The big day is here! We are so so happy that all of Cez Jizerska races could happen in the end! Mother nature took our side and brought lots of snow (50 -80 cm) and cooler temperatures just in time!
We woke up early to load the car with all of our belongings-hard to believe we are flying home with all of the things that we have. Matthew was able to get us a VIP parking pass so we got to park right near the start, which meant we could stay warm and didn’t have to check our clothing bags for the race. This way we could also head straight to Tetin after the race for our family celebration bbq.
The sun wasn’t quite up yet when we reached the start area but there was so much excitement and thousands of racers all getting ready. It’ll be a clear sunny day with a low of -1 and a high of about 4. The wind was really cool though so we wore our Johnny Servis jackets once again.
We stayed in the car for a little bit and slowly got dressed and ready to go to the start. We both wore a surgical gown to keep us warm. Ross was in wave 3 and I was in wave 7 which started 20 minutes after Ross (and a few thousand skiers later).
I waited at the gate for the guards to let us in and when they did I ran right up to the front to put my skis down and ended up in the second row!! The whole start area was filled with so many skiers with skis and poles in hand- quite the scene to see! There was also the usual helicopter to cover the race for Czech National T.V. and great music.
The start was the usual craziness but I soon found my spot and headed up the hill for the second time in 2 days. I hoped that the skiers would thin out soon. The track was pretty good however that all changed on the downhill. The wobbly tracks made my legs feel like noodles and I could really feel my tired legs from yesterday. Right then I decided this was going to be a challenge! I had to get out my mental toughness for this and decided to do so right then and there. This time I brought my new ski pouch with some water and food which came in really handy.
The picture above shows how narrow the track was and how many racers there were! It thinned out a little later but not by much.
It was a beautiful course and there were a lot more people cheering today mostly because there were more access points to the course. The sun was shining and the snow was melting off the trees. So pretty! At some point near the end the winds really started gusting and the snow clumps were falling off the trees on us. This was a sign of the windstorm that was going to hit Central Europe and would later cause us flight delays.
Right after the race we drove to Tetin, Czech Republic to the farm for our family celebration with Matthew’s wife and their three children. We had a really fun evening with the family dining on the farm’s own beef steaks. We decided that the races will become an annual family event!!
A Nordic Skiing World Loppet Tour 