With temperatures expected to be in the low- to mid-20s, slight winds from the south and clear skies predicted for the start of their marathon excursion from Moose Jaw to Regina on Saturday morning, everything has come together almost perfectly for the crew of skaters and cyclists who will take part in the 75-kilometre journey beginning at 8 a.m. tomorrow.
The group will leave from Mac the Moose at that time and expect to take around five hours to cover the Trans-Canada Highway into Regina, all with the goal of raising money for their girls provincial alpine skiing program.
“It’s here, and I can’t believe it,” said Moose Jaw’s Morgan Waldo, coach of the Regina Alpine Ski Team and organizer of the fundraiser. “It’s going to be a nice day for sure, I’m ready to go, my team is ready to go, I’m just doing a few final errands to tie everything in together, got my last training session in this morning… now it’s just hurry up and wait.”
Waldo – who will be joined on the blades by Heather Sten from Table Mountain near North Battleford and Qu’Appelle Valley ski club’s Naomi Ottenbreit – has been in training for months for the event, using a double-marathon program to help prepare for the long-distance skate.
“I basically went with that about 80, 85 per cent, then worked with some massage therapy, some physio and then my favourite, yoga,” Waldo said. “It all worked really well, and I feel great.”
She expects one of the major challenges of the trip will come from simply being on the highway, dealing with the traffic and the simple straight lines.
“There’s a lot of safety concerns everyone has to be mindful of, and with turbulence, we’re hoping everyone slows down for us,” Waldo said. “And as they say, you can see your dog running away for three days, so the mental game will be the toughest.”
It’s all for a good cause, though – the fundraising portion has gone well, and they’re hoping a final surge the day of will help them reach their final goal.
“We’re pushing inline skating, but this is the skiing community coming together,” Waldo said. “It has been so exciting to be able to communicate and virtually spend time with these people that you only see one season of the year.”
For more on the SaSki Sisters and to donate to the fundraiser, check out their GoFundMe page by clicking here.
