Nighthawks series fosters fun at Eldora

Wind was blowing, snow was falling and temperatures dropping in the hills above Boulder. I showed up at the Eldora Nighthawks race series assuming the race would be canceled.
    I peered down at the dual GS course. Beyond the start gate, the area was filled with the widest array of racer gear that I had ever seen. Some in helmets, others in snowboarding equipment, all there to get their chance to battle it out with the next racer.
    Six weeks running, last Wednesday was the last night of the Nighthawks series for this winter. With 30 racers waiting in line for the start, some stripping down to Spandex, others sporting puffy down coats, it became clear to me that this race was going to happen.
ELDORA MOUNTAIN, Colorado — Wind was blowing, snow was falling and temperatures dropping in the hills above Boulder. I showed up at the Eldora Nighthawks race series assuming the race would be canceled.
    I peered down at the dual GS course. Beyond the start gate, the area was filled with the widest array of racer gear that I had ever seen. Some in helmets, others in snowboarding equipment, all there to get their chance to battle it out with the next racer.
    Six weeks running, last Wednesday was the last night of the Nighthawks series for this winter. With 30 racers waiting in line for the start, some stripping down to Spandex, others sporting puffy down coats, it became clear to me that this race was going to happen.
    As each racer kicked out of the start gate, I awaited my turn to get my chance to blow all these guys out of the water. When it came time to clink my poles and embark on the 20-second course, I suddenly had the oh-so-familiar feeling of butterflies in my stomach as certain alpiners recognized my name and cheered on my efforts.
    Roaring down the course, hitting every panel, swinging my 181 GS skis out from my body like a pendulum, I came screeching into the finish with a sub 20-second time.
    “Wow, you could break 16 seconds if you actually stripped off your coat,” said a bystander who was stripped down to his red, white and blue Spyder GS suit, confused as to why someone with my skiing ability wasn’t doing the same.
    I replied with a smile of relief, “Yeah, I think my days of freezing my butt off in the starting gate are over. I’m just doing this for fun.”
    After exchanging credentials, I came to realize this bystander was the head of the masters program at Eldora, and promised to consider his coaching offer if he let me run the course as many times as I wanted. All timed, of course.
    After six runs, people knew my name and it felt like I was back on the competitive circuit — but this time I was having fun. For once, knowing what the results sheet would show at the bottom of the course didn’t cross my mind and I realized I was there solely for the love of the sport.
    When I looked around at the kids, juniors, masters and middle-aged parents standing in line, conversing about skiing, chanting to one another in the start gate, cheering each other through the finish, what I realized was priceless. No matter who was soaring down the race course, whether it was the guy in snow pants and a hooded sweatshirt, the master in old-school Spyder Spandex, or me, in suspendered Carbon race pants, we were all here for the love of the game. No matter how cold my feet were, no matter how fast I finished the course, I was the same as the guy skiing next to me with a cold face and high ambitions of just having fun.
    The experience was terrific, and I was relieved to find that there is more to ski racing than competing for blood. I was able to combine in a humbling fashion my talent in ski racing with my love for the sport. No matter how cold, no matter how competitive, there is always an outlet for those who want to get their chance to race against their neighbor, sister, kid or friend at Eldora Mountain.
After the race finale, the competitors celebrated with margaritas and Mexican food.
    Already, I can’t wait to see all of those eager faces next season.