ORCAS ISLAND 25K PHOTOS

Fun day at today's Orcas Island 25K. I's beat; I'll write words tomorrow ...

It's tomorrow. ...

Above, the reason you do this race--to run to the top of Mount Constitution and check out the view which, even on a gray day like yesterday, one visited by falling ice pellets or rain or whatever it was that fell down upon us from time to time, is nothing short of amazing.

Here were are, walking to the start. Just 10 minutes earlier, I was freezing me airse off out there, but as soon as you walk out with a couple hundred others, it instantly feels 10 degrees warmer. That's Jeff Dewitt (I believe), Steve Roguski and John Clark.

Back to the top. Notice the snow. The amazing course was snow covered from about 1,800 feet on up, maybe 5 miles in all. Kinda crunchy, kindy icy in parts (especially heading down from the top), kinda runing-in-sand(ish) in others but really, not that big of a deal. Made it more fun in a challenging-slash-beautiful way. 

In all, my chest-mounted GoPro camera fired off about 700 shots, of which maybe 35 weren't mega-blurry. The above is just blurry, but somewhat conveys the early miles where the narrow, winding singletrack would get stacked up in spots. 

Titanium Cancellara (Scott Young) and those scrawny chicken legs of his. Poor guy took 4th overall and first Masters. The TC legend continues to grow. That's Steve Roguski in the corner. He had a killer race too despite having a couple health issues along the way. These two be tuff mofos, that's sure. 

Nearing the top of Mount Constitution ...

... ditto. You can see the tower in the distance.

Up, and up. In all, it was a 6-mile climb with the toughest part being a 1.7-mile stretch that climbs 1,300 feet.

Moments before the start when Rainshadow Running's impresario James Varner was giving out race directions, of which I heard nary a word.

One of the 665 blurry pictures but this one almost looks like it's intentionally blurry for artistic effect. Almost.

The first glimpse of "the view". When the big climb finally lets up for a bit, the trail momentarily swings out on the edge of the ridge offering up a glimpse of that spectacular island-mountain-B'ham view. Then you're back into the snowy woods for another mile before reaching the below--the snowy summit and aid station. 

Here's Debbie, Alex and Jacob, Glenn Gervais' lovely family, who were doling out food, drink and good cheer.

I like this sequence. Here I am with banana in hand ...  

                                ... here, I'm peeling the banana ...

... and here, it looks like I'm offering the peel to an innocent (and understandably uninterested) bystander.