XMan Race Sutton part 1 - introducing SuperXman!

Behold, a back-to-back event weekend: first up, XMan Race, followed by Mud Hero.

Typically I don't like to look at what obstacles I could potentially encounter on course since I like to be surprised. I'd been told that there were some insane creations for this year's XMan Race series so I had to bottle my excitement. What else can the crew have in store to make it better? Already there's a lot of good things being said by elites and open participants alike about the whole experience.

A few Ottawa Mudd Queens, Jen and Darcy, will get their first taste of XMan and see what it's all about! I hope I haven't hyped it up too much..

This weekend I am pretty much the designated driver for Jen, and Friday night kicks off with sushi and goodies. Saturday we get there bright and early; it's sunny with a bit of a cool breeze but once everyone gets running it should be alright. Volunteers are arriving in bunches as well.

Race packets are ready to go - racers get a finisher shirt, a headband, a bracelet, an XMan sticker and a beer ticket, plus a finisher medal at the end. I find out I'm assigned to a new obstacle (SuperXman) that has been revealed in a teaser video. Also, since it's more than halfway through the race, I get to test it out before everyone arrives to figure out how it works in order to help the racers (and myself!) conquer it. And who doesn't want to bounce on a giant trampoline?

The calm before the storm (photo credit Nikky Brenic)

Once again the giant Alpha Obstacle Training flag is spotted with Jesse in tow.

The elites go off and we make our way to our posts. Turns out next to the SuperXman is Spydex - a fun obstacle involving a rope swing into an angled cargo net.

It isn't long before the first elite is spotted - Marco Bédard - and he practically clears the platform right off the trampoline. He's pretty much done Spydex when Jesse comes barreling down the hill, grinning and waving at the photographer before getting some good airtime. Not too long after, the elite females appear, no surprise Claude is in front. I'd also had a funny Facebook chat with Judith Marcoux on how she'll find me on course since she won't be wearing her glasses. She's wearing an Elmo tank top (props to her for not taking things too seriously!) and is easily found as she approaches.

The elites put on a great aerial show (perhaps they've seen the video), easily flying through the air onto the platform. As the open wave participants start to come in, some take a couple of bounces before getting over, and some just slide on the trampoline surface straight towards the obstacle. I've noticed they're shining with dirty water, which accumulates on the mats on the platform, making them slick.

Jen makes her way over and the first thing she tells me is how much fun she's having. XMan is almost like a playground for obstacle course runners! Good twin Darcy shows up a little later on and she tells me the same thing.

I eventually climb up on the platform after seeing participants struggle to get over. This also puts me in a precarious position of not being able to leave a water bottle or snacks next to me. It isn't long before I'm covered in dirty water helping participants climb up, and trying to coach others to get over the platform. Some listen; some don't and painfully struggle, others miss and knees painfully bang into the platform. There is a lot of swearing going on.

It's not THAT high...if I can make it, you can!

At some point the blue padding on the edges of the trampoline keep coming undone, so I radio the section head and explain what's going on. Not even 15 minutes later he's there, temporarily securing the pads with zip-ties. I tell you, the XMan crew really care about everything.

I blink and Mudd Queen Brandy is on one of the trampolines, she succeeds in making her way over. I'm just bummed out that in the whole kerfuffle of the obstacle, I don't have my phone on me for a selfie.

I am relieved of my duty but since I'd like to run and finish earlier so we can head out to Ottawa, I wanted to get in the next available wave...which meant foregoing lunch. I'm frantically eating some snacks to have some sort of energy reserve (a protein bar and the ever-handy Fruit3 bar) Now I'm seriously worried at how slow I'll really go since I haven't had much to eat since half a buttered bagel at 8:30. I'd sort of planned to do a bit more pedal to the metal for this race, but..

To be continued..