Bobsled Races

Last weekend, Mark asked me out, which was great because I am usually the social director. He took me to Park City to watch the World Cup Bobsled Race. There were only a few hundred people there and I don't think they advertised much. The sleds went about 85 miles per hour on the fastest turn and it was very exciting. Russia won first out of 16 sleds racing. We hiked up the hill so we could see the start, most of the turns and then back down for the second run. We ran into Olle Larsson, a long time ski coach for Romark Ski School. He is a very interesting man to talk to. He is Norwegian and I enjoy his thick accent. In ski racing, the world is very small, everyone knows everyone. He told us about his brother who gets skis for Mr. Vladimir Putin and how Mr. Putin loves to ski.

After the races, we went to a very nice prime rib dinner and then to the Yarrow hotel to meet with the Russians. The coach of the Russian Bobsled Team is from the UK and worked in Canada for years. He loves Mark's system and has purchased many over the years. He was very friendly and introduced us to the logistics guy who did not speak much English or at least not to us. They were happy for their win and happy to get their new system to test the athlete's sprinting times. The coach said to me, "The athletes have to be strong and fast. You can make a fast athlete strong, but you cannot make a strong athlete fast."

So there you have it.