No I'm not being a fatalist, nor do I believe we're in Mayan 2012, however my OCR season is drawing to a close.
And I'm perfectly fine with it. Mainly because I'm still tired from the previous week's Killington Beast, and just plain tired from the season that began in mid-May. I've looked at my training programs and they are dated April, so it's been a pretty long haul.
It is the last race in the XMan Race series, and just like last year it is in Ski Le Relais near Lac-Beauport. Beautiful site, the fall colours starting to appear, the guys happily setting up..This time around the Triple Crown medals are ready to be handed out.
I'm not really going to say what I've already said before about XMan Race, but Saturday morning was chilly and damp - we spotted a frozen layer of moisture on the incline walls! During our walkthrough with our volunteer section leader, we learn that the racers have to go through two water dunk obstacles before getting to the incline walls (which are obstacle #9).
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| A slightly chilly selfie with the amazing Éli, my section leader |
A nasty surprise has awaited the elite heat - an egg to carry until the first water station! About 100 eggs do not survive the short voyage from the start to the drop off point. Sandy Hendrick - our resident New Yorker who's logged hundreds of OCR miles and many more on the road - didn't hear when to leave the egg and finished the whole race with it.
Initially I am assisting racers over the incline walls, however as the morning goes on I realize that I should try and save a bit in the tank for the last wave. Oops.
The sun eventually warms us and after a quick lunch I head off to get ready. On my way back to volunteer HQ I spot a gang of people dressed as superheroes assisting a wheeled warrior named Samuel. I run over to take a selfie with him and he breaks into the biggest smile. (Hey, XMan is fun, especially surrounded by superheroes!) Meanwhile, Canadian ninja Alex is resplendent as Thor, complete with Ultra Beast medal and complimentary belt buckle.
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| Action shot of the superheroes at the bucket carry! Check out Samuel's smile! |
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| The superheroes paused long enough for a group shot |
Before I enter the start corral I spot another character - Sexxy Eddie! As usual, he is sporting his tiger-stripe Speedo.
We go off and I think I am ok for the first little bit. The volunteers tell me to slide headfirst down the pipes for the second water dunk obstacle (Les Égoûts aka The Sewers). Brrr, that water is chilly. However, the fatigue manifests itself pretty quickly and I need to ask for a small boost up the second incline wall. It doesn't help they are on a gently rising slope...
Typical XMan obstacle madness with barbed wire crawl, hay bales to climb, log and sandbag carries, O.U.T walls...more fatigue shows when I am having trouble balancing on the teeter totters, especially on the way down.
The guys are up to their usual tricky ways when they have the cement block carry lead into a short stretch of muddy barbed wire crawl. Alex Thor is happily moving four blocks (they have small handles) through the mud.
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| Behold the mighty Thor |
Even though I am still enjoying myself, part of me can't wait to cross the finish line. I'm so tired - I do not succeed SuperXMan (the trampoline obstacle, more on that a bit later). Adam Kwitko is tagging along on the sidelines - he's already ran it twice - and is gently encouraging me at SuperXman. (Thanks, Adam.) The last obstacles are a blur - somehow I plod through them - and once I'm up and over the warped wall, cross the finish line and grab that coveted Triple Crown medal. Ooo, chrome!
The huge, feel-good moment of this XMan Race is when Samuel and the superheroes cross the finish line. The look on his face says it all!
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| Bravo Samuel! |
The damper leading up to the event - Thursday morning, the guys found the hay bales near SuperXMan had been set on fire and the damage was enough to destroy the trampolines. I am not sure if the authorities have caught the perpetrators (security cameras filmed 3 people carrying gasoline cans), but it was nice to hear concerned racers asking about the obstacle during registration.
The other hilarious moments that we possibly couldn't have scripted happened during my volunteer shift:
- a guy leaps his way over the 2 incline walls and we see he is wearing a tank top with bananas printed all over;
- another racer in a later heat is in a full banana suit;
- later in that same heat, 3 girls wearing minion onesies make their way over the incline walls. They are having a great time and we ask who is Dave, or Stuart, or Bob. We proceed to tell them the guy in the banana suit is farther up the hill!
Once again Nic & company have delivered a great OCR experience with the 3rd and final XMan for this year. Update: for the 2nd year in a row, they have won 3-Seconds' Race of the Year, as voted by the racers! Great job guys!! See you next year!
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| Triple Crown medal and t-shirt |
Read Sandy Hendrick's review about XMan Race Quebec here
See what Adam Kwitko had to say about XMan Race Quebec here
