Monday, 1/28

That was a Noquemanon rather unlike any I’ve ever seen. And I should know—I’ve been at all of them.

I’ve announced in Noque races that were cold, or lacking snow, or too warm. However, I don’t think I’ve ever announced at one where the temperatures were so cold that two people were treated for frostbite and a third sent to the ER for a frozen cornea.

There was also the fist fight in the middle of the race, but I don't think THAT was caused by the cold.  Although you never know.

I feel sorry for those hardy souls who took part in this year's marathon and half-marathon. Between the ict condition on the snow and the wind chills of 10 or 20 below it took most skiers, even the elite ones, a half an hour to 45 minutes longer (or even more) to complete the course than in a “normal” year. There were some people out skiing for four or five hours on Saturday, and as they crossed the line you could tell by the looks on their face that they had been through a struggle.

And these were the skiers who actually took part in the race. I can imagine that there were a few who just took a look at the forecast and decided not to do it, or who were trying to get here but couldn't because of closed roads (thanks to the weather) or closed airports (thanks to the ongoing government shutdown).

Still, there were some great stories among those who finished. There were people over 70 coming in among the top dozen or so finishers in the half marathon. There were married couples who skied a whole marathon together. And there were the adaptive skiers, with family members helping them over 500 meters or 3 kilometers, coming across the finish line with the crowd cheering them on.

And I have to hand out kudos to everyone in the crowd who stood out and braved the icy cold for a few minutes, or those volunteers who stood outside at the finish line for hours in the bitter wind chill to collect chips or guide skiers where they needed to go. I’m one of the lucky volunteers. All I do is sit in a heated shed and talk. That’s nothing compared to those volunteers who spend the entire day outside in whatever Mother Nature throws at them.

Saturday, she threw her worst at them, and they persevered.

So the Noque is over for another year, and I’ll be curious to see what the 2020 race holds. After all, last year they were worried there wouldn’t be any snow for the race. This year, they were worried it would be too cold. What on tap for next year? Too many lava flows? A tornado?

We’ll just have to wait and see. . .

(jim@wmqt.com)