Monday, March 19, 2007

"I was a little nervous," Krissy said. "I almost didn't do it, but I knew Marlee would have done it."

Marlee Johnston, the girl who dyed her hair whatever color came to mind, would have loved every minute of Sunday's ski race in her memory. Every competitor was given a green tie-dye T-shirt and a lei, and many skied the course in their colorful new accessories. Weather postponed Marlee's Race one day

"It's just something to celebrate her life," Marlee's father, Ted Johnston, said. "We're celebrating Marlee today and we're also celebrating all of our children and what fun it is to be outside on a beautiful day like today and ski."

Marlee was 14 when she was killed in November, 2005. Soon after, her family wanted to start a scholarship to Kents Hill School, and an annual event to help support it.

"Not long after Marlee's death, we were trying to figure out ways to help and get the scholarship off the ground. Do something fun to commemorate her," Alec Johnston, Marlee's brother, said. "I thought, she loved skiing. She was in the junior program here (Kents Hill), so we collectively figured it would be great to have a race, just something fun."

Skiers raced three times, scoring their top two runs. You won't find a race with less pressure.

"He missed the gate. Well, we're going to give him a time," Steve Bell, Director of Snow Sports at Kents Hill said as he scored the race from the timer's shack near the finish line.

"We want to include as many people as we can and make it a fun day but still get a little competitive spirit going, just like Marlee would want," Bell said.

Throughout the day, Marlee's friends and family shared stories about the girl who couldn't help but sing, like she did in the car on the way to ski races, or on stage, in a duet with friend Ben Doughty.

"I played piano to '100 Years' She sang and I sang. That's always been a song for us," Ben, Krissy's older brother and a freshman at Winthrop High School, said. "At my house one time we were making pastries and we had white frosting. She was like 'Who needs white?' and we put in all this green food coloring. She was that type of person, always over the top."

Ben was a forerunner, skiing the course before the competitors, as was Lauren McHatten, also a Winthrop freshman.

"I've never done it before. It was an honor to do it, period, but for this race it was even better," McHatten said.

When they were 11, Lauren and Marlee took part in a walk to raise money for diabetes research. Always over the top when Marlee's involved, the girls raised $5,000.

"That was really fun, because I knew it meant a lot to her, so I'm glad I could support her in that," Lauren said.

"It was her seventh grade year. We hadn't really skied much together at all because I was always off racing for the school," Alec, now a freshman at the Rochester Institute of Technology, said. "I see her go down, I was like 'Holy cow! I've got to get going because she's going to catch me.' This was the first time we'd skied together in quite a while and she was really keeping up with me. That's not supposed to happen."

Mourning a 14-year old girl isn't supposed to happen, either. Marlee's picture hangs in the Liz Cross Mellen Lodge at Kents Hill's O'Connor Alpine Center when she should be in her freshman year at the school, skiing the hill they raced in her honor on Sunday.

Lindsay Jacques of the Spruce Mountain Ski Club was the top finisher on the girls side, Peter Cole of Carrabassett Valley Academy won the boys race.

Their names will go on the plaque next to Marlee's picture in the lodge.

"Whose effervescent personality, concern for other, love of learning, and enthusiasm for alpine skiing serve as an inspiration to us all," reads the plaque next to Marlee's picture. On Sunday, a lei draped the frame.

"I learned to ski when I was 39. My kids both learned to ski when they were 3. She loved to ski. For her, it was just a thrill. She loved gliding down the slopes, feeling the cold air. It was just tremendous. This place offered them a lot of opportunities to ski," Ted Johnston said.

The registration form asked that racers wear bright clothing and enjoy the day in honor of Marlee's spirit and love of skiing. The morning began overcast, but as the first racers hit the course, they skied under a bright blue sky.

Mother Nature came through with her brightest colors, too.

Travis Lazarczyk -- 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com