Pursuit is a sports feature series highlighting athletes, coaches, and staff and significant sporting events from North Bay and the surrounding area.
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“I’d probably describe myself as a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I’ve competed in hockey and motocross, and with my nursing degree, my goal is to go out west and become a flight nurse, working with helicopter medivac patients in northern communities.”
That’s how Reid Locking sums up his career goals as the senior from Owen Sound prepares for another season with the Nipissing Lakers Nordic Ski Team.
“Skiing was probably the number one reason that brought me to Nipissing. I only started skiing five years ago and in my first year participating at the Ontario Cup Series, I got approached by our coach Toivo Koivukoski, and decided to hop on the team. Nipissing also has a phenomenal nursing program. I can't say enough good things about it. Those two together, plus the small-town community atmosphere was just something I wanted to be a part of,” says Locking.
The 2023-2024 Cross Country Ski Ontario season opened up this past weekend in Gatineau, Quebec and Locking says right from the get-go the races and events are gruelling feats of physical and mental endurance.
“On Fridays, we have sprint heats, which is a 1.3-kilometre loop and athletes will probably do that between two to four times depending on how they progress through the heats. On Saturdays, we have a 5k and on Sunday, it’s a 10k, that’s usually how the weekend is laid out.”
In preparation for pushing through all of those kilometres throughout the season, Locking says the training takes place almost year-round.
“We take about one month off after we finish racing in April and then we're starting right back up again. We train through summer by roller skiing. It’s basically skis on wheels. We do time trial races on those and sometimes we’ll put in a four-hour day on these skis in the summer. Once we get snow, we spend as much time as possible training for sprints throughout the week. We have a really great training plan that was put together by Alex Maycock.”
Maycock, is a former skier with the Lakers team, who won the 2023 OUA championship in a race that was decided by 0.1 seconds, an event Locking says was wild and intense to witness in person.
“They were going down their first lap, and Alex is maybe 4th or 5th place, holding on to the front pack, but he was falling back and I was standing beside the Lakehead University coach and they all have walkie-talkies on the course. Alex did his second lap and the radios just started blowing up with the coaches yelling “Alex has jumped, Alex has jumped into first place! He’s climbing the final climb! Coach Tony and I jump into the truck and race over to where the finish line is, we park the car and as I’m running up to where the crowd is, I locked eyes with Alex’s dad and he’s just wide-eyed and showing so much excitement. They came around that final corner and Alex and (Erikson Moore from Lakehead) were side by side and we were all screaming! I lost my voice just screaming at these two guys. They are coming down the track and one of them crashes at the finish line as soon as they go over, so we didn't see them finish. We just saw a puff of smoke go up in the air like the snow was everywhere. We couldn't see who crossed the line. We didn't know what the heck happened. Alex didn't know if he won. When we saw the photo finish, it was literally by an inch that Alex’s ski was over the line.”
Locking says having Maycock stick around and give back to the team is a huge asset to all the other athletes.
“He has such a deep knowledge base that he brings with him. I was a bad skier in my first year and he took the time to sit down with me as a leader on the team and worked with me on my technique. Four years later he’s still doing the same thing. He’s giving us tips on the courses because he’s raced them so many times and he knows them so well, he can tell us which turns to take outside, which ones to cut in, or which hills to punch up on. He truly cares about every single one of us on the team and takes time to work with everyone,” he says.
That commitment to seeing others succeed doesn’t just stop within your own team's locker room according to Locking.
“It's an amazing sport, with an amazing group of people. The positivity in Nordic Skiing is unmatched. I came from an environment where chirping was part of the game. I played hockey for almost 14 years and you spewed insults trying to gain that advantage. But in Nordic Skiing, the other team is on the sidelines, cheering you on! What other sport does that happen in?”
The other teams don’t just cheer on their competition, they get involved in assisting them when it's appropriate. During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino Italy, Canadian skier Sara Renner broke her ski pole midway through the team sprint event. Norwegian coach Bjornar Haakensmoen gave her a replacement pole and Canada went on to win a silver medal, while the Norwegians placed fourth.
Locking says that is not uncommon at the university level.
“I can't tell you how many times I've had coaches just handing me stuff. In the last race I was in, I broke a ski, and I had to run down the course with both skis in hand. I had coaches throwing stuff left, right, and centre so that I could get my equipment back on and get back in the race,” he says.
While he has competed in motocross and hockey, Locking says this is the most physically demanding sport he’s ever played.
“Imagine a downhill ski resort. You're climbing up that hill and you're twisting and turning on your way up and once you get to the top of that hill, you're not done because you still have to go down and do a few laps.”
He adds there are two different races the Lakers team competes in; skate and classic.
“Classic is the one you see in the movies. That’s where you’re using two hands and you’re competing side by side going up the hill. The other one is called skate skiing, which looks a lot like skating. You’re pushing the skis out to the side.”
During his tenure with the Lakers, Locking has earned some hardware and recognition, picking up the Lakers PRIDE award last year, despite having to miss most of the year due to a concussion.
“I was a co-winner with my teammate Joe Hutton. I’m not surprised Joe won that award. He's a great leader. He's always telling us how to work through workouts. Always hyping everyone up. But I didn’t see it coming for myself. When my name got called up, I did a double take and still didn’t believe it until I saw my name on the screen. I attributed winning the award to my cheerleading skills and sending some opposing coaches to get tested for hearing aids because I was loud on race days,” he says.
Locking says he’s looking forward to the season ahead and adds this is a sport that you can use for life.
“We'll be on the trails alongside the little jack rabbits who are 6-7 years old. Then we've got their grandparents out there teaching them to ski. It’s a sport that you can continue doing through your lifetime. You get to enjoy the outdoors and you get to see the beautiful trails we have here on campus while getting good exercise.”
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