Western Regionals

I sent this invite out to friends / family / coworkers, so thought I'd post it here too.

Brad and I are racing this weekend, and it’s the last race of the season for us at the Park City track:

Western Regional Championships
Utah Olympic Park
Friday & Saturday, 7:30pm – 9:00pm (or so)
Gate code for this Fri/Sat: 5016#

From I-80, take the Kimball Junction exit and go towards Park City, then take a right at the second light (Olympic Blvd) and drive up to the Park.

There are a couple options for watching:

• You can park in the public parking lot by the museum and walk up the pedestrian path to Curve 12. You’ll need to check in at the museum for a pedestrian door code (different than the gate) if you choose this option, but that only takes about 2 minutes. Curve 12 is fun since the shades are open and you can see the whole curve, and when we come by we're traveling around 75 miles per hour. It’s a really good vantage / perspective point.
  
• You can go through the gate and park on the road by the finish (the large group of buildings just up the hill after the sharp left hand u-turn, on the left), and either walk down to Curve 12, or watch athletes come up the finish. The finish can be fun to watch since, even though it’s uphill, we’re still going 50-60 mph and have to brake pretty hard with our toes.
  
• You can go through the gate, drive all the way to the top, and park on the road by the start (there are parking signs up there and you’ll see other cars parked there). Then you can walk over to the start and watch athletes run and load their sleds. Cheering at the start is fun and the only time athletes can really hear you.

If you drive through the gate, just make sure you park in marked parking (or they’ll either tow you or run you over with a plow, heh). And just as a heads up, try not to bring multiple vehicles into the park per family or group, since parking inside is limited. If you have two cars (i.e. one of you is at work and the spouse or friend drives up to meet you), maybe leave one in the museum parking lot and consolidate into one car for entering the gate.

There will be announcements over the PA that are pretty clear, i.e. “the track is now clear at the skeleton start for so-and-so” so you know who is coming next and keep track of things, and depending on who is in the tower, there might be commentary that can be pretty funny. “Oooooh, that had to hurt!” (Some announcers say less than others, but there’s a chance.)

I won’t be answering my cell phone once 6:30pm hits, since I’ll be race prepping, so if you need help or directions after then, call the Olympic Park main line at 465-658-4200, or call the Sports Services Desk at 435-658-4208.

Tell them you’re coming to watch Brad Stewart and Kimber Gabryszak and they’ll know where to send you.

Wish us luck!