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The
award is named after Marco Smits, initiator of the International Big
Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon, co-founder and president of Portland
Outdoors, and Portland resident. The award is made from a piece of
local barn board.
Recipients
Rick
Mercer. Presented on January 31, 2009. Four weeks before Skate
the Lake VI I learned that popular television personality Rick Mercer
was going to attend our event
and film an episode of the Rick Mercer Report in Portland. I am sure
you can understand the excitement caused by the news. (Read further
below photo)
One of
the first thoughts in my mind was 'skin suit', he has to wear a skin
suit. And did he ever! Rick was part of our relay team fully dressed
in spandex and speed skates. The event took about 30 minutes and it
was -15 Celsius, so cold I almost lost feeling in my feet. I had to
run into the registration trailer to thaw out my toes in front of
our fireplace (yes we have a fireplace in our trailer). Rick however
spent another hour and a half on the ice in skin suit and speed skates,
and that was more than enough to earn him the Marco Smits award.
Sue
Warren . Presented on January 26, 2008.
I knew Sue was
athletic and strong. The rumour was that she goes rollerblading
every day at lunchtime, but when she told me just a few weeks before
the race she was considering skating this year I wasn't sure what to
think. A week before the race I heard that Sue bought her first pair
of long blades. Sure enough, in the days building up to Skate the
Lake 5 Sue was spotted on the oval every day. I was still pretty
sure Sue was going to skate the 10K but no way, and the most amazing
things was that she made the 50K marathon look easy! Steve and the
kids cheered her to an incredible 2 hours and 42 minutes only a week
after she first stepped on speed skates.
Paul Herlehy . Presented on January 27, 2007.
Paul has been an amazing asset to Portland Outdoors. In the fall of
2006 he founded the first active speed skating club in Westport. He
purchased skates and took part in marathons in Quebec, Lake Placid
and Ottawa to prepare for Skate the Lake IV, on January 27, 2007.
Paul fell during the 50K race that day and had to stop. While this
could have been a very disappointing day for him after all the build
up to the race, it was not. Paul's dedication to advance local speed
skating and his and always positive outlook are to be admired by all.
Vicki Stephenson . Presented on January 29, 2006.
Vicki picked up speed skating 3 weeks before she competed in the 50K
race at the 3rd International Big Rideau Lake Speed Skating Marathon.
She only got her first pair of speed skate a few days prior to the
race. She finished with a huge smile on her face in an awesome time!
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