THUNDER BAY – Sports – The 16th Annual 24 Hour Relay, in support of the Lappe Nordic Ski Club and the National Development Centre wrapped up Sunday morning at 11am. This year’s event included the traditional 24 hour event, as well as new 6 and 12 hour events as well. Twenty-eight teams took to the trails starting Saturday at 11 am with many goals in mind. Participants skied on teams, in pairs, and even alone. This year’s events brought many skiers from out of town, including St.Paul, MN and Winnipeg, MB.
Lappe Nordic Ski Club Thrilled
Event organizers were thrilled to have enough snow for the event as in the past it has been cancelled due to lack of snow.
This year, there was enough snow for the event, and to make things more difficult for skiers snow continued to fall well into the evening.
That didn’t stop skiers from putting in lots of kilometers. Werner Schwar took the 24 solo title once again with a total of 285.15, he was followed by Tim Wintoniw of Winnipeg skiing 243.43 km, and Scott Hill skied 224.38 km for third place. There was a total of 7 men skiing solo for 24 hours. Veteran 24 hour skier, Kelly Henry took the Women’s 24 hour solo event with 250km. Pauliin Kietivainen, LU student from Finland, showed her strength finishing second after skiing 222km. Chris Hecker and Kayla Billet of Minneapolis won the pairs category for the 24 Hour event, and the NDC Guys of the Thunder Bay won the open team event. Special mention to Moose Nordic skiers from St Paul, MN, who put up a close fight for the overall team title, but did win the 4-person team event!
The “NDC Ladies”, Erin Tribe and Alannah McLean, set a new 6 Hr record for the event with 89 km. The leading 12 Hour team was the “Might Martels”; an impressive family of four featuring Cedric Martel, Daphne Martel, Patrick Martel and Stephanie Marler who skied 126.96 km. The 12 Hour solo male to ski the farthest was Kurt Halverson, on Minnesota.
It was a great event with skiers of all ages and abilities taking part. From new skiers like Larry Bilyk who challenged himself in the 24 hour event, to the youngest Jackrabbit and Midget teams who stayed all 24 hrs sleeping in the chalet to the NDC athletes and seasoned veterans like Werner Schwar, it was a fantastic event for all. Although no event records were broken due to the falling snow, particpants were smiling at the end of the 24 hours and the sun was shining.
For full results please see www.lappenordic.ca.
Katherine Hall
Lappe Nordic Ski Club