthy won the senior
men’s race in a time of 1:14:14, almost a minute and a half faster than Guillem
Sancho. Revelstoke’s Andrew Russell was third.
In Master Women 31-40
Katarina Smith placed first in 1:32:40, followed by Jill Calkin in 1:36:25 and
Stacey Bodnaruk in 1:37:02.
In Master Men 31-40, Silver
Star’s Glenn Bond set the winning pace to finish in 1:14:20, followed by James
Shaw, a previous winner of the event, in 1:15:41. Whistler’s Duncan Munro was
third in 1:23:26.
For Master Women 41-50,
Barbara Turner posted the fastest female time of the day, coming in at 1:24:44.
Catherine Hunchak was second in 1:28:39, and Laurie McKinney third in 1:43:40.
For Master Men 41-50, Claude
Prica of the Squamish Nordics set the pace to beat, finishing first out of 24
racers in 1:15:41. Ron Carmichael was second in 1:16:33, followed by Paul Sim
in 1:19:34. Keith Ray was the top Whistler racer in 1:21:02.
Pippa Wall raced alone in
Master Women 51-60, finishing in 1:54:20, while Alena Branda raced alone in the
61-Plus race and finished in 2:00:32.
For Master Men 51-60, Olav
Stana placed first in 1:15:39, followed by William Letham in 1:22:22, and Mike
Fitzmaurice in 1:22:55. In 60-Plus, Colin Gray was first in 1:39:21, followed
by Ernst Wallgram in 1:47:47, and Hakan Lillquist in 1:52:05.
In the Women’s Recreation
category, Michele Marsh of the Whistler Nordics was first on the 17.9 km course
in 54:32, followed by Dawn Hunter in 1:00:56, and Sabine Lassen in 1:05:42.
Boyd McTavish won the
recreational men’s race in 55:13, followed by Craig Mackenzie in 56:10 and
Crosland Doak in 58:40.
For Junior Boys, George
Urosevic of Hollyburn beat teammate Paul Sales with a time of 51:31.
For Juvenile Boys, Nick
Geddes finished the 10.3 km course in 31:23.
James Hstvedt was the lone
sitskier in the race, finishing a 4.8 km loop in 32:10.
In Mini Midget Girls,
Jennifer McTavish won the 6.7 km race in 32:26, followed by Sarah bowers in
34:18, and Lauren Doak in 35:45. All are members of the Whistler Nordics.
In Mini Midget Boys, Braden
Metza was first in 28:28, Alex Gershon second in 30:25, and Conrad Murdoch
third in 32:26.
For Midget Girls, Tachona
Jones of the Spud Valley Nordics was first in 27:16, followed by Nicki Murdoch
and Erin Davidson of the Whistler Nordics in 27:38 and 32:27 respectively.
In Pee Wee Girls, Whistler’s
Gabrielle Smith finished the 4.8 km race in 17:37, followed by Sarah Semkow in
22:42, and Amhani Jones of Pemberton in 23:06.
In Pee Wee Boys, Cam
Fitzmaurice was first for the Whistler Nordics in 17:29, ahead of teammates
Owen Reith in 24:33 and Keanan Widmaier in 33:09.
In Atom Girls, racing 2.8 km,
Benita Peiffer of the Whistler Nordics was first in 22:47, followed by Lauren
Semkow in 26:02.
In Atom Boys, Michael Murdoch
was first in 12:11, Sam Johnston second in 14:04, and Ian Davidson third in
14:54. All raced for the Whistler Nordics.
The racing isn’t quite over
yet, with the fourth race in as many weeks taking place this Sunday, Mar. 2 in
Pemberton. The 30
th
annual Spud Valley Loppet is a 12 km classic
race, taking place on trails about 20 km north of Pemberton on the Pemberton
Meadow Road.
Entry fees range from $10 to
$15, and a family rate of $40 is available. All registration is on-site between
9 a.m. and 9:50 a.m., and the race gets underway at 10 a.m. sharp.
Registration includes
refreshments and draw prizes, with the awards presented at the Coast Mountain
Outdoor School.
If you’ve never been to the
area, the site will be marked along the Pemberton Meadows Road, near the
Lillooet River Bridge.
To volunteer, or for more
information, contact Delores Los at 604-894-6182.