First Ever All African American Team to Participate in 100 Year Old Ski to Sea Competition

First ever all African American team to participate in Ski to Sea competition Memorial Day weekend.

First ever all African American team to participate in Ski to Sea, slated to take place Memorial Day weekend. According to the Seattle Medium, this is a first in the 100 year existence of Ski to Sea.

A Ski to Sea team consists of 8 racers (2 in the canoe leg) for the seven race legs -- cross country skiing, downhill skiing/snowboarding, running, road biking, canoeing, mountain biking, and kayaking. The award winning race showcases Bellingham and has become so popular that race organizers have had to put a limit on the number of registered teams at 500. The Ski to Sea weekend festival also boasts a grand parade the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend and even has a children’s version of the race the week prior to Memorial Day weekend. The present day Ski to Sea Race was started in 1973 which continued the tradition of the 1911 Mount Baker Marathon, America’s original adventure race.

Kim Harris, a member of a local African-American professional group in Bellingham called BASOW (Brothers and Sisters of Whatcom County), dreamt of participating in Ski to Sea and decided to pitch the idea to BASOW for the team. Five months later, The One Point 5 Percent was born. Team #414 consists of Kim Harris (Cross Country Ski), Freddie Payne (Snowboard), Vinson Latimore (Road Run), Ivan Patrick (Road Bike), Russell Harris Jr. (Canoe), Fred Payne (Canoe), Lysander Hubbard (Mountain Bike), and Lahaji Thomas (Kayak). Source

We wish all the participants the very best and congratulate this team of African American trailblazers!