Eric's gear
Kathy's gear, Feet: 3 pairs of socks and toe warmers and Sorrel's, Legs: long underwear, flannel lined jeans and quilted coveralls, Chest and Back: long underwear shirt, turtle neck shirt, sweatshirt, Nordic sweater and bibs. Hands: fingerless gloves that go up to my elbow, (keeps the wrists from being exposed) and mittens Head: two hats and one scarf... I had other gear but did not need to use them!
getting ready....
left the house by 6:00, dropped Eric off at the bus stop (they don't allow anyone to drive to the starting point).
He was in the 7th wave that left at 9:30....
I went for breakfast in Hayward then to the finish line to see the winners come in... it took them about 2:12 to go the 51K... The Italian won (again) with the French right on his tail!
As usual a few characters waiting for the racers
this pic is a bit blurry but he has birch bark leggings on!
Time to go to the half way point at OO in Seeley to wait for Eric to come across...
He made it there by 1:00! I got there at 11:30, my toes were frozen by the time he got there, yes I did have toe warmers and 3 pairs of socks but when standing in one spot for 1.5 hours nothing will keep them warm...
Cousin Jim and Rose were there to greet him and so were friends Kevin and Nancy Glynn! He was so happy to see everyone! really appreciated the support
they did have fires and a glove warmer? at the feeding spots. Half way done, will he make the cut off so he can finish the race? there are a lot of hills but the really bad ones are behind him.
After a lunch with the group at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley, I headed back to the finish line to watch everyone come across the line..
the prince, his mom etc made it across...
to be chosen to be the prince's parents they have to write an essay explaining why they would make good protectors. This years mom is actually a decedent of the prince! They do not do the entire race but 13K.. (more than I can do).
Eric arrived at the finish line at about 5:00... 7.5 hours of grueling skiing! so proud he made it to the end!
It was a great day made even better by the support of family and friends. don't know if Eric will do it again next year but if he does I will need to ask Steve G. to be the main supporter as I will not be back here next February!
Awesome blog.. Way to go Eric!!
ReplyDeleteit was really great seeing him finish the race. Lots of people don't finish the race, it is quite an accomplishment!
DeleteIt was a great race. Nice to see someone we know finish. Way to go, Eric!
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun day, so glad you guys were able to see him and he really appreciated the support.
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