Our torchbearers are fired up and ready to go.
They've received their uniforms, complete with red mittens with a special maple leaf palm grip to secure their torches when the flame makes its way through its final legs next month.
Although the Squamish torch relay committee have not yet reveal what local runners are participating in the event, a list on the sponsorship Royal Bank of Canada website shows 44 runners will carry the torch from the Powell River to Squamish, and Squamish to Whistler legs - although the list doesn't specify the runners' town of origin.Among them is Fred Holst of Garibaldi Highlands.
And a spokesperson for another torch relay sponsor, Coca-Cola, provided The Chief with three runners who are listed as Squamish residents: Henry Metzler, Hal Coleman and June Kleban.
Brackendale's Metzler and Holst, who are running different legs of the 45,000-kilometre relay, both say they're awaiting the event with zeal.
While Metzler is running with the torch on the Sunshine Coast toward Squamish on Feb. 4, Holst is receiving the flame in Squamish and expects to be jogging toward Whistler on Feb. 5.
Both torch bearers said they'll take their sweet time in order to let the experience soak in.
"I'm told you want to not run in order to savour the moment because when it's over, it's over," said Metzler with a laugh. "I'll do a slow jog, I guess."
Metzler, 60, and Holst, 55, won their spots on the torch relay roster by applying for contests run by Olympic Coca-Cola and Royal Bank of Canada.
As part of his application, Metzler wrote an essay describing his involvement with local youth sports throughout the years as his children grew up.
A member of the Pacific Pin Club, Metzler has a briefcase full of official Olympic lapel pins from the 1988 Games in Calgary, which he attended, and the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Despite undergoing quadruple heart bypass surgery five years ago, Metzler said he is pumped up to run with the torch, even though he will be participating outside of his hometown.
He even travelled to Victoria to experience the start of Canada's torch relay.
"It means a lot," said Metzler, who drives a shuttle for Whistler 小蓝视频ion Tour and Travel Service.
"Even in Victoria, the emotion was more than I expected, everybody pulling together, and it's just such an opportunity to be a part of it and I'm grateful for it."
Metzler missed last year's ski jumping World Cup event at Callaghan Valley's Whistler Olympic Park last year, but considering he is old university buddies with Canadian Team leader Stefan Read's father, he said he's hoping to be there when the skiers soar for the big show.
Holst, who works as a shipbroker negotiating cargo contracts in Vancouver, also holds ski jumping close to his heart. He began competing in the sport as a four-year-old in Norway and continued until he was 16.
But by the time he moved to Canada at age 19, Holst preferred watching hockey pucks fly.
Still, his Scandinavian passion for the Winter Olympics has remained strong over the years, he said. And with the construction of the Nordic venue up just up the highway, he expects Nordic sports to strengthen significantly in the region.
"The ski jumping community was pretty much nonexistent until now. It's starting to build now and with facilities like that it's just going to continue," he said.
So what does carrying to torch mean to him?
"Everything," said Holst. "Where I come from, it's like religion. Winter Olympics is like religion. You live and breathe that. It's a big thing."
Holst said his allegiance will be torn when the Canadian men's hockey team faces the Norwegians on Feb. 16. That was one event he was not willing to miss.
Clad in Viking helmet and face paint, he'll likely cheer for both teams when he watches the game from the bleachers at General Motors Place, he said.
Holst has already experienced the Canada/Norway clash firsthand as a member of the 2000 Squamish Bald Eagles hockey team, which won the Canadian Adult Recreational Hockey Association World Cup. Squamish beat Norway in a shootout in the final game.
The local torch relay festivities take place Feb. 4 and 5 at Brennan Park. The Squamish Rotary is hosting a friendly hockey game between the Squamish Wolf Pack and Minnesota's Twin Cities Northern Light Tier 3 junior team.
Opening ceremonies for the game starts at 3:30 p.m.
To learn more about local torch relay events visit www.squamish.ca.
