GUNNAR HAGEN RACE REPORT 2007

by Debbie Kolp

Western Washington has been hit with some interesting weather in the last month, from record rains to record winds to record snow to record cold, so we didn't have any idea what to expect for this year's Gunnar Hagen race day. Amazingly enough, it turned out to be an Extra Special Blue day, with temperatures in the teens (in the teens!), bright blue skies, no wind, and crisp firm tracks that held up all day. Nobody born since World War II has seen a GH day like this, although Dave Newton says we had similar conditions in 1936.

We had a total of 131 finishers in the 10k and 30k races, including a number of day-of-race registrants who woke up, checked the conditions, and decided it looked like a great day for a little ski. Sixty men tackled the 30k. Team XC Oregon sent their two toughest young studs, Levi Hensel (who won last year's GH) and Hans Hansen, but they were handed a whuppin' by Martin "the Swedish Stallion" Rosvall. Martin skied like a hot knife through butter, according to one spectator, to finish in 1:20:23. Levi came in second, in 1:29:37, and Hans was third in 1:30:22. Hot on their heels, Vesa Suomalainen and Brad Bauer finished within four seconds of Hans. (Psst ä Martin's top secret pre-race training strategy? The day before the race he shoveled a mountain of snow off the ramp to the snowmobile shed.)

Only five hardy women braved the cold to finish the 30k, and each one was a winner in her own age group. Leah Kiviat took advantage of her only weekend this winter not on call at the hospital to win in 2:06:35. Joy Blakeslee came in second, in 2:12:33, and Carey Gazis was third in 2:20:05.

We had 66 contenders in the 10k. Cashmere's Steven Ettinger won the men's race in 32:22, followed by Oliver Wood in 35:06 and Max Christian in 36:02. Kirsten Clarke held off Sarah Hardee to win the women's 10k in 36:54, with Sarah only 24 seconds behind. Jane Marshall was in third, in 38:26. Full results are posted on our website.

Race Director Jeff Hashimoto put his high school teacher/cross country coach skills to work to create a finely tuned race machine that allowed him the luxury of jumping in the race himself. He was ably assisted by Chief of Course Joe McNulty, Race Secretary Val Karas and Volunteer Coordinator Elizabeth Bailey. Many other race volunteers helped to keep the machine running smoothly, including Aase and Kaare Gjolmesli and Berit Lund, doing their usual bang-up job in the kitchen keeping all racers well-fed and happy, and Angie Grieg and Keith Ritland, handling timing duties smoothly and effortlessly. Glen Tomchik, Anna Louise Waerness and Marlys Svensson managed the parking lot, and Leslie Duffy, Dale Bohm , Susie Main and Shirley Newton manned the registration desk. Many thanks to all of our volunteers, especially those I have forgotten to name here, who do such a great (and mostly invisible) job of putting on a race!

Thanks also to Jon Fewster, who coordinated with our wonderful sponsors, Marmot Mountain Works, purveyors of fine outdoor wear and equipment and sponsors of the great-looking hat in every racerπs bag, and Nuun, the yummy new electrolyte-replacement drink offered out on the course. In addition, Essential Baking Company donated the delicious breads for the post-race chili feed. Many other generous sponsors donated draw prizes, including Suunto, Nordic Ultratune, Nordic Saga Tours, Winthrop Mountain Sports, Atomic, Toko, Second Ascent, and Einar Svensson. Thank you, sponsors! And thank you also to Ruben, the world's greatest groomer, who set those perfect, knife-sharp tracks along the course.

All in all, it was an excellent day of racing, with skiers'-heaven conditions, lots of food and prizes at the finish, and no injuries, outside of some minor bumps and falls. Jeff Hashimoto is the Race Director for our next race, the 15k and 5k free-style Stampede, on Sunday, February 18, and he promises conditions just as perfect ≠ see you here next month!