News & Stories

2019 Tri-Loppet Recap

A note from the Chief of Events John Bussey:

Hello Tri-Loppet Athletes and Volunteers,

Well, we tried our best; we trained, planned, showed up, and exercised patience. But in the end it wasn’t to be. Mother Nature showed up with just a little more consistency and force than we could match and the race had to be cancelled.

All in all cancellation was both absolutely the right decision and absolutely a disappointing decision.

While the morning didn’t turn out as planned, I for one had a good time. I guess one nice thing about torrential rain is it pushes the whole crew under the start tent together where it’s impossible not to laugh, and under the Trailhead awning together where the Surly tasted particularly good with lightning in the background.

I love being a part of a community that pushes hard, that tries to make great things happen, but then when a wrench gets tossed in the gears takes it in stride. Staff at the Loppet talk a lot about how we value and embrace “Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty” (a term borrowed from NOLS), and this Saturday morning was certainly a case study in that for everyone associated with the Loppet.

While the Loppet Foundation cannot offer discounts or refunds, our awesome partners Hoigaard’s has been gracious to offer all 2019 Tri-Loppet racers and volunteers a free entry into this Thursday’s Hoigaard’s Paddle Derby (7/25), and we’d love to see you there.

For those of you unfamiliar with that series, the Hoigaard’s Paddle Derby is a 10 race series that takes place Thursday nights starting at Thomas Beach of Bde Maka Ska. Registration is from 5:45-6:30pm and the race starts at 6:45. There are separate divisions for Canoe, Kayak and SUP as well as men’s, women’s and mixed divisions and even a short course for more recreational paddlers. Please bring your proof of racer or volunteer registration from the Tri-Loppet and you are good to go. For more questions about the Derby please contact the Hoigaard’s paddlesports department at 952.929.1351×250.

So, in summary, all of us staff and volunteers at the Loppet Foundation thank you, we appreciate you, and we hope to see you out on the trails soon.

Best,

John
Chief of Events