A weekend in Vegas~by Heather McNamara
Arriving in Vegas for the Xterra West Cup was an experience of mixed emotions for me. There was the anticipation of the first race of the year, being at the beautiful Loew’s resort at Lake Las Vegas, and greeting fellow Melrad team mates. But at the same time there was the sadness of knowing I wasn’t there as a competitor. Still recovering from an injury I was arriving as a spectator, the first time I’ve traveled to a race and not competed. But the weekend turned out to be an unforgettable experience, and I discovered there is a lot of fun to be had at an Xterra event, no matter what your reason for being there!
Team Melrad post race.
Since neither my husband (and fellow Melrad-er) Greg or I were competing due to injuries, it was decided we would be at the bike aid station to help with bottle exchanges for Melrad team mates. After gathering bottles at transition the morning of the race, we headed off to hike through the desert and get to the aid station, which was at mile 7 of the 2-loop bike. We knew the general direction and location, but weren’t sure exactly where it was. We left about the same time athletes got last call for the pre-race briefing. We figured we had about 40 minutes to get there before the first of our team (likely to be Mel!) would be getting to that point of the race. We figured it was about 3 miles away and we would have plenty of time.
Off we trekked into the desert, water bottles in tow. Good thing walking is approved therapy for our injuries! We passed a few race volunteers along the way, but no one could tell us exactly how to get to the aid station. Everyone waved in the general direction and said “just follow the road, it’s over there a mile or so”. Out in the desert every path looks like a road, and distances are deceiving. As we headed out we became a little uncertain and weren’t sure of the best way to go. We heard the starting cannon and figured we had at least 30 minutes. I started to get a little nervous we wouldn’t make it. Greg and I became a little cranky with each other (in typical married couple fashion), arguing about the best route, whether or not we should stay on the “road” or take a more direct line over a ridge….blah, blah, blah… we ended up walking the road (good choice!) and getting to the aid station with plenty of time to spare. I think I was more nervous than when I am racing!
Once in position we realized we had a great spot to watch all the action. We got to see all the competitors pass through each loop of the bike, and were able to cheer on our team mates as they rode by.
Status updates from the aid station!
We had a great system for handing out bottles. I was on lookout and would call out the approaching team mate to Greg. He would be ready with their bottle. We managed to successfully hand off each bottle with no glitches. Yay! It was a lot of fun.
It was also very fun to have our entire team together at the race. It was the first time we all met as a team, and the camaraderie was instantaneous! Mel is a great leader and was there to provide support and advice and, as always, was a super good sport, competitor and role model. We also had the fun treat of meeting sponsor reps Dan from Nathan, Shawn from Avia and Gary from ESIgrips. They provided awesome gear and we were happy to meet them and have their support. Thanks, guys!
All in all it was a fun weekend. Team Unlimited put on a flawless event, as always. The pros were fun to watch and in great early season form, and Team Melrad is better than ever. So racing or not, definitely a great time even if we viewed the action from the other side of the course!
This entry was posted
on Monday, April 26th, 2010 at 7:14 pm and is filed under Athlete Blog, Heather McNamara.
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