Eastern Canadian XC Ski Championships

This weekend I competed in the Eastern Canadian Cross Country Ski Championships. The event is one of the biggest and most competitive cross country ski events in the country, and is hosted on the challenging and impeccably groomed trails of Nakkertok Nordic.

With about 750 athletes racing from clubs all over Canada, the massive volunteer efforts of the Ottawa-Gatineau ski community succeeded once again in delivering an incredible event.

Great venue, volunteers, and grooming (look at those tracks!) — Great venue, volunteers, and grooming . . . just look at those tracks! (Photo by Bernard Pigeon)

Here’s a quick recap of my weekend of racing. . .

Skate Sprints – Friday. The sprint course was a challenging 1.4 km, and plenty of fresh snow made conditions quite slow. I had a decent qualifying round, and finished 3rd in my quarter final (and 14th open woman), but didn’t make it though to the semi’s. This gave me extra rest for Saturday’s races, and time to cheer on my XC Ottawa teammates Kyla and Logan who raced really well, making it through to the B Finals for Open and Junior women.

The start of my sprint qualifier. Photo by Bernard Pigeon. — The start of my sprint qualifier (Photo by Bernard Pigeon).

Sprint quarterfinals - lots of deep snow! Photo by Rob Smith. — Sprint quarterfinals – lots of deep snow! (Photo by Rob Smith).

Saturday – Individual Start 10km Skate. Another very cold day, but sunny, and quite beautiful. The cold meant a later start, and leaving at 15-second intervals instead of the typical 30 seconds. I had a strong race, finishing up 8th woman overall.

Leaving at 15-second intervals means a tighter field, and some pretty fun racing! — Leaving at 15-second intervals means a tighter field, and some exciting racing! (Photo by Bernard Pigeon)

Easterns10k_Sheila_BPigeon (640x443) — Holding on to Marie Corriveau, who was the top Junior for the day. She left 15 seconds ahead of me and we had some fun back and forth racing. (Photo by Bernard Pigeon)

Sunday – 10k Classic Mass Start. Cold again, which meant shorter race distances for all (we were supposed to race 15km). The combination of the shorter distance and speed of national team member Emily Nishikawa made for a super fast start that I could hardly hang onto (well, I didn’t for long!). It was a decent race, and I finished up 10th, right behind my XC Ottawa teammate Megan and Ingrid (who had an amazing race!).

Mass Start of the Women's Field (Photo Bernard Pigeon) — Mass Start of the Women’s Field (Photo by Bernard Pigeon)

The best part of the race - getting to ski with my teammate Megan (and see Ingrid skiing so strong up ahead)! (Photo Bernard Pigeon) — The best part of the race – getting to ski with my teammate Megan, and seeing Ingrid racing so strong up ahead! (Photo Bernard Pigeon)

Racing is fun! Post-race pictures from some of the Nakkertok athletes I coach . . .

Juvenile Girls pose with Klister. (Photo by Diane Galus)

Junior girls had a fun 3-days of racing on their home course. (Photo by Diane Galus) — Junior girls had a fun 3 days of racing on their home course. (Photo by Diane Galus)

Weekend Inspiration:

Most of the athletes I coach at Nakkertok were racing as well. It was pretty inspiring to see their ongoing dedication at practices translate into some strong race efforts!
The volunteers, Nakkertok grooming team, coaches, and wax teams. Many of these people were out all weekend, in pretty cold temperatures. I didn’t hear one complaint all weekend . . .
Seeing Jen Jackson racing so well just 6 weeks after breaking her leg

Many thanks to Craig Storey and Claude Marchand, who did an amazing job figuring out the fastest Vauhti waxes for the day, and supporting my XC Ottawa team.

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