Canadian Winter Racing To Prepare For The Gaspésie International Raid
Canadian Winter Racing To Prepare For The Gaspésie International Raid / 27.03.2015
Still buried under snow as they wait for spring-like weather to arrive, Canadian adventure racers and multisport athletes continue to take advantage of winter to prepare for the upcoming raid season ... and the Gaspésie International Raid. How?
On Saturday, March 14th, approximately 40 racers took part in the Endurance Aventure/Vaude Snow Trail presented by the Gaspésie International Raid, a great opportunity to test their strength. But what is the Endurance Aventure/Vaude Snow Trail?
It’s an endurance race with a somewhat special format. The 5th edition of this event was presented at Mont Orford, in Magog. The concept involves reaching one or all three of the mountain’s summits in the dark, wearing a headlamp to light the 5km (an ascent of 400m) or 13km (ascending 1800m) course completed with skis, snowshoes, or spike-equipped running shoes, depending on each participant’s preference.
The only rule is that participants must use their chosen piece of equipment to climb and descend the mountain. This year’s perfect winter conditions made it possible for six athletes to break records on this course. Among these were George Visser, a member of the team of four men that finished 2nd at the 2014 Gaspésie International Raid, and Lyne Bessette, the Olympian and adventure racer who was a member of team Mundial, the winning mixed team of four at the 2014 GIR.
They both chose skimo (ski mountaineering) and completed the 13km course. Visser’s time was 1:10 whereas Bessette finished in 1:22. Both athletes dominate the skimo racing scene in the Northeast and will be present at the start of the 2015 Gaspésie International Raid. Among the 40 adventure racers to have participated in the Endurance Aventure/Vaude Snow Trail, nearly half will be part of the Gaspésie International Raid in September.
An extraordinary fact related to this year’s Snow Trail: about a dozen participants aged 13 and under completed the 5km course... Adventure racing will continue to grow along with these young athletes! The 215 racers who took part in the event ranged in age from 8 to 70 years old!
If you were wondering how adventure racers train during the long winter months, you now know that they use skimo, winter trail running, and race in snowshoes to stay in shape! Skimo is in fact the most popular activity among adventure racers who are forced to deal with winter, mostly because it is a great form of outdoor training during this season that sometimes (like this year) seems endless.
To see pictures of the Endurance Aventure/Vaude Snow Trail presented by the Gaspésie International Raid:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104344897@N03/sets/72157651300262026/with/16796981046/
We hope to see you at the Gaspésie International Raid from September 10th to September 13th 2015. See www.raidinternationalgaspesie.com or www.facebook.com/raidgaspesie for more information.
