Wholistic Fitness

the running of the bulls;  ilg-style…your feeble coach reaching down deep before an adoring hometown crowd during the Chapman Uphill/Downhill Challenge on Friday night.  ilg eventually finished 4th, missing third to a skier by mere seconds…

less than 13 hours later – with intense head congestion – ilg wins the prestigious and historic 15k Langlauf in his Age Group and finished 4th overall…no one else in the Langlauf did the Chapman Challenge the night before…special thanks to Fischer for my sponsorship of skis, boots, bindings, and poles…ilg won a new set of carbon fiber ski poles, a supply of coffee from www.silverbeancoffee.com plus more from Hammer Gel.

Durango, Colorado –

Friday Night Snowdown:
Fresh from his snowshoe win at the Chama Classic in New Mexico,  legendary and seemingly ageless outdoor athlete/mountain yogi steve ilg (Kahtoola) returned home to Durango to participate in the Chapman Uphill/Downhill Challenge during the infamously fun “Snowdown” town-partying extravaganza which OUTSIDE Magazine said, “…May actually turn away more people than it attracts…”

Ilg was the only snowshoer among 20 rando skiers (ski up with climbing skins, ski down without them) which attacked 3 different, techy laps of 775′ up and down the historic in-town ski hill in this mecca of athletes which has churned out more Olympic/World Class Athletes in more sports than any other town of its size (less than 50,000). The course, designed by Durangatang Scott Simmons (recently finished 2nd in the US National Ski Mountaineering Championships) was far from urban comfort, requiring a 700′ boot pack, black-diamond alpine skills, and night vision even badgers would probably applaud.

When asked why he chose to use snowshoes instead of skis, ilg responded on local radio, “Well, for one thing, i have yet to afford the expensive rando equipment to keep up with Scott and Miles*,  so i figured, you know what?  Given the new snowfall and super steep terrain?  I’m gonna use my Kahtoola direct-mounts**and ski poles then, i’m gonna throw down butt-glissades on the descent…it just seemed to me, to be common sense…if you ain’t gonna win?  dare to be different, at least…you know, it’s my Buddhist training;  produce Noble Effort!”

And he did…much to the thrill of the, okay, probably intoxicated crowd,  ilg held onto third place overall throughout the viciously steep climbs and wow’d the crowd with three mach-speed butt glissades down the sheer ski slope, drawing enthusiastic applause from the spectators. When the interviewer asked ilg what possessed him to do such  crazy antics,  ilg replied between still-heaving breaths, “My students…i’ve got the Highest students on this plane(t)…they support me and my family, and when i’m racing,  i’ll do exactly what any single one of them do and would do for me;  give it their All!”

Approaching the finish line, ilg got pipped by “Pine Needle Drew” (so named because he works at Durango’s long-standing outdoor shop; Pine Needle Mountaineering – where ilg once worked).  As ultra-marathon runner and big-time backcountry skier Drew skied at high speed past a sprinting, well-snotted ilg on snowshoes just 50 meters from the finish, the crowd was a bit berserk.  High-end suffering invites high-end entertainment.

Less than 13 hours later, among the early morning snows when the rest of his Chapman Hill competitors were most likely snoozing,  the nearly 50 year-old ilg won his Age Group (35+)  and finished 4th Overall during the super historic “Langlauf” marathon nordic ski race at the Durango Nordic Center.  ilg put forth this weekend while dealing with an intenese head cold, inherited from his 4 year-old pre-schooler, “I just said to myself, well, every body is going to be breathing hard anyway, so, what’s the diff?   i wanted to do a bouldering comp at our local killer rock-gym;  Durango RockLounge on Saturday night after the nordic race,  but well,  you know…had to babysit…”

So, the ilg-legend grows and more importantly,  inspires all of us to, “produce Noble Effort.”

***

* Venzara, another national class Durango ski mountaineer

** ilg has customized snowshoes from Kahtoola which have his running shoes directly mounted upon the snowshoe frame