Snow to Surf Relay

Earlier this year a friend said, "Come spend the weekend with me and a bunch of cool girls at Mt. Washington in May. Oh and on the Sunday we'll do the Snow to Surf Relay, and you can be our roadie". Of course she had me on "weekend with a bunch of cool girls"; besides, May seemed like a long way off.

This year is the 29thrunning of the Snow to Surf Adventure Relay in the beautiful Comox Valley area. The race starts on Mt. Washington with a downhill ski leg and ends in the Comox harbour a few hours later. Our team was the Frontrunners Foxxy being partially sponsored by Frontrunners, a sports store in Nanaimo. Frontrunners Foxxy has a strict no training policy, which led me to believe that we were a bunch of casual weekend warriors.

By late Saturday afternoon we connected with our other team mates in the lodge at Mt. Washington. The snow level was unbelievable for this late in the season. We trekked through the snow to the cabin we were staying in and had to dig out the stairs to reach the door. Inside the cabin the patio door was completely snowed in and looked like an ice cave. We spent the evening bonding as the veterans regaled tales from past races. This was when I heard the horror stories of team members past and present having stellar athletic pasts. "Oh my", I thought to myself, "won't they be surprised by their new team member tomorrow?"

The next morning we were up early (early for me anyway) to support our downhill skier. The skiers take the chair lift up, leave their skis at the top of the mountain and then walk down to the start line. At the sound of the gun they have a short, steep run back up to their skis. There's a stern warning posted to please ensure that you put on your own skis at the top of the run.

At the bottom of the ski run, the downhill skier passes the wrist-band to the Nordic skier. The skier hands off to a road runner. Usually the road runner hands off to a trail runner, but on account of the extraordinarily high snow level, this year there were two road running legs instead. One of our runners pointed out "Well, I'll definitely be using both my running legs". A mountain bike leg takes the race down to Comox Lake where a kayaker zig-zags across the lake to meet the road bikers. We, the roadies, ride a distance of just under 30km and hand off to the final leg, a 2-man canoe leg.

There's an awful lot of waiting around in the process. Fortunately for me, my transition spot was on a sunny beach at Comox Lake. Even with such a tranquil spot the nerves started to bundle up as the kayakers started to arrive. As the number of cyclists on the beach dwindled my nerves tangled more and more not knowing when to expect my team mate coming across the lake. At last they called my team number and I wheeled my bike out to my start area. When I took the wrist band from my team mate, the nerves disappeared and I was off. Odd that I always forget just how much I love riding my bike.

I'd never raced before. I'd never ridden a short distance in an event before. I wasn't sure how to pace myself for a 30km leg. My best guess was that it should take me about 1:10 - that's the same length as a spin class. That's what I worked with to decide how hard to push. It was a great ride - mostly flat with a few rolling hills. As I came through town and took one more turn towards the water, a young boy was signalling for me to slow down as I entered the transition area. Already? I saw my team mate right away, passed the wrist band to her and looked at my time 57:25.

The logistics behind the transitions are a nightmare, which only the well seasoned team leaders can configure. Car 1, driven by Kayaker, transports Runner 1, Runner 2 and Mountain Biker. Car 2 dropped me off at the start of my road bike leg and then proceeded to the start of the canoe leg. Car 3 was driven by Nordic Skier to the beginning of her leg, where Downhill Skier picked it up after her leg. Downhill Skier retrieves the key from the secret hiding spot and then heads down the course picking Nordic Skier and both runners after they raced. Car 3 then proceeds to a coffee shop along my leg of the race to cheer me on as I pass by. Once I've passed by to raucous cheers and hollering, and their coffee cups are refilled they head to the beginning of the canoe leg. This is where they pick me up and Cars 2 and 3 proceed to the end of the race. Mountain Biker retrieves key from secret spot after handing off to Kayaker and then waits for Kayaker who completes her leg and then paddles back across the lake. Car 1 transporting Mountain Biker and Kayaker proceed to the end of the race. Get it? Don't feel bad - neither did I, but they were there to pick me up just as promised.

At the end of the course, at Comox Harbor there are more raucous cheers and hollering as Canoeists arrive. This is followed by more logistical issues as the canoe has to be reloaded onto someone's roof rack, there's of gear exchanges from one car to another, including a mountain bike and a road bike. Then there's the parking lot change-room, that starts out very discreetly, but soon bras are flying and bare bums are on display as everyone changes their clothes.

At last we gathered to share our stories. Everyone was happy with their leg and just as promised, it was a really fun event. It's a real community event and everyone seems to know everyone else at all the transition points. People seem to come back year after year to participate again. Our post-race joy was short lived as we had to get back on the road so I could get on the 5pm ferry back to Vancouver. It was a bit of a mad dash back to Nanaimo, and I learned that you can still buy a ticket for the ferry even when the sign says "now boarding".