Race directors Chris and Helen took on the race organization in 2011 at a time when Chris & Cooper (both big fans of winter) lived in Minneapolis and Helen was commuting to California.
2012 update: Chris (& Cooper) also moved to California where he now trains by pulling a sled on the sand. Well, not really, but it sounds good. Juneau has joined the mix as Cooper’s little, but spunky, sister.
2013 update: Chris and Helen got hitched. Juneau has assumed her birthright as the princess of the household.
2014 update: Chris moved to Oregon for a summer of wild land firefighting. Helen wasn’t sure he was ever going to come back so she decided to move too, and commutes to CA for 2-3 days most weeks.
2015 update: Life in Bend, OR is about as good as it gets.
2016 update: as above
2017 update: as above
2018: Helen travels more now than ever. Bend is growing fast, but is still a pretty good place for us all.
2019: Cooper turned 10 this summer but acts like a puppy and never seems to tire! Juneau prefers to explore at her own pace and smell the roses… or pine cones and juniper. We are somewhere in the middle!
2020: That was unfortunate
2021: With no Tuscobia to keep us busy last winter we decided to take on a new business – a yoga studio. Not the smartest decision in the middle of a pandemic, but much like Tuscobia, we like to keep our tax guy wondering why we don’t seem to be interested in making a profit. Chris dove right in and runs the day to day operations. Helen recently completed her teaching training and is excited to get lots of experience heading into the new year. Cooper and Juneau still bring us endless joy – and plenty of sleepless nights (unlike kids, we can’t seem to train them to sleep in their own beds). We are looking forward to our long road trip to WI and can’t wait to see everyone!
Great timeline, great couple, great race! 🙂