After a fantastic long run in the sun yesterday, I decided to take a day off. I wanted to go see a cross country ski race at the Canmore Nordic Centre. There was a World Cup event taking place in Canmore this week: the best skiiers in the world had gathered to race and I wanted to catch the action and excitement! If you ever want to get inspired, just go see athletes of that caliber in action. It was so AWESOME!
These athletes are beautiful to look at: big shouders, strong butts and huge quads. And three lungs.....yeah....they have 3 lungs! I swear! They would make great ultramarathoners....
So yesterday, I got to catch the sprint races and the speed that they were going just blew me away. It is an elimination race, just like with track and field heats and finals. Fast and exciting! The fastest two from each heat get to go to the semi finals and then the finals. Power and grace and speed all in one package. Despite Canada being a winter nation....we are not exactly known as a cross country ski power house! But the past few years, we have had a few success stories and there is definately some momentum building in the ski community.
Who is Chandra Crawford? Chandra is a local girl who came from nowhere and WON a gold medal at the Torino Olympics. She was a 4 yr. old when the Olympics rolled through Canmore back in 1988....growing up in a house on the trail system not far from the nordic centre. And yesterday, she bust it out AGAIN and won her first World Cup Race in her home town, on her home course in Canmore. See the CBC story....it is a very cool story. I cried my eyes out (discreetly and under my sunglasses - I am Canadian after all!) and was jumping up and down and screaming my lungs out when she crossed the finish line. Chandra Crawford rocks!
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