XC Ottawa 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th and 18th in the Canadian Long Distance Championship race at the 2015 Gatineau Loppet!
By: (2015/02/17)
XC Ottawa had a great day this past Saturday in the 51km classic race at the Gatineau Loppet. This race was designated as the Canadian Long Distance Championships this year and Sheila Kealey came away as the Champion with her 2nd place finish behind China's Hongxue Li!
The race itself was a point to point course starting in Wakefield and finishing in Gatineau (Hull sector). It is a beautiful course and showcases all the park has to offer!
This year, 10 cm of fresh snow that came after the grooming was finished made for a very interesting and difficult day on the trails. The winning time was almost 1 hour longer than last year!
Congrats to Ian Murray who won the men's race. Ian is an XC Ottawa Alumni and he is currently training to compete at this year's Vasa Loppet in Sweden. He did the race on skate skis and only double poled. Very impressive!
Karl Saidla finished up in 3rd position and earned a 2nd place in the Canadian Long Distance championships while Arthur Ayres finished in 18th.
On the women's side, Sheila Kealey led the way with her 2nd place finish with Ingrid coming in 4th, Megan in 5th and Katie in 12th.
Some personal reports will follow.
If you have any good stories you would like to share from the weekend, please send them to info@xcottawa.ca and we will post them.
Interesting Reading. . .
"Winning Moves"