Ski to Sea notebook: Downhill leg

"I guess it's insanity," Steensma said of the reason he participates each year. "Or force of habit. I can't stop myself."

The team, which finished 10 years ago in the 200s, finished in the 70s last year and was going for their long-time goal of breaking 50.

"We've gotten a little better, but mostly we've just gotten older. We hope to outlive the competition."

NEON FOR NEWPORT

Michael Hutchins' teammates would have no problem finding him as they made their handoffs Sunday morning. Every member of the Neon Knights were clad in – you guessed it – head-to-toe green neon. Not to mention Hutchins' polka-dotted neon headband.

The 16-year-old Newport High School student traveled with his team from Bellevue to compete in his first Ski to Sea, taking the downhill leg.

"I'll just do it as fast as I can," said Hutchins, who has been skiing since he was two years old. "I feel pretty confident."

The majority of the team's members run cross country for Newport High, said Candy Baunsgard, the mother of another teammate.

"Endurance-wise, they're in their prime," she said. "They're ready to rumble. They're all trying to stay vertical. That's their mantra."

WELL-READ RACERS

Reading is sexy. That's the message the "Better Lovers" team was trying to spread as they prepared for Ski to Sea Sunday morning.

Downhill snowboarder Lindsay Budzier, 23, said her reading group, comprised of Western Washington University alumnae, joined together for their first attempt at Ski to Sea.

Budzier said she’d only been snowboarding for about three years, but confidently clutched her board, which featured a tattooed mermaid. "(The downhill leg) is mostly hiking, which will be good for me since I'm not a stellar snowboarder," she said.

As her teammates assured her that this would be the first of many Ski to Sea races to come, Budzier laughed. "We'll decide that after we get done," she said.

NEWFOUND FRIEND

Andrea Guignard has been waiting all year for the Ski to Sea race. The 25-year-old moved to Bellingham last year right around this time and immediately got hooked on the event.

"It's just a great community event," she said. "I love how everyone comes out."

Guignard was competing in the downhill skiing leg for Tony's Angels, a team created in memory of Lynden resident Tony Wilson, who died last year.

The team consisted of Wilson's friends and family, but they needed a downhill skier. When Guignard heard her friend Leann Avery was on the team, she was jealous. But Avery hooked her up.

"It was like being a matchmaker," said Avery, who was competing in the cross-country leg. "They were excited Andrea wanted to be on the team, and Andrea was excited to be on the team."

NICE DAY FOR A RACE

Downhill skier Arielle Genther dressed appropriately for Sunday’s surprisingly warm race, but by accident.

The first-time competitor was dressed in bright orange, her T-shirt, gloves and lei matching the color of the sunrise.

"I'm so glad it's sunny," she said with a grin. "It's beautiful out."

Genther was racing with Team Rainbow, which has each leg represented by a color of the rainbow.

Even though it was her first Ski to Sea race, the 21-year-old is no stranger to the annual events.

"I did Junior Ski to Sea when I was little, so I thought it was time to upgrade," the Bow resident said.

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