Lake Padden Hosts Annual Junior Ski to Sea Race

Cheers echoed across Lake Padden early Saturday morning, May 16, as the annual Junior Ski to Sea race took off. The sound of kettle corn popping lulled in the background as kids cheered each other on and parents shouted encouraging words saying, “don’t give up.”

Participants ranging from 3rd grade to 8th grade began the race with a running leg that circled around the park stretching for a 1.5 miles before they reached the second leg, the 3-legged race. As the runners came in to tag off their two teammates tied together, cheers roared from the crowd and smiles erupted on their faces. A quarter of a mile later, the 3-legged racers crossed the finish line signaling the bike leg to begin. Bikers take their mark, shoot a determined look at a parent jumping on the side lines and race off to circumference the entire 2.6 miles of Lake Padden. As they pound their pedals and their tires spin, the bikers spit gravel behind them in a sprint to the end. The next leg is soccer where participants show great patience and coordination as they exercise ball control kicking it around cones and racing against their opponents. After a half a mile of the soccer leg they reach the obstacle participant who takes off around the course; jumping over hurdles, navigating through a maze, climbing over the playground and more. This is the final leg of the race and as the obstacle course comes to an end the sounds of cheers and screams fill the air for teams that stride over the finish line. Laughter and smiles resonate throughout the park.



“One of the greatest benefits of the Junior Race is that it puts an emphasis on health and fitness at an early age,” said Pete Coy, Executive Director. “The Junior Race gets kids involved with physical fitness and friendly competition at an early age,” Coy said.

Cheryllynn Milhomme, Burlington resident and mother of past and current participants, said, “I am so thankful for the Junior Ski to Sea race because it gives my boys not only something to look forward to, but something to train for.” The physical challenge of the race is really important and the Junior Ski to Sea Race strives to create a fun environment for kids to exercise and compete safely.

“Junior Ski to Sea builds self-confidence and it teaches kids to work together as a team to push towards a common goal,” said Tamara Danielson, mother of Junior Ski to Sea finisher. It creates a safe and positive environment and brings the community together, she said.

The race is separated into two main divisions, elementary and middle school, and three subdivisions, male-only, female-only, and co-ed (three boys and three girls.) A child must be a minimum of nine years-old in order to join the race for safety precautions.

After witnessing the success of the adult Ski to Sea race, the Chamber of Commerce, in 1994 started the Junior Race. “The first year of Junior Ski to Sea had about 80 teams,” said Curtis Anson, Race Director. Since then, it has grown to over 200 teams and is still growing, he added.

Lake Padden has hosted the race for 11 years, but there are some challenges to be considered for future races. “Lake Padden is a beautiful setting, but with very limited parking it is more difficult to grow the race and there is always congestion with cars trying to get in and out of the park between heats,” Coy said. In order to continue to grow and expand, a different location may be needed in the future.



As of now, Lake Padden will once again be host to Junior Ski to Sea 2016, but it is in the works to look for a new venue that has the expansion needs for the popular race, Coy said.