Gatineau Loppet Recap
The Gatineau Loppet is the the biggest International cross-country ski event in Canada, and we're lucky to have such a popular ski competition close to uOttawa. After a hectic but really fun Friday afternoon at the Gatineau Loppet introducing almost 250 kids to cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and running (more about that here), several uOttawa Nordiq athletes put on race bibs for some of the weekend events.
Still standing after getting all those schoolkids as excited about winter fun as we are!
Saturday events were classic style. Paul raced the 51 km event, a spectacular point-to-point race across the beautiful trails and stunning scenery of the Gatineau Park. Caleb and Nathan raced the 27km classic race, and Tegan raced in the 15km event. The tracks were in great shape, the wax was good, and the race experience was fun (and fast!): Paul was 5th in the men 20-24 age group for the 51km classic; in the 27 km men's field of 185, Caleb was 12th overall and Nathan fast (but no official result?), and Tegan (who was racing for the first time this year) was 8th woman/170 in the 15 km classic.
Sunday, Chris and coaches Sheila & John raced the 51 km point-to-point freestyle event (also serving as the Canadian Long Distance Loppet championships). Conditions were fast, and Sheila finished 6th among the women and Chris was 29th among the men. John had an adventurous day with a broken pole and a stop to help a competitor who had run into a tree on trail 36, but managed to have a great race as well.
Paul had enough energy after this 51 km classic race on Saturday to compete in the 10km snowshoe race (a Canadian Championship event) and placed 15th male (2nd in Age Category). Evan raced in the 10km skate event in the afternoon and finished 4th overall.
All in all it was a terrific event and we were happy kick it off on Friday by introducing schoolkids to skiing and snowshoeing - maybe some of these kids will take part in some events next year! We were well represented across the events, and highly recommend participating!
A beauty of the loppet is that it is so inclusive - some of the fastest skiers in the country toe the line with young skiers, people doing their one race of the year, masters skiers, and even skiers over 80. For some competitors it is serious competition, and for others the goal may be simply finishing the event, or just having the opportunity to traverse a distance on skis with others. Having these different competitors on the same race course is special, and they all share a passion for the outdoors and skiing.
The Gatineau Loppet weekend, which includes 10 events, takes an army of enthusiastic volunteers and a dedicated and passionate organizing committee - a big shout-out to all of them for making the event happen!
More uOttawa Nordiq News here
Find uOttawa Nordiq On Social Media
