Raid the North Canadian Championships
Le Raid du Nord? Quebec\'s SRS wins RtN Champs
Susan McKenzie / 21.09.2003
Just past four-thirty this morning, the team comprising Alain Beaudry, Benoit Gauthier, Benoit Letourneau and Melissa Paquet paddled into the Canadian Ecology Centre.
But even as the team paddled to the beach, Beaudry was reluctant to even talk victory. “As we came in, I thought, okay, can we start talking about winning now? No, better wait,� he says between bites of hot pizza.
“Yeah, you never know who might come out of nowhere in the dark,� laughed Gauthier.
“It was really stressful being in the lead the whole time,� added Beaudry. “Because we just kept wondering where everyone else was, how far ahead we were, would we get to a CP and find someone had passed us. We were really freaking out. Even on the first section of canoeing, we thought Taiga would be ahead of us. We were so surprised when we got out of the water first.�
“We were really worried on the trek between 7B and 8,� says Gauthier. “The map says there is a very well used ATV trail. We went up the first trail, it was full of big tree stumps, no tracks so we thought that can’t be it. So we went back down, went up another trail, it went nowhere. Then we went up another trail, way, way up and way too far. We met a guy on an ATV, so we asked him. But he was all confused.�
“And he couldn’t understand your accent very well,� adds Paquin.
“So then we went back to the first route, went a bit further, and realized that it was the right track. We were convinced at that point that we would come out at 8 and find out that teams had passed us. We could not believe it when we learned no one else had been there.�
Beaudry notes that the race course itself was full of surprises. “The zip line was fantastic,� he says. “Like a little candy for us. I wish we could have done it in daylight. As it was, we were roped up and then just jumped. No idea how high up we were, and I kept brushing up against trees along the way. All I could see were some shadows cast by headlamps. It was awesome.�
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