Written by Sheldon Lauzon - Jacked from 780Longboarding.com
Saturday, 05 December 2009
Shello's Ghoulish Grin
Halloween traditionally doesn't start until it gets dark on the night of October 31st but for 26 longboarders in Edmonton, AB the tricks and treats started bright and early. Ghouls, Clowns, Cows and Ninja Turtles all showed up to race in the 3rd annual Rundle Speedboarding Outlaw Race. This year the halloween incarnation of the race was brought to us by Shello and it was ran beautifully. Some of our Calgary brethren made the journey north to race with us which was great. The road was totally wet and had been taken over by some biathlon trainees when we first got there so the race was delayed as we did our community duty and let the roller skiers practice while we moved over to the trails to warm up. With the skiers gone, Shello sent all racers to the top of the hill for the racers meeting and practice run. As worried as many were about the wet conditions, it turned out not to be a major issue at all but rather made for an even more exciting race. As soon as you push off down the hill you pretty much forget all about the wetness and just ride. Most had a good practice run but I couldn't help notice that Mike Sanders (2 year defending champion of the rundle outlaw) opted out of the official practice run. With the additional pressure added by Calgarian ripper George Mackenzie as well as the constant threat of fellow local 124 team rider Nick Breton, the Colonel was saving it all for his heats. Throughout the race it looked like the strategy was going to pay off as Mike dominated each of his heats with a MONSTER push (the race was an unlimited push start). Many riders got knocked out by the slick left corner at the bottom. The final heat was stacked with Mike Sanders, George Mackenzie and brothers on boards Nick and Kevin Breton. Once again Mike kicked off the start with a large lead. Nick Breton slipped off the start but was able to catch up to the pack with wicked draft skills. Positions changed multiple times through the race but by the time the final corner was reached, Mike had managed to maintain a small lead over George. It actually looked like Edmonton was going to be able to keep Calgary from stealing another race until Mike slid a bit on the wet pavement and had to ride over some grass to stay on his board. The Colonel's ride through the grass allowed George to slip past and steal the win. Mike managed to hold on to his second place finish and KEVIN BRETON managed to RIP THE FINAL PODIUM SPOT AWAY FROM HIS BROTHER. It was an EXCELLENT race and a rad final heat to watch. The race marshals did an excellent job of opening and closing the course to keep all of the riders safe and there were no issues from anyone in the community. After the main event Shello held a mass Chinese Downhill with an interesting format. 4 flags were placed at the top of the hill. Everyone in the race piled there boards up at the bottom of the hill and when Shello called "GO" you had to retrieve a board (not necessarily YOUR board) and race UP the hill, grab a flag and hold on to it until you found Shello somewhere near the bottom. IT WAS EXHAUSTING MAYHEM!!!!
The sponsors of the race .... Local 124, Pipeline, Easy Rider, Madrid and Orangatang Wheels offered up some wicked shwag for prizes.
Local 124 is Edmonton's specialty longboard & skateboard shop, carrying oldschool skateboards, pool skate skateboards, slalom skateboards, and a large variety of longboards. We house many hardcore and independent brands such as Black Label, Skull Skates, Motion Longboards, Insect longboards Kebbek, Scum Skateboards, Sacrifice Skateboards, Loaded Carving Systems, Landyachtz, and Rayne Longboards, just to name a few. We have all the longboarding, pool, street, and slalom boards and accessories you could possibly want. Staff at the shop are totally dedicated to skateboarding of all diciplines, and provide the best service and quality to our customers. Our knowledgable staff will help you build the perfect longboard or skateboard for your needs, regardless of type or level of skateboarding. Skater owned and operated.
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