In sight

Story and photo by Daryn Slover

A race for the ages

Brad Clarke fits right in. Underneath a blaze orange cap, a flannel shirt and leather mittens is a 42-year-old man, not quite old enough for the “old-timers” race he is about to begin. But then again, his race partners are ages 7, 10 and 12.

Clarke’s fashion sense does not miss a beat. After all, many of the early Nordic skiers cut wood for a living, said David Carter, an official “old-timer” and co-organizer of the 7th annual “Old Timers Event” at Carter’s Cross Country Ski Center in Bethel.

David Carter and his wife, Anne, bring out the box of race bibs once a year. The numbers are from the late 1960s or early 1970s. David Carter gets a hand putting his race bib on. “You know you’re old when you can’t tie your own bib,” 60-year-old Carter said.

The get-together serves as a reunion of sorts and stems from a tight knit group of “really good skiers” who grew up in the Rumford and Auburn area. “It was a small crowd and everybody knew everybody,” Carter said of the Nordic racing community of the 1960s.

The event features 5 or 10 kilometer races, which is more about having fun than competing. “When you cross the finish line, you automatically win your division,” Carter said. “If you’re not having fun, you might be disqualified.” A potluck lunch and ski movie from 1958 follow.

More youngsters show up than “old-timers.” Six children under 13 from the Bethel Outing Club line up at the start with two dads and three skiers over 50. The youngest is 7-year-old Livy Clarke. “The rest of the old-timers show up for lunch,” Carter joked.

Soon after the race begins, former Olympian Jack Lufkin pulls in. “I don’t put racing stuff on anymore. Keep it wide,” Lufkin said of the width of the skis he likes. Lufkin, 61, graduated from Stevens High School in Rumford and competed in the 30K Nordic race during the 1968 winter Olympics in Grenoble, France. “I was overwhelmed but we really had a good time,” said Lufkin, one of three Olympic Nordic skiers who grew up in Rumford.

Carter gets a jump at the start and soon skies past the church where each of his three daughters were married. He approaches “heart attack hill” and climbs to 1,000 feet of elevation. He pushes across the ridge of Farwell Mountain, where he has views of land that has been in his family for more than 200 years.

Just about at the 4K mark, Lee Bell of Bethel pulls up to the Bethel Outing Club group. “Thank goodness they took a break,” Bell said. “I better get going before I stiffen up,” said the 71-year-old after a quick rest.

Forty five minutes after the race begins, Carter finishes the 10K course. “It’s been a long time since I came across the finish line,” Carter said.