"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat"-Lily Tomlin
Growing up, coaches always seemed to say "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game". I'd have to say that I've taken this to heart for the majority of my life. Don't get me wrong-I love a good win just like the next competitor. However, being nurtured in an environment where I was encouraged to look at playing from a very holistic sense, I've come to appreciate so many other aspects of sportmanship.
This was true for the annual Bed Races that I participated in last weekend. An event of the Squamish Loggers Days Festival, I competed with a group of Quest University students. Our team, the Quest Kermodes, were competing for the first time and we truly were not really certain what we were getting ourselves into. Our game plan was to run the race, but above all to have fun. Then and there I decided that I liked this group of leaders. They too saw the greater impact of this competition-it was created to facilitate fun. A lively means to kickoff the remainder of the weekend's Logger Events.
The competition gets a lot of community hype and recognition. It is one of the friendliest competitions I have ever participated in, and the evening brings out a good portion of the community in both competitors and spectators. A good show is put on by the costumed participants as we're found running down Cleveland Avenue with a hospital gurney and defeating obstacles such as: chugging jello, hoola-hooping, shooting targets, sawing logs and the like.
Although it would have been an amazing feeling to arrive at the finish line and discover that our team had the best time for the obstacle course-it was equally as rewarding for me to get to the end of the course and be greeted by friends who we had heard cheering us on along the course. It's funny, but some people really can get so caught up in the glamour of the end result that they can forget the spirit of the game. I'm proud to say that our elite group of competitors maintained the spirit throughout the course. Focusing on the great sense of community spirit as our reward for our efforts.
So let me take this opportunity to thank anyone who came out to watch the 51st annual bed races this past weekend. The support of the Squamish community really shines. I'm proud to have participated in an event that showcased so much heart...and I even had a little fun racing for that finish line.
