I don’t always do Cody’s Challenge, but when I do, I drink beer at the end
By John Smith
Here’s the deal all you people out there on the fence about doing Cody’s Challenge. I’ve done the race three out of seven times now: once on skis, once with snow shoes and a snowboard on my back and once with a split board.
The year I did it on skis I hadn’t skied in 15 years. Did I finish 2nd to last? You bet I did. Did I beat my high school friend and Cody’s former roommate, Keith Hare, while pounding a Natural Light snowplowing across the finish line, you’re damn skippy.
The year I did it on snow shoes with a snowboard strapped to my back wasn’t pretty. I definitely used a variety of expletives throughout the course trying to fasten the nylon straps with my fat fingers, but I finished sure enough. And you know what was waiting for me at the end? I mean besides the hundreds of encouraging and cheering Cody fans? You guessed it: a cold beer!
Last year, I decided to make a legit showing. I trained by running up and down the steps of my Brooklyn apartment building a few times per week. The day of the race I strapped on a split board for the first time ever and did my best to make Cody proud. Everything was going great until I hit a couple ice patches in the woods. After about 15 minutes slipping and sliding like Bambi on the frozen pond and inventing some creative new expletives, I got up that stretch of the course. When I limped my way to the keg after crossing the finish line, you could imagine my surprise to learn that I had placed 2nd (not 2nd to last) in the old dudes category for splitboarders, which was evidently comprised of more than 4 racers! Triumphantly I struggled to step up on to the podium to enjoy that incredible first post-race sip of beer, reveling in what an amazing community I was blessed to be a part of, and what a legendary legacy we’ve all kept alive.
So, what are the key takeaways from this story?
- There’s free beer after the race
- If a terrible skier/rider like me can do it, so can you!
- Get your ass out there this year to honor a great man and support a great cause, because no matter how bad you do, you will never do as bad as Keith Hare did when he lost to me
Unfortunately Johnny couldn’t make it to the Challenge this year but there’s a rumor there will be a Keith vs. Johnny race off next year!
If you haven’t yet signed up and pre-registered online to save $5 and maybe win some SmartWool swag, you have until noon tomorrow to do so.
Online registration will be closed as of noon tomorrow!
Stay tuned for more news and we’ll be releasing details and stats on the courses at some time tomorrow.
Hope everyone is enjoying all this fresh snow! See you on Saturday for Cody’s Challenge.
Keith Hare, you will never beat me!