So I decided to drive down to Bend in a quick turn-and-burn (leaving at 3am) to participate in the Vertfest race. Crazy, I know, but, actually, I had a great time. I got down there with an hour to spare, and got to see the Mt. Bachelor ski area for the first time.
The race went pretty good. I didn't have time to look at the course at all, and this would prove to cost me the race. Normally, I am not the fastest guy at a race, so I don't have to worry too much about getting lost. Well, this time when the gun went off, I sprinted the first 200 feet or so and only had one guy in race garb fairly close. By the time I got to the first transition I had probably a good 15 second head start on the second place guy. So, on the first descent, I was skiing along, and skiing along, and then I started to wonder if I had missed the transition. I slowed to look for markers and the second place guy went whizzing by, dang it! I quickly gathered myself and sped to the transition, arriving 30 seconds or so behind. With a fast transition and some quick skinning, I regained the lead and led the second ascent. On the next up-to-down transition, I had a bad transition, and Jason (the other race dude) had a good transition, so I fell behind a good bit. The last uphill I managed to get close to Jason, but I just didn't quite reach him for the next to last transition. Again, a bad transition for me and a good transition for Jason equaled a second place finish for me. A win would have been nice, but, that is also what I really like about Skimo racing, always looking for ways to improve and become more efficient. I walked away with a nice pair of skis for my efforts, and raced home to make it to bed by 9:30.
photo: Tapper Photography
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