Beau Whitehead

This month, re-printed from the premier edition of the NW Way of Life Newsletter, we read about Firefighter/Husband/Uber-athlete Beau Whitehead!

Q: Beau, give us a quick run-down of your last year or two’s athletic accomplishments you’re most proud of.
A: Besides getting my beautiful wife Lori pregnant? Let’s see… getting 2nd place in the Indie Mountain Bike Racing Series (Expert class) this year. Winning the Padden Mountain Bike Duathlon 2 years in a row. Still able to finish top-20 in the Seattle Firefighters Stair Climb (out of 1100 racers) –the hardest 12 minutes of the year! Getting 2nd overall with my pregnant wife at the Bellingham Traverse –that was fun! Then getting 4th place in the Bellingham Bay Half Marathon without training was cool. And being able to wear out my dog on trail runs. And competing for the 10th year on the same Ski To Sea team; Go Beavers!!!

Q: What’s harder, fight a 3-alarm fire or racing iron in the Bellingham Traverse?
A: Firefighting is harder. It’s hotter, dirtier, scarier and usually happens at 3 in the morning

when it’s the last thing you expect to be doing. Nothing wipes me out me more –or quicker –than a working structure fire. I always think I’m in good shape until I fight fire for a couple hours.
Fortunately it doesn’t happen more than it does. Racing the Traverse solo is badass too, though. The last 2 years I have wimped out and raced it on a team or as a tandem. To do well as a solo, you really have to put the training hours in, and I haven’t! Someday maybe Brandon will teach me how to paddle a kayak, and that will help a lot too!

Q: You live near Lake Padden and Galbraith Mountain. Does the location of your house play a big role in your outdoor way of life?
A: It plays a HUGE role. We are so spoiled up here. Being near the trails has all but completely stopped me from road biking. When I have to decide between mountain biking right out my back door or battling cars and pavement, the mountain bike usually wins! I also think I’ve forgotten how to run on pavement. Being able to take the dog out on trail runs without driving a car is good too; we love getting muddy! I think living up here has turned me into more of a “homebody.” I would rather hang out at home and enjoy the nearby recreation than drive hours to a bike race. The lake has also played a big role in my new pursuit of stand up paddle surfing. This summer, it was a perfect place to learn a new water discipline and only 1 minute away!

Q: About that stand-up paddling… You’re the first person around Bellingham I’ve seen doing it. What drew you to that sport, and how’s it going for you?
A: While in Kauai with my wife in June, everywhere we went I started seeing guys standing up on surfboards with long paddles. One day I was on a rental surfboard waiting for the next set and started talking to a local paddle surfer. In about 5 minutes he had me convinced that it’s the coolest sport ever! He told me it takes a lot of practice on flat water to get good enough to hit the waves. I figured we have tons of flat water in Bellingham, so I came home from that trip and started researching boards, paddles and technique. Two weeks later I was on Padden on an old windsurfing
board with a homemade paddle, and I was instantly hooked. Now I’ve got the carbon paddle and the specialized board, and I venture out on the bay a couple times a week. A while back I went out on a big wind day, with pretty big wind swell, and quickly learned I have much to learn. But I am super stoked on it. I figure, anyone can paddle sitting down, it takes a real nut job to do it standing up! I hope to see more people trying it.

Q: Alright, you wake up on a Saturday and realize you’ve got the next 24 hours to do anything you want. Break it down for us…
A: Wake up, feed the dog, fire up the espresso machine, eat, put on a Dropkick Murphys CD, check e-mail. While I’m online, I look at the weather radar –this is a big factor for how I plan my day. Take the dog out for a 1-hour trail run on the upper trails at Padden or Fragrance Lake. Come home, eat more, make more espresso. Next, if I can convince myself that jumping into the bay with a wetsuit on is a good idea, I will load my paddle board and head for the water for about 2 hours. If not, I will get on my mountain bike and head up to Galbraith for 2-3 hours. When I come home I will either head to Home Depot for one of several projects, or take a nap. If it is Saturday night, Lori and I will catch a movie at the Pickford or dinner at one of our favorite spots. Pretty average I think…

Q: Sure, perfectly average, Beau. O.K… you’re a few days from laying it all on the line in an extra-grueling race, and your’e making reservations for yourpost-race feast. What restaurant do you choose, and what’s looking good on the menu?
A: Ah… there are so many options in our great city. Probably head to D’Annas on State Street for Aglio y Olio with
Gorganzola. We love that place. We also like to get a nice glass of wine at the Temple Bar on Champion St. But it is
hard to beat a cold Harvest Ale and a lamb burger at Boundary Bay. If I need a good pre-race breakfast I will head
straight to Old Town Cafe and get the 6 ½ which is a garden egg tortilla with black beans and home fries…Man, this is making me hungry!

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