FARMINGTON – Winning medals.

That’s the answer you’ll undoubtedly get when asking athletes at the Special Olympics Winter Games what they’re most looking forward to.

“Winning medals. That’s definitely awesome,” said Marc Shink of Jay, who has competed in the winter games for more than 20 years. “When we come back, you’ll hear us clinging.”

As fat flakes lazily fell from the sky on Friday, Shink and his teammates from Work First Inc. tore across the trail at Titcomb Mountain toward the finish line, their snowshoes slapping the ground as they ran.

Work First Inc. provides services to those with mental retardation and other developmental disabilities by assisting them to find work or work-related options for more independence.

This was the last practice before the nine adult athletes travel north Sugarloaf ski area in Carrabassett Valley on Sunday for the 34th Annual Special Olympics Maine Winter Games. They run from Feb. 8 to 10.

For 41-year-old Raymond Rice of New Sharon, this will be his ninth time in the games. The years haven’t worn down his enthusiasm and he plans to medal in cross-county skiing.

He’d better anyway. Rice has already made a bet with his boss that if he wins two medals, his boss has to buy him a pepperoni pizza. And pepperoni is Rice’s favorite.

For many athletes who will compete in the games, what goes on when the bibs are off is just as important as what happens when they are on.

“I really like to go because you get to meet new people,” Shink said, citing the mixer on Monday night as a big hit among athletes. “No matter what disability you have, you can still ski.”

Karen Russell, 50, of Wilton has twice been to the International Winter Games for Special Olympians, traveling both to Austria and to Utah, to schuss down the slopes in the downhill skiing competition.

This year, she’ll be racing with snowshoes instead of skis. Russell is excited about the good food at the event, and winning. “You have to train really hard and then you’ll go fast,” she said.

Other notable activities at the games, the Work First Inc. athletes explained, were the fireworks, snowmobiles rides, sleigh rides and the big parade.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get out of their normal routine, have a vacation and compete against their peers,” explained Mary Rankin of Work First Inc.

Her athletes start training in September for the February games, and will start talking about next year’s event before the van pulls away from this year’s.

For people who often struggle to find their place in society, the event is a chance for them to be special, to shine, and to be No. 1, Rankin added. “It’s important for them and it’s a real source of pride for them. We hear the clinking of medals for two or three weeks afterward.”

It’s the spirit of the event that Rankin says is so gripping to all who are involved, from the 527 athletes to the 200 coaches and 225 volunteers.

That spirit is exemplified by the advice of snowshoer Caitlin Turner, 24, of Farmington, who has gone to the International Summer Games for swimming.

“If you fall down, you get right back up and try again,” Turner shared of her secret to competing with dignity. “You don’t stop until you get to the finish line.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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