Events which Walter has Participated

2002

May 26, 2002 Ski-to-Sea Race

A contributing factor was the lousy motel I was staying at called the Bellingham Inn. I had the following experiences with this establishment:

• They didn't have a record of my reservation - but that's no biggie since they had rooms available anyways.
• Located right by some night clubs - which I learned are popular with the instant asshole crowd - just add alcohol. Lots of shouting and motors racing, horns blaring and general rowdyism. Some folk were enjoying the long weekend a little too much. I got very little sleep both nights that I spent at this place. I got to sleep around 3:00 AM and woke up around 5:30 AM on the day of the race - not too restful.
• I had some people try to reach me and be told I had not checked in when I had. As well people left messages but I never received anything.
• I got a parking ticket on the second night even though I was parked in the motel parking lot. I just wrote on the ticket that it was bogus as I had paid for 2 stinking nights and handed in the ticket with the room key in their drop off slot when I left early sunday morning.

April 21, 2002 Vancouver Sun Run 10K run

Jan 12, 2002 Overlander Loppet

The word loppet is Norwegian for "long journey". I took part in a 17 km free technique Cross Country ski race at Stake Lake which is by Kamloops. I was in the recreational category and finished in a time of 1:44:04. If you are a real jock then to do the full pull would be a 34 km distance.

The weather was good - mainly cloudy with some sun peeking out for part of the race. We had been worried that there might not be enough snow since it recently was warm and rainy which washed away the snow that had been on the ground at Kamloops. But things turned out well with the roads clear and the trails covered with the white stuff up at Stake Lake. I took part in this event with my friends Joe and Ann and we stayed at Joe's aunt's place by Kamloops. It was the first time I had ever been inside a log home and I found it to be very cozy.

2001

July 28, 2001 Summerfast 10K race

A run around Stanley Park with an extra little loop to make it exactly 10K in distance. My best time ever of 57.13. I managed to keep a steady pace for the whole race and only slowed down a bit at two water stations. The weather was a bit blustery but it was fun to run in the spectacular scenery along the sea wall. The fireworks were on for that night and you could see the fireworks barge in English bay being setup.

July 1, 2001 Canada day Post-to-Post 10K race

First time I broke the 60 minute barrier with a time of 59:54. Twas good - a great sunny day with a military band playing the national anthem before the race and two other bands along the course. The race course was around the False Creek area of Vancouver and the City traffic police had blocked off a lane on some of the roads so we didn't have to wait for any traffic lights or run in traffic. I was dying towards the end as it was uphill but saw the time clock saying 59.xx so I sprinted the final bit to break the 60 minute barrier.

Post race I won a random draw prize of a free dinner and there was various munchies including slices of Canada's largest birthday cake. A very fun race event.

May 27, 2001 Ski-to-Sea race

Spectator at the Ski-to-Sea race that takes place during the US memorial holiday long weekend. A good excuse for various friends from far away to gather together of team Japan/Thailand vs. team San Diego. This time the weather was bright and sunny.

April 22, 2001 Vancouver Sun 10 K race

This time I ran in the "Fast" Category and completed it in 1:08:05. It only took about 4 minutes to get to the start line this time. I ran with a new pair of running shorts and had my keys in its single pocket in the back but they created a hole in my pocket and fell out so I ran most of the race with the keys in my hand.

2000

November 12 2000 AARC 10K run

A 10K run (more or less, I don't think the distance is measured 100% accurately) held by AARC out in Maple Ridge at the UBC Research Forest. I found the course to be pretty tough with more hills than I like. I completed it in a time of 68:34. The winner did it in 34:37 which is a new track record. Oh well, at least I finished. It was mostly trails in the woods with a few streches involving gravel roads. It was a very crisp, fall morning with frost on the ground and you could see your breath in the air. I startled a deer on the trail which was a neat experience.

May 28, 2000 Spectator at the Ski-to-Sea race

This is a relay race involving 7 different sports (cross country/downhill skiing, running, road/mountain bike, canoeing and kayaking) which goes from the ski area at Mt. Baker to Fairhaven in Bellingham Bay that takes place on the US Memorial day long weekend. I arrived Saturday and went to a pre-race team meeting for one of my friend's teams. A former roommate who now lives in San Diego was taking part and his wife spent time in Bellingham and went to Grad school there so they have lots of friends there. As a result by transitivity so do I. The Innies and Outies is their team name. Not bad but my favourite team name is We eat tinfoil. There was a TV crew from the local cable company interviewing each of the racers individually during the pot-luck pre-race dinner.

Saturday night I spent at a friend's fabulous cabin by a town called Glacier which is just outside Mt. Baker Park. Sunday morning we dragged ourselves up Mt. Baker and kept on hoping the weather would get better but instead it just rained more and more steadily the closer we got to the start area.

I watched the cross-country leg and cheered my friends on and took some pictures. Right after each leg of the race each person on the team was interviewed on TV. My contribution was to stand behind the cameraman and make funny faces at the person getting interviewed who had just completed the cross country ski race.

We skiied around a bit on Mt. Baker and waited for them to open the road going back. We went down to Fairhaven and joined the crowd watching the kayakers come in. Post race there was a big house party with a live band and a keg of beer - quite nice. I crashed at another friend's place and spent a leisurely Monday off work recovering and coming back.

April 16, 2000 Vancouver Sun Run 10K run

I was in the Not So Fast category. I got quite a chuckle out of that as my race bib had my name, age, gender and category on it. With over 43,000 participants it took me over 12 minutes to get to the start line. I finished with a time of 1:25:09 which is not a great time. But hey, I'm "Not so Fast". The weather was great and I enjoyed running with bands playing and water stations every two clicks or so. Running in such a crowd it felt like I was running faster than I really was since I kept on passing so many people (a number of walkers and people pushing kids in strollers for some reason decided to start ahead of us Not So Fast types). If I started to slow down then people would pass me so I found it encouraged to run for longer stretches of time than I usually do.

Going into this run I had done some interval training and had worked myself up to 3 minutes running alternating with 2 minutes walking. During the run after the first 2KM and 20 minutes and out of the congestion a bit I was running for about 10 minutes and walking for 2 minutes. Which for me was much better than I normally run. The last 3 KM I was dying and just half running/walking but I ended the last 500m stretch strongly.

March 4, 2000 Cascade Cup Loppet (Cross Country ski race) at Manning Park

I did the 15K recreational category in a time of 2:15:31. Not very fast. It was a classic only race and my wax was both too sticky and too slippery for the snow depending on what snow conditions were like at that particular location. I much prefer skate skiing to classic.

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