History repeated on Sunday morning (April 28) as Tsunami’s Ron Williams crossed the finish line and rang the bell, claiming first place and winning the Royal LePage Comox Valley Snow To Surf Adventure Race for the second consecutive year.
Team Banzai, Tsunami’s longtime rival, finished a minute later, crossing the finish line in just over three hours and four minutes. Throughout the race, the two teams put up a constant fight.
Competing in the race since 1996, Tsunami’s canoeist and former captain Rupert Wong attributed this year’s success to Nicolas Parlee, their current team leader.
“He’s been captaining our team for the past two years and we’ve been winning so I credit him entirely because he is a very good recruiter,” said Wong.
Among their ranks were nine seasoned athletes including bikers, paddlers, skiers and runners.
In this multi-disciplinary adventure race, starting from the top of Mount Washington and finishing its course more than 75 kilometres later at the Comox Marina, Wong explained every year represents a new challenge.
One of the many factors affecting the athletes’ performance is the weather conditions during the race.
“Today we had about 20 km/h southeast wind so that made for some foot-and-a-half high waves,” said Wong, one of the team’s two canoeists. “In shallow (areas), the waves can also stack up; which they did. This year was a nice and technical race for us on the canoe.”
A 42-year-old tradition
In a last-minute scramble to ensure everything was ready before the first racers crossed the finish line, race board member and organizer Aaron Kuehl shared the story behind this unique race with the Record.
“(Race director Rick Gibson) and the main organizers started this race in 1982,” he said. “It started as a community event to get people out exercising.”
Due to the unique geography and location of the Comox Valley, Kuehl explained that the Sea to Surf Adventure Race offers athletes a one-of-a-kind experience.
“Because we have such a unique environment here with the mountain and going through the lakes and the ocean, we have a really unique climate,” the organizer said. “There’s only one other race like it, down in Bellingham, Wash.”
Growing in popularity with each iteration, Kuehl mentioned this year’s race saw record-breaking attendance.
With 151 teams competing, more than 1,500 athletes participated in this year’s event, with contestants coming from as far as Valemount, B.C.
Both Kuehl and Wong thanked the volunteers and original organizer Gibson for making this event possible over the last four decades.
“We are all really thankful for all the volunteers and especially Rick Gibson for his (dedication and) to put this race on year after year and just making it better and better.”
For more information and this year’s results, visit snowtosurf.com.
The Record will update this story online with the official results once they are uploaded to the race’s website.