XMan Race Sherbrooke 2015

Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun times ahead!

After a week and something off the next goody in the calendar rolls around - XMan Race #2 of 3, this one being in Mont-Orford (about 90 minutes' drive from Montreal)

I do believe I've blogged about the Sherbrooke XMan Race before and will not go into too many details about the obstacles. However, the guys had been on site for a week and went totally bonkers - the course has 61 obstacles!

Saturday my friend and myself get assigned the Spydex obstacle - in previous editions it was a Tarzan-style swing on a rope into a cargo net, but it seemed the frame holding up the cargo net was something of a hazard, so it has been removed. Most of the day we spend coaching people at the obstacle and untangling the ropes. It is also positioned near the end of the race so we see a lot of tired looks and many a remark on failing grip strength.

Fellow Mudd Queen Karoline just coasting along

We hear over the radio news from the staff following the last runner, and eventually we spot a bunch of volunteers (we are easy to find with our bright green shirts this time around) and many core staff members, all chatting with the last guy, Martin, on course. Everyone is patiently coaching and helping him along and letting him sip his water (he'd cramped up at some point on the way) We can all deduce that he's very, very tired but would like to finish; the course closer has vowed to drag Martin across the finish line by his leg if need be.

Making sure Martin gets up the warped wall! (I am near the upper right-hand corner)

 

Once Martin is up and over the warped wall, we fan out across the finish line and applaud and cheer him on. What a beautiful moment! The last runner does deserve the same amount of noise as the first place finisher.

Also worth mentioning was the attention to detail for the volunteers - the section leaders would pass by at regular intervals asking how everything was and bringing us water throughout the day, plus our boxed lunches. At some point too many spectators were wandering on course, so after a radio call to section leader Seb, a couple of crew members show up with pickets and tape to mark the boundary. That's efficiency!

Next day I get to volunteer in the morning before I run. I also get to be an impromptu photographer for a couple of race buddies I spot on course - one being Sandy (hard to miss with pink hair) who trekked from New York state to run some Canadian OCR's this year.

Sandy mugging for the camera at L'ArchAnge

When it comes to my start, I make the mistake of taking a raspberry-flavoured gel and get nauseous for a minute. It's somehow making my stomach juices bubble with some gas, so as was the case with the Ottawa Beast, I am burping artificial-metallic raspberry. Yuck!

With 61 obstacles on course they come in bunches (log carry followed by monkey bars, incline walls followed by seesaws...) The guys were also tricky in combining the sandbag with O.U.T walls first, then the sandbag loop and the usual crawl (with sandbag, of course) under a fishing-type net. The bucket carry is found at the very top of the mountain; on the way down there is a small water crossing after a technical downhill.

The trails and climbs seem a bit harder this year, I think I am doing ok until I get to Koalex (XMan's version of the tyrolean traverse) and massively cramp a calf. At some point I thought about taking the other gel in my pocket but something in my system told me no way.

I'm a bit frustrated with myself this season for getting stuck at the Platinum Rig; when I think back I could maybe have gotten across, but sometimes when it's hanging bars that require going from one to the next I hesitate. That, and I have to work on swinging with my hips versus dead hanging.

Great weekend as usual, with never a dull moment at XMan race. The guys are always finding ways to challenge racers in different ways and some of the obstacles are becoming classics. This edition was remarkable with the volunteer experience at the end of the day on Saturday. Can't wait for the 3rd and final XMan in Lac-Beauport!

Trying to hide in the Platnium Rig with awesome section leader Seb