I was planning another ski trip to Mammoth with a girlfriend when she said to me, “I think there’s a marathon in Mammoth on April 4th”. That’s all it took. I went on the website and sure enough, the Mammoth Mountain cross country ski marathon and half marathon were to be held the morning after we arrived. I registered by phone and was told that everyone ‘skate’ skis, but that I would have to ‘slide’ ski because I had never done this sport before, and would probably be very slow. So much for encouragement. Well, I downhill ski passably well, and I can make it to the finish line in a running marathon, so I thought it was doable. As soon as the race started, I realized that I had underestimated the skill and endurance needed for this particular type of racing.
Sunday dawned (one hour early due to the time change) bright, sunny, and warm. How does one dress to cross country ski? When I arrived at the Tamarack Lodge, about 2 ½ miles outside of Mammoth, I realized that I was dressed differently than EVERYONE else. Tight is the word for this sport, and baggy was what I was wearing. I definitely looked like a downhill skier, not a cool cross country-er. I arrived almost 2 hours early so that I could rent skis and actually learn how to put them on and use them. A very nice safety patrol guy showed me and told me to practice and wished me luck. In fact, everyone kept wishing me luck and I found out why later.
Fifteen minutes before the marathon started, I realized that I would never make it by the cut off time, so I downgraded to the ½. I felt rather wimpy doing the downgrade, but there was no choice. The 13 mile cutoff time was 1 hr, 15 min. The ½ marathon started 15 minutes after the marathoners took off and I planted myself in the very rear with the only other ‘sliders’ in the race. There were 5 of us, and as we talked I learned that one couple was from L.A. and they are Hash House Harriers – Blow Hard and Too Long. Blow Hard (Gail) was very nice to me and gave me lots of tips. Unfortunately, I never saw her again to thank her. In fact 10 yards into the race, I never saw anyone again!! They all started out so fast that it scared me. After a very difficult time, and countless falls (who falls when they are cross country skiing?!), I managed to come in second to last with a time just under 3 hours 30 minutes.
I was happy to finish, but the best part of this experience was the beauty all around and the fresh smells of pine trees and clean air. The race wound around Lake Mary and did a sort of figure 8 so we got to see the scenery a second time. There were 4 aid stations and the people manning them were very encouraging, but no one ever seemed to know how far we had gone. By the time I finished there was no one around and that was a humbling and rather saddening experience. 118 people skied this race, and the fastest marathoner came in at 1 min. 59 sec. Amazing!! This event is truly very grueling and my hat is off to all those who can accomplish it and do it well. I have decided that I would like to learn how to skate ski and possibly come back next year, hopefully I can talk others into doing it with me.