Half, Hypothermic.

So we guess the racing season has begun for many of us. We saw that Cookie Monster (both of them), Ron McScotch, Geoff Bennett, Darlene Chapman and Gerrad Lewin, hit a 30km/50km loppet in New Brunswick back in January.

Rumours that Cookie, in the 50K, lapped McScotch in the 30K have to remain unconfirmed.

Never too early to get a jibe in (if the alleged lapping wasn't enough), Cookie has been coaching McScotch on the finer points of ski-etiquette (the original caption for the photo below was something like "Ron in mid-stride") and judging from the looks of things, we might have to do the same and weigh in on the finer points of fashion-etiquette. Red and green and plaid on blue skis?

Puh-leeze.

There were a good number out at the long-track speedskating endurance events a couple of weeks ago, including McScotch, Moka Case, Charles Verge, Ron Allen, Darlene Chapman and Marie-Claude Gregoire. Oh, and Cookie McKilt too.

Yup we might to start the Challenge again soon; we make it Tartan 3 - Cookie 1 and it's only just February. It's going to be a long season for somebody's knees!

Cross-country ski and long-track aren't part of our core competencies; running is. So it wasn't a surprise to hear of so many at the Hypothermic Half in Dartmouth this weekend. The weather wasn't quite hypothermic, but it was very wet, windy and slushy. The conditions reminded the TA uncomfortably of the "epic" 2005 Bluenose. It will likely take a week or so for the results to make it on-line but the entry-list read like the TNS Awards banquet; Mike Bedard, Jamie Haynes, Brooke Brown, Carolyn Burke, Moka Case, Elizabeth Corkum, Freda Cormier, Caitlyn Cormier, Andreas Burger, Julie Curwin, Heather Doucette, Caitlyn Gillis, Erin Gillis, Stacy Juckettt Chestnutt, Pat Kennedy, Leanne MacDougall, Norma Jean MacPhee, Dion McKay, Chris Milburn, Erin Pike, Beverley Richardson, Steve Saunders, Tammy Slaunwhite, Sara Strickland and Erin Thibault. We read somewhere on Facebook "Stace won it", which wouldn't surprise us in the least. Chapeau all for for slogging through the slush and the wind.

Once more, our apologies if the TNS member tracking software didn't pick you up. To be honest, it might have received a mild concussion yesterday from us banging on the side of it to make it work (like a 50's TV) and so it wasn't quite up to registering names correctly.

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Photos from various Facebook accounts and Ron.