2019 Loppet

On Sunday February 10th, the 42nd Tay Valley Loppet was held at Murphys Point Provincal Park. The Tay Valley Cross Country Ski Club hosted the event with the help of many area volunteers.
75 cross country skiers signed up to compete in one of four races, a 2.5 km or 5 km freestyle ‘cookie’ race or a 10 km or 20 km classic Loppet.
Weather the previous week had organizers biting their nails, bouncing from cold to warm and rainy, then back to cold, with no real snowfall. The club’s ginzu groomer and head groomer Dave Reesor managed to tame the crusty trails on Saturday in a marathon grooming session. On Loppet day, the course was very skiable, with firm granular snow that was fun and fast. The weather was perfect for skiing, the first time in recent memory. After skiing racers were fed soup and sandwiches in the club chalet. Following lunch, medals and maple syrup were distributed to the top skiers. Finally, 18 draw prizes (donated by local businesses) were distributed to all participants.
Top three skiers in each race:

2.5 km girls
1. Alison Kiesewalter (Stittsville) 19:14
2. Amelia Vander Wal (Ottawa) 19:15
3. Shaye Peters (Smiths Falls) 23:58

5 km girls
1. Lucas Omstead (Kingston) 17:12
2. Chloe Goss (Kingston) 18:40
3. Isidora Ferguson (Loyalist) 19:03

5 km boys
1. Emmett Brundage (Kingston) 16:47
2. Nathan Pilkey (Kingston) 17:29
3. Leslie Farquharson (Kingston) 17:49

10 km women
1. Rachel Lambley (Kanata) 43:50
2. Evania Lovshin (Chelsea) 48:47
3. 3. Jean Hebert (Perth) 54:20

10 km men
1. Theo Mallet (Chelsea) 34:57
2. Ryan Lambley (Kanata) 41:14
3. Steve Lovshin (Chelsa) 42:32

20 km women
1. Sandra Kiviaho (Ottawa) 1:20:44
2. Lisa Meyer (Ottawa) 1:21:18
3. Susan Atherley (Kanata) 1:22:05

20 km men
1. Mark Orzel (Kanata) 1:04:12
2. Colin Kiviaho (Ottawa) 1:05:33
3. Gareth Davies (Ottawa) 1:06:54

For more results go to: https://runninggoattiming.com/…/running-goat-timing-results/

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Of special note is that the first two women in the 10 km event were girls aged 12 and 11. The first-place man in the 10 km was 17, and used borrowed boots that didn’t fit well. Second place in the men’s 10 km was a boy of 14. The 4th place man in the 20 km event, Ray Canton, skied the last quarter of the race with a broken pole. The range of skier ages in the race were from 7 to 79.
Many thanks to all the Tay Valley Cross Country Ski Club members and volunteers that make this race possible. Consider coming next February to participate in a fun race for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities. We hope to see you there!

Awards and prizes were provided by the following businesses. Please support our sponsors:

• Canadian Winter Sports (Peltonen, Rode)
• Fresh Air Experience
• LAZL
• Greg Christie`s Ski and Cycleworks
• Fortune Farms
• Temple`s Sugar Bush
• Omya
• Bushtukah