The real UBER athletes of the Rock and Ice Ultra…

I touched a bit about the logistics of this race in prior blogs but now is the time to give honor and respect to the Race Crew of the Rock and Ice Ultra.

Race Director Scott Smith has three right hands that look after the race when he is off breaking trail. Ken Brophy, Jeff Baxter and Elaine and all the other volunteers make this race happen in a supportive and safe way for all the athletes that participate.

Here’s the out of the ordinary work they all do….

Insure the trails for the day’s stage are marked and packed down to the best of their ability for the athletes.

Build aid stations and stage camps in the middle of no where in minus 20 weather

Take personal holidays to be part of this race crew.

Love the fact Yellowknife women dig them because they smell of gas when they get off their snowmobiles.

Work 13 hour days eating powder soup, tin foil dinners for 6 days straight, packing sleds every morning in minus 28 C weather and you never hear a peep of negativity.

Love the fact the athletes were slammed on day 1 of the race by at blizzard and bone chilling wind chill to show them what the true meaning of what the NWT is about and why they teach a survival course prior to race day.

YET!!!!

This is the same race crew that will build a fire on the race course or offer their own parkas to warm up athletes on the race route, feed athletes when they have run out of food and drive at 2 KMH at 11 PM in a minus 37 C temperature lighting up the path for an athlete to find the finish line of the stage.

Perhaps the best story to summarize the organizer and crew of this race was told to me by the Race Director Scott Smith. Scott and two others were escorting the last athlete into the stage that very late evening or should I say around midnight. Scott mentions he had to stop his snowmobile and run around it to warm up even though he had heat packs plastered all over his body. The athlete stops, looks at them, speak but they can barely hear her because of the ice that had formed on her face mask to keep the bitter cold away. Once Scott had chipped away the ice he thought the athlete was going to call it quits. Instead in a very tiny voice the words “Aurora” came out and the right arm pointed skyward. The athlete wanted them to see the northern lights as they danced across the sky that clear night. They all laughed, smiled and carried on.