On Saturday, the most diehard souls in the north convened at Craftsbury for a very unique race. The annual Mud n’ Ice Quadrathlon is a competition combining skiing, running, paddling, and cycling. Some choose to tackle the event solo, going the distance in every event. Of course you know Quincy aka Lil Q is just the type of racer for that grueling expedition!
But the MNC Masters team of Mike, Kort, Rick, and Liam proved their multi-talented athletic skill with each member tackling a leg and racing against World Cup athletes and Olympians with no fear.
Mike started things off on the ski leg, a 4-lap course on the homologated sprint loop. If 4 laps of a sprint course doesn’t sound too tough, consider that it was 50 degrees and deep enough slush that you sank up to your ankles with every skate push!
Mike making the MNC Singlet look good in the warm weather!
Mike tagged off to Kort, who ran 5 miles along the rugged dirt roads and hills of Craftsbury. One descent was the namesake of the event: a class 4 road going steeply downhill, still frozen over with ice except for the muddle stream of water pouring down the center.
Kort begins the run after receiving the tag from Mike
Kort ran straight down to the Black River where Rick was waiting with his boat. Rick had the FASTEST paddling time in the whole race by over 2 MINUTES! That’s some impressive waterworks!
RIck getting ready to hit the flooded river
The final leg was handled by Liam on the bike. He may not be a Master by age, but as the head of MNC Masters programming he is more than worthy of competing under the Masters banner. With the 3rd-fastest bike leg Liam brought the team home on the final spot on the podium.
Final leg underway!
This is definitely a cool event that more Masters might want to check out next year! For full results check out the Craftsbury website.
MNC “Black and Blue” team
