Half Corked

In May we headed up to Oliver so Kerry could meet up with Melissa and they could run the 'Half Corked' marathon. This is a 17km run with stops at 10 different wineries or winery stations. Planning for the event had actually started months in advance. Melissa and Kerry had heard about it and attempted to get in however it turns out there is such high demand for the 1000 spots that they get as many as 4000 entries. The only fair way for them to choose is a lottery which and with less than a 1 in four chance, they struck out on and planned for the next year. As it runs out Barb and Reg are very good friends with the owners of one of the wineries that participates and the owners were able to get two tickets for them to run.

Kerry and Barb being who they are, weren't content to just take the free tickets. I was volunteered to make something as a thank you. I still had some old wine barrel pieces from previous woodworking projects and set about making something worthy of the $200 tickets. (Each) I was running out of time so I decided to make several items. I didn't want to focus on just one big item because I might not finish so I narrowed it down to four smaller projects. A fruit bowl, a cutting board, a pen and a wine stopper. All made from wine barrels.

The race itself was not exactly what Melissa and Kerry were expecting. Despite it only being May, the weather was in the 30's and Silver Sage provided an absolute feast at their stop. Coupled with the wine and food provided at other stops and the hills that accompany most wineries, the two were quite exhausted by the end. Thankfully the race provides buses for the participants which made it so they could at least get to the finish line in victory.

Victory was somewhat short lived. Shortly after finishing Kerry was overheated and had a massive headache. We made it home but it was apparent she needed professional help. Off to the hospital we went where they cooled her down and topped her up with a few pints of saline. Apparently last year there were over a dozen people sent to hospital but this year Kerry had the privilege of being the only one. I think there would have been more but more people likely took advantage of the buses because of the heat and if we had seen the paramedics at the event instead of going home we could have avoided going to the hospital. In any event, Kerry was okay and won't forget yet another unforgettable running event with Melissa.