Mass chaos at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, May 28, marks the beginning of the 50th annual Ski to Sea race on Mount Baker. The seven-leg relay race begins with a cross-country ski leg. Spectators crowd the sides of the starting line to watch the spectacle.
Next, comes the “downhill” ski and snowboard leg, then the running, road bike, canoe and cyclocross bike legs. Strong-armed athletes finish off the race with the sea kayak leg.
Cascadia Daily News will be on the scene today, with reporters and photographers at each hand-off zone. This story will be updated all day with photos, videos, quotes, winning statistics and relevant race information, beginning at 7 a.m.
Follow along from the comfort of your armchair or grab a beer in Fairhaven and watch in real-time as Bellingham’s biggest event unfolds.
If you have your own moments to share from race day, send them to newstips@cascadiadaily.com or tag us on social media using #CDNs2s.
In case you missed it: Leading up to the event, Cascadia Daily News also published a preview pullout section which includes portraits, a course map, race timeline participant profiles and more. Check it out online or pick up a print copy at our booth down at the Fairhaven Festival on Sunday, where you will get a chance to win July 16 Bellingham Bells tickets to CDN Day.
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5:53 p.m.
The final kayakers arrive at the finish line in Fairhaven. The final leg was canceled early due to wind, preventing some racers from participating.
3:30 p.m.
Tavin Jackson of family division team Jacksons speak louder than words, said he was in so much pain after the kayak leg, but it was “unbelievably rewarding.”
“His back is really sore from carrying us,” joked Tavin’s dad. Tavin did the downhill ski and kayak legs.
“I’m going to sit, have a beer and sleep for the next four hours,” Tavin said.
3:10 p.m.
3:10 p.m.
For the bulk of Ski to Sea teams, the race continues.
Team Surfrider Sea Sirens cyclocross racer Zoe Guilmette passes the timing chip to her teammate Crystal Richard. The team is car-free.
3:02 p.m.
3:01 p.m.
2:49 p.m.
Reivers Dustin, 72, of team Revolt Against Maturity, said he’s done the race more than 30 times. He plans to eat chocolate bars and ice cream to recover from the kayak leg. The team finished in 28th place.
2:43 p.m.
The second all-women’s team, SHEroes, crosses the finish line with a time of 7:12:57.5. Near the end of the leg, SHEroes kayaker Megan Northey surpassed a competitor from team Monkeywrench Gang, leading her team to a 9-second lead.
Northey, normally a rower, took on the kayak leg this year after the team’s longtime kayaker, Amelia Bethke, died in 2019.
“So just to come in here and ring the bell — she was with me out there and it was really special,” Northey said.
2:34 p.m.
The first woman, Heather Nelson, crosses the finish line making her team, BNP Realtors, the first-place women’s team. The team came in 18th place with a time of 7:04:03.6.
“That was amazing,” said Nelson, 51. “I could tell the crowd was so excited.”
Nelson said team SHEroes was 30 seconds ahead of her at the start of the kayak leg. For Nelson, Ski to Sea is a family affair. Her child participated in Junior Ski to Sea two weeks ago, and her husband, Brandon Nelson, came in seventh place, shortly before her, with team Boomer’s Drive-In Legends.
2:31 p.m.
Kayaker Mike Beckman of Vandammage brought his team into 16th place.
2:28 p.m.
My Dog, a car-free team, finishes in 15th place at 2:28 p.m.
In a pre-race interview, runner Drew Barnicle joked about the origins of their team name: “Well nobody wants to say ‘I beat my dog.’ Not a great look.”
Kayaker Wilson Reavley said it was hard work kayaking against the wind.
“It was a lot of fun,” Reavley said. “It’s a little easier to do the kayak leg, but I rode my bike to the starting line and then did the kayak portion, so I’m really tired.”
2:15 p.m.
The top 10 teams of 2023 Ski to Sea are:
1. Birch Equipment (5:54:43.3)
2. Boomer’s Drive-In (6:01:59.0)
3. Beavers Tree Service (6:10:55.9)
4. Inn at Lynden (6:15:04.0)
5. Bellingham Firefighters – Whatcom Open Team (6:25:52.0)
6. Evil Bike Company (6:26:44.8)
7. Boomer’s Drive-In Legends (6:37:05.3)
8. Greatest American Heroes (6:42:39.4)
9. Vendovi (6:44:33.2)
10. Surfrider Mavericks (6:44:56.8)
2:08 p.m.
Just 47 teams have finished the cyclocross leg and handed off timing chips to their sea kayakers.
2:06 p.m.
Team Well Hung Over’s cyclocross racer Mac Hamill couldn’t find his teammate, Keenan Elliott, for six minutes at the sea kayak handoff.
When asked where Elliott was, Hamill laughed and said “probably somewhere hungover.”
2:01 p.m.
Members of the Bellingham Firefighters Pipes and Drums are cheering on three different teams of firefighters this year, including Bellingham Firefighters – Whatcom Open Team, which finished in fifth place.
1:49 p.m.
As teams cross the finish line, plenty more are still scattered around Whatcom County, at various points in the grueling race.
1:45 p.m.
Inn at Lynden finishes in fourth place with a time of 6:15:04, five minutes behind Beavers Tree Service. Last year, the team came in fifth place.
1:41 p.m.
Inn at Lynden and Beavers Tree Service were neck-in-neck at the start of the kayak leg, but kayaker Jonas Ecker took the latter team to a third-place overall victory. Beavers Tree Service, which came in second place last year, finished this year’s race with a time of 6:10:55.
Ecker, 20, said he was “slow” this year, in part due to strong headwinds. While he plans to take off the rest of the day today, tomorrow is straight back to training for the canoe spring world championships this summer.
Kayaker Greg Redman of Boomer’s Drive-In said a “really good headwind” made some parts of the course more challenging. It’s impossible to predict how the whole team will do, Redman said, when eight people are working toward the same goal.
“The more unpredictable the more opportunities there are,” Redman said. He now plans to drive to his home in Kelowna, British Columbia, and “have a beer.”
1:35 p.m.
1:32 p.m.
Boomer’s Drive-In comes in second place overall, up from their third-place finish in 2022. The team completed the race in 6:01:59.
1:31 p.m.
Birch Equipment’s Jeff Hilburn has competed in the race around 15 times.
“Last year was really tight, had the national champ chasing me,” Hilburn said. “This year was such a large lead and I could just kind of cruise. Headwinds we’re a lot tougher this year.”
He called the victory “bragging rights for the whole year.”
1:25 p.m.
Birch Equipment wins Ski to Sea for the second year in a row, crossing the finish line at 1:25 p.m. with a time of 5:54:53. The team beat last year’s time of 5:59:48 by about 5 minutes.
Sea kayaker Jeff Hilburn took the team to victory.
1:23 p.m.
Birch Equipment is approaching the beach at Marine Park in Fairhaven.
1:13 p.m.
Evil Bike Company came in sixth place on the cyclocross leg, about 10 minutes behind fifth-place finisher Bellingham Firefighters – Whatcom Open Team.
1:01 p.m.
Four teams have finished the cyclocross leg. In order of highest placement: Birch Equipment, Boomer’s Drive-In, Inn at Lynden and Beavers Tree Service.
Inn at Lynden finished the cyclocross course at 12:59:38, just 10 seconds ahead of Beavers Tree Service. Tom Schafer, 41, of Inn at Lynden, gave credit to his team’s canoeists for being so fast, giving him about a four-minute head start.
Kayakers Jonas Ecker of Beavers Tree Service and Jamie Klein of Inn at Lynden launch their boats at Zuanich Park.
12:51 p.m.
Cascadia Daily News caught up with Inn at Lynden’s canoeists, Geoff Stodola, 56, and Matt Stodola, 53, who have been training hard for the race since January, and even underwent oxygen and lactate testing to improve their performance. They’ve been racing the canoe leg for “at least” 17 years, Geoff said.
For the brothers, the hardest part of the race was just waiting to start.
They passed some of their biggest paddling mentors on the river, racers on the Beavers Tree Service team — a feat they’re particularly proud of.
“They’re great guys, and they taught us to paddle,” Geoff said. “So that was pretty cool.”
The brothers were both born in Yap, an island in Micronesia. They decided to make that the theme for this year’s race by putting the islands logo on their canoe and matching T-shirts.
12:38 p.m.
Boomer’s Drive-In finishes the cyclocross leg in second place at 12:49 p.m., 10 minutes behind the reigning Birch Equipment.
Cyclocross racer Cal Skilsky, 27, had waffles for breakfast and plans on having a chocolate milkshake at none other than Boomers for his recovery.
One of Skilsky’s tires went flat during the course, but it had a self-healing mechanism, enabling him to keep going and finish in second place.
12:49 p.m.
12:38 p.m.
Birch Equipment’s Jack Shuckra, 21, finishes the cyclocross leg of the race at 12:38 p.m., handing off his timing chip to sea kayaker Jeff Hilburn for the final push of the 2023 Ski to Sea relay.
Shuckra, of Salt Lake City, Utah, said he plans to go to the beer garden and “maybe do some more biking.”
12:35 p.m.
12:29 p.m.
Birch Equipment’s cyclocross racer is 3 miles out from the sea kayak handoff.
12:28 p.m.
One of Birch Equipment’s canoeists, Glenn Bond, said he’s been paddling for the last six weeks to prepare for the leg. He said the spectators’ energy as he and his teammate made it across the finish line “was phenomenal.”
They didn’t escape the canoe leg without taking on some water, Bond said. He pointed out an automatic water bailing mechanism in the canoe that he had to deploy while paddling, to rid the boat of water.
Next, he plans to go to Fairhaven Festival to celebrate with his team.
12:22 p.m.
The Fairhaven Festival kicked off around noon. More than 70 vendors are lining the streets of Fairhaven to cater to the crowds that Ski to Sea draws to town.
12:16 p.m.
Boomer’s Drive-In finishes the canoe leg in second place, 10 minutes behind Birch Equipment. Boomer’s finished third overall in the 2022 Ski to Sea race.
12:06 p.m.
Birch Equipment crosses the canoe finish line to handoff to their cyclocross racer, maintaining first place at 12:06 p.m. The team finished four minutes faster than last year’s first-place 12:10 p.m. finish.
12:05 p.m.
12:01 p.m.
The first canoeists are expected to finish at 12:04 p.m., race announcers said.
11:55 a.m.
Sea kayakers gather for their pre-race safety meeting. Early release is in effect, meaning if a cyclocross cyclist doesn’t make the handoff by 4:15 p.m., the team’s kayaker will be allowed to start their leg.
Race officials anticipate choppy water conditions to calm down before sea kayaks launch from Zuanich Point. They will be paddling the long course, unless conditions change. Paddlers burst out in applause at this news.
11:42 a.m.
The first canoeists are estimated to arrive at Hovander Homestead Park shortly after noon. Next, cyclocross racers will head south toward the Zuanich Point Park handoff.
Meanwhile, racers in the last leg are starting to prepare their kayaks.
11:29 a.m.
Most teams have finished the running leg, moved past road bike, and are in their canoes. Cascadia Daily News caught up with some of the runners post-leg.
Cory Brunhaver of a three-man team, Dawson Construction, completed the cross-country ski, downhill ski and running legs back-to-back.
“Cross-country skiing was so intense … it was kind of just a blur. I was looking at my watch and there was 1 mile left, and I was like ‘Woah, that was quick,’ but then in the middle of the downhill ski, I’m like ‘Oh my God, I have so far to go,’” Brunhaver said.
Brunhaver said he brought some liquid calorie endurance fuel, but halfway through the cross-country leg, he was vomiting.
“As soon as I vomited, I was like ‘OK, we’re good to go.’ It was kind of like after too many beers and you vomit and you’re like, ‘Ah, I feel so much better.’ I kind of laughed to myself,” he said.
He has no recovery plans besides grabbing a Whole Foods pizza and beer. Next year, he and his two teammates are considering a full team to be a top contender.
“I do love the three-person team — there’s something just terrible about it,” Brunhaver said. “Every single time I do it, halfway through I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’”
Kim Struiksma — of team Here for a Good Time, Not a Fast Time — said she was asked to do the race two days ago after a team member got hurt. Struiksma, 39, said she went to sleep last night at 10 p.m. and woke up by 2 a.m.
“Next year, I want to do something else — maybe kayak. I’m never doing this again. I did it like 10 years ago, and I don’t want to do it anymore,” she laughed.
Sonia Evans, 54, of team Finish over 40, raced for the first time. To prepare, she said she ate clean and practiced both uphill and downhill running.
To recover, she said “I’m going to try to find a Bodyarmor [SuperDrink], get some electrolytes, get some food, try to find some shade and stretch, and thank God while I’m doing it.”
11:12 a.m.
11:08 a.m.
11:01 a.m.
Team SHEroes was the first competitive women division team to finish the road bike leg.
An exhausted Anna Talman, 25, said there was more uphill than expected.
“It’s not all downhill,” Talman said. “They lied to me … I think I’m going to puke.”
10:55 a.m.
Teammates of Rob Lawrance, who died during the cyclocross leg of the 2022 Ski to Sea, set up a memorial this year at the start of the course. Amir Freund will compete in the cyclocross leg, riding Lawrance’s bike.
This year, the team named themselves “I Believe” to commemorate Lawrance’s love of Bigfoot.
“To have him not here with me — he introduced me to this race — is really, really somber for me,” Freund said.”
10:53 a.m.
Twenty-five teams have finished the road bike leg.
10:45 a.m.
Mike Robson, 51, of the Mt. Baker Ravens, rolled past the finish line as the first veterans division finisher.
Robson, a former Bellingham resident now living in Mill Creek, Snohomish County, echoed Laird on struggling with not having anyone by him.
He now plans to enjoy his old stomping grounds for the rest of the day.
“It’s a beautiful place,” Robson said of Whatcom County.
10:38 a.m.
Patrick Laird, 38, of Inn at Lynden was fourth to finish the road bike leg behind Beaver’s Tree Service in his first-ever race.
The hardest part of the race? Not having anyone with him, Laird said. Other than that, it all went as expected.
“It felt good,” Laird said. “Par for the course.”
10:34 a.m.
The canoe leg is about 18.5 miles long and is the only leg of the Ski to Sea race that involves two teammates.
10:29 a.m.
Beavers Tree Service finishes the road bike leg at 10:29 a.m., coming in third place.
Inn at Lynden comes in fourth, having surpassed Bellingham Firefighters – Whatcom Open Team sometime during the road bike leg.
10:23 a.m.
Boomer’s Drive-In comes in second place, finishing the road bike leg nine minutes after Birch Equipment.
10:14 a.m.
Birch Equipment stays in first place, finishing the 41-mile road bike leg by 10:14 a.m, seven minutes earlier than last year’s finish.
Matt Bailey handed the timing chip to teammates Glenn Bond and Bob Woodman. The two jumped in a canoe and are gliding down the Nooksack River toward Everson.
Bailey had a cherry pie earlier this morning, a breakfast of champions, and already has his immediate plans figured out.
“I’m going to drink a beer and kiss my lady,” Bailey said, still catching his breath.
10:02 a.m.
10 a.m.
Former NFL quarterback Jake Locker — who now lives in Ferndale and is an alum of Ferndale High School and University of Washington — is participating in his fourth Ski to Sea race. This is his second year competing in the canoe leg for his team, Family Comes First.
Locker said he continues to come back to the race due to its unique community feel.
“It’s something that’s kind of iconic and unique to the place that we live in and that I grew up in,” Locker said. “We live here now, we’re up here and we’re thankful for the people in this place. We’re thankful to be a part of it.”
9:48 a.m.
Two hundred teams have finished the running leg, and are off to road bike.
9:38 a.m.
Deb Gordon, 64, cross-country skier for Oldies but New-Bees, called both the snow and the crowd “great” during her leg. The snow actually improved over the past few weeks; Gordon said they came up to Mount Baker three times over the past month to practice.
Gordon and her husband, Mark, moved to Bellingham last year from Wisconsin, and they came as accomplished cross-country skiers.
Gordon said her recovery from her part of the race would be easy.
“I’m going to celebrate life with my friends and have a beer,” she said.
Gordon was sad to report that Oldies’ fearless team leader, Cally Huttar, fractured her ankle on the eighth mile of a practice run. The team found a last-minute substitute for the running leg.
9:35 a.m.
9:25 a.m.
9:20 a.m.
9:19 a.m.
Andrew Shelton is living up to his team’s name: Late Bloomers. The 37-year-old participated in his first-ever Ski to Sea as a downhill skier, finishing the leg at 9:14 a.m.
Before he started, he admitted he wasn’t exactly sure where he was going.
“I intend to follow the crowd,” Shelton said.
9:14 a.m.
The road bike leg of Ski to Sea is a 41-mile ride that begins at the Shuksan DOT snow shed (between mileposts 46 and 47) on the Mt. Baker Highway. The average time to complete the leg is 2:08:30.
9:13 a.m.
9:08 a.m.
“Come on, boys!” canoeists shouted as they marched down Park Drive just outside Riverside Park, carrying their paddles.
8:51 a.m.
Birch Equipment finishes the running leg of Ski to Sea first at 8:50 a.m. The team came in first place overall last year, with a time of 5:59:48.
Boomer’s Drive-In was about two minutes behind. Bellingham Firefighters – Whatcom Open Team fought their way into third place, finishing the running leg at 8:53 a.m.
8:50 a.m.
Shortly after crossing the finish line, cross-country skier and Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood commented on his 31st race experience with something he preferred would remain off the record.
“Usually I’m kind of hyperventilating at the end,” Fleetwood said. “At least that didn’t happen.”
Participation appears to be up this year. Fleetwood said the cross-country leg was crowded.
“At all the usual bottlenecks, it was a mass of people,” Fleetwood said, adding that he had to dodge a number of skiers who had taken a spill.
He planned to hang out in the ski area parking lot after the race, what he likened to a “tailgate party.”
“Everyone is just hanging out, feeling good, because we got another Ski to Sea out of the way,” he said.
8:47 a.m.
8:45 a.m.
8:31 a.m.
Pedro Bojorquez, 16, is getting ready for his first Ski to Sea experience. He was a late entry to team 97.
Bojorquez, a Squalicum High School student, said he’s in good shape already as a track athlete, but he asked his coach to help him prepare for the third leg’s distance. The 8-mile running leg is longer than his longest-ever competitive run, which was 3.1 miles.
Bojorquez heard the rumor about runners cooling down in the Nooksack River at the end of their leg. “If I get motivated, I might dip in the water,” he said.
8:23 a.m.
Twenty-two teams have finished the downhill ski leg.
8:19 a.m.
Adam Loomis, 31, from team first-place Birch Equipment, participated in his first Ski to Sea. His team found him on the U.S. Ski Team website. Loomis, from Park City, Utah, started his leg in fourth place but finished as the first downhill skier to cross the finish line.
“The skiing was good,” Loomis said. He also said it was challenging. “Short efforts are still hard.”
8:15 a.m.
The Canoe is How Long is in second place and Beavers Tree Service is in third. Boomer’s Drive-In was shortly behind, coming in fourth, and finishing the downhill ski leg at 8:14 a.m.
8:12 a.m.
Birch Equipment overtakes Boomer’s Drive-In for first place, finishing the second leg of the race by 8:10 a.m.
8:08 a.m.
So far, 137 teams have finished the first leg.
8:07 a.m.
Brian Gregg, a 2014 Olympian, won the cross-country ski leg for the second year in a row. Gregg said race organizers did a good job preparing the course with its damp, late-spring snow.
After catching his breath, Gregg was thankful it wasn’t raining this year compared to last. “It’s always nice when it’s not wet.”
Gregg is a financial planner from Minneapolis who grew up in Winthrop, Okanogan County. He started participating in Ski to Sea in high school.
7:53 a.m.
7:50 a.m.
Boomer’s Drive-In, a competitive team, is the first to finish the cross-country ski leg.
Inn at Lynden is in second place; and The Canoe is How Long is in third. Birch Equipment, currently in fourth place, won Ski to Sea in 2022.
7:38 a.m.
7:30 a.m.
Ski to Sea 2023 begins.
7:28 a.m.
7:26 a.m.
7:20 a.m.
Michael Walker, 31, of the team Dirty30 moved to Bellingham last year and will participate in the running leg. He made it clear that he preferred the term “participate” to “compete.”
Walker ran the Bellingham Bay marathon last year but sees the all-downhill run as a unique challenge.
“I’m just scared about my knees,” he said.
7:13 a.m.
Those traveling around Whatcom County today are reminded to watch for racers on the roads and take it slow, the Washington State Department of Transportation tweeted Sunday morning.
7 a.m.
“It’s 50 years. Who’s excited?” a race organizer said at the 7 a.m. safety meeting, to cheers.
The mood is upbeat — no rain, unlike last year’s soggy start.
Two captions for photos of Deb Gordon and Becky Brunk of team Oldies but New-Bees swapped the racers’ names and added the team’s total time instead of the leg time. The captions were updated to reflect this change at 10:15 a.m. May 29, 2023. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
