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Perfect day for a Loppet

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.
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Watch the Poles The 30th annual Whistler Loppet took place this past Sunday under blue skies, a welcome change from the snow of the past two years. This weekend, the Spud Valley Nordics are hosting the 20th annual Pemberton Loppet.

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.