Gear up for Canada's biggest adventure race

• Posted on April 20, 2009 at 4:39 PM
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Sunday saw the 26th running of the Snow to Surf, a multi-sport team relay that starts in the snow at Mount Washington Alpine Resot and ends on the ocean in Comox. To get teams from alpine to ocean nine team members race in eight legs: run up and ski down, cross country ski, two running legs, mountain bike, kayak, road bike and tandem canoe to finish. The fastest teams take about three hours. More than 150 teams sign up every year - that's about 1500 people just racing. The Snow to Surf claims to be the biggest and oldest adventure sport race in Canada. It's a great way to kick in spring and, needless to say, the beer garden at the end is awesome.

I've put a team in the race for several years now, called Strathcona Park Lodge, and we climb closer to the top every year. This year we placed fourth overall and second in our category, masters mens. (I stack the team with old ringers to bump us into the foggies category (at least that's what I tell myself)). We're already trying to figure out how to cut off the 10 minutes that separated us from third place. And of course that means much discussion of gear.

I did the run up, ski down leg, which involves running and hiking about 300 vertical feet up a ski run, clicking into skis and then skiing all the way to the bottom of Mount Washington. I raced up in a pair of Garmont ski boots similar to the Adrenaline line that will be out next year. They're light but stiff enough to control the Elan Magfire 78 Ti skis that I borrowed. These things ripped. If I downhill skied more I'd want a pair of these versatile boards that carved the groom just as well as they ripped the bumps.

I couldn't of gained much speed on my leg - maybe 30 seconds - and only if I trained a lot more. I'll work on it for next year.

Next up was our cross country skier. He had the wrong wax on. I'm told CF-18 was the right one to have for the spring conditions with five centimetres of new snow. Our skier figured he could find two minutes with the right wax. And maybe some top of the line Salomon skate skiing gear would shaved another minute.

Our runners did awesome. It's hard to ask for more from two guys who ran downhill for seven kilometres. I used to do this leg and it's a painful one. Stairs are scary, even just to look at, for at least a week. Best bet for downhill running is a pair of shoes that encourage forefoot landings like Newton's All Weather Trainer. Landing on your toes will keep you from braking too much on the way down which is what really tweaks the hamstrings. And the all weather outer will help fend off the unpredictable weather - it was snowing and three degrees at the start of the first running leg, raining and three at the start of the second.

Watch for another blog with the rest of the gear used in the final four legs of the Snow to Surf.