Game of thrones

SPIRIT LAKE — When Chris Vignale went down following a collision of outhouses Saturday, brother Joe Vignale glanced back but kept going to the finish line.

There’s a price for victory. 

And who knew outhouse racing was dangerous, anyway?

“They slammed theirs into the back of ours,” Joe Vignale said of their competition after another heat in the Winterfest Outhouse Races in Spirit Lake.

Chris Vignale managed to stand with some help, hobbled off the course and did his best to walk off the injury.

“It’s good,” he said. 

Team Money Pot was leading when it got caught up in the ruts on the left side of the snow-covered course, but the Vignale brothers managed to it push back toward the middle.

“That’s when we crossed paths,” Chris said. 

He said he stepped on a ski of “Hunter’s Hideout” outhouse and then the back lip of the outhouse clipped his ankle and he fell, rolling onto his back and clutching his left leg.

"It's the same one I broke earlier this year," he said later. “It feels fine right now. It will be tender for a couple days.” 

Joe came away with a bruised and banged-up wrist, but shook it off. There were races yet to run.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “The hardest part is just keeping your feet going. If one person presses harder than the other, then it careens off course.”

A few hundred people watched the third annual Winterfest Outhouse Races on a 35-degree, overcast afternoon. No snow was no problem as it was trucked in and spread out over about 50 yards on Fourth Street between Maine and Washington.

“We will always be able to do this because we pack our own snow,” said a smiling Mitzi Michaud, organizer and Spirit Lake Parks and Recreation director.

A chili contest, music and activities for kids were part of the fun, but outhouses on skis were the main attraction.

A handful of teams competed. Some made and brought their own outhouses and even shared them with teams that didn’t have one.

Spirit Lake Mayor Jeremy Cowperthwaite was the emcee and official starter, shouting instructions before each race.

“All right, you’re on the line,” he yelled. "We are ready. On your marks, set, go.”

Sedlmayer’s Resort won its three races to claim first place overall.

“How many times in your life do you get the opportunity to push an outhouse down the street?" said Benjamin Seubert, a team member who did the pushing with Colin Conway while Maxxx Etsitty sat on the throne.

Conway said he built the outhouse for the first Spirit Lake races three years ago. 

“We were the only entry,” he said. 

Last year, they finished second. This year, they won. Conway built the latrine for speed, newer skis and lighter panels instead of plywood.

“The trick is the faster person paces the slower person when pushing,” Conway said. “That way, the faster person steers, essentially.”

The downhill, roughly 50-yard course, he said, was plenty long enough.

“We were pretty much sprinting,” Conway said. “I couldn’t run any faster.”

Joe and Carol Ferguson pushed their daughter, Catherine, into the “Chamber Pot” entry by the Spirit Lake Chamber of Commerce.

While they didn’t win, they had fun and said that’s what counts.

“Did you see how young our competitors were?” Joe Ferguson said,  laughing.

The Spirit Lake Fire Protection District came away with the People’s Choice award and put up a good fight each time.

Firefighters Taten Novak and Bryan Sexton, dressed for duty, handled pushing duties.

Novak said it was fun to be part of something good for the community, but it wasn’t easy, not even for fit firefighters.

“It’s tiring, especially in the gear we’ve got on,” he said.

Cowperthwaite was pleased with the turnout and that the predicted rain held off.

“God is good," he said.

By the way, the medal for top teams had a picture of a toilet. Gold-plated.

    Chris Vignale goes down while brother Joe Vignale looks back in the Winterfest Outhouse Races in Spirit Lake on Saturday.
  

    Teams are off at the start of a heat in the Spirit Lake Winterfest Outhouse Races on Saturday.
  

    A medal for top teams in the Spirit Lake Winterfest Outhouse Races.
  

    Spirit Lake firefighter Taten Novak, right, and Bryan Sexton push their outhouse toward the starting line on Saturday.
  

    Teams head down the course in Spirit Lake Winterfest Outhouse Races on Saturday.
  

    Spectators record the Spirit Lake outhouse races on Saturday.
  

    Teams push outhouses in Spirit Lake on Saturday.