'Me nerves!': the all-consuming addiction of tracking Cain's Quest 2016
The place to be in Labrador City these days is huddled around a screen, hitting the refresh button.
"It consumes my entire life for the week, it's ridiculous," says Trina Travers. "No sleep, no food, no nothing. It's Cain's Quest."
The 2016 edition of the endurance snowmobile race, which happens every two years, has 37 snowmobiling teams attempting to cover 3,500 kilometres of harsh conditions throughout Labrador, beginning and ending in Labrador City.
Travers estimates she has refreshed the Cain's Quest website and tracking app more than a few times since the teams raced away from the starting line Friday night.
"Ten million times — not even an exaggeration. I have my phone in one hand, my iPad in the other. My phone for texting, calling, Facebook messages. My iPad's got the tracking on it," she said.
"My thumbs [are] just about broke."
40,000 fans
Travers isn't the only one in the grips of a serious race-tracking addiction.
Race organizers estimate there were 40,000 individual users on the Cain's Quest tracker on Sunday alone.
"It's been phenomenal," race chair Glenn Emberley told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning, adding the official website had half a million hits on the same day.
"The numbers are way up there, compared to previous years."
And that's not counting the multiple Facebook pages dedicated to the race, being updated so constantly with pictures and anecdotes it forms a livestream of minute-to-minute race action.
Fan Tina Arnold agrees the Cain's Quest craze has swept across Labrador.
"Every household, at some point, has looked at something," she said.
Screen party
Arnold and Travers spent Sunday night with 16 other relatives and close friends — and just as many smartphones and tablets — packed into a small living room to share in the Cain's Quest excitement.
There's laughter, snacks, and shouts of "refresh!" and "me nerves!" every few minutes, as the fans stay glued to the latest drama surrounding their favourite racers: Team 6 CSR Racing.
And there has been quite a lot of drama for the team in the past 24 hours.
One of the team's sleds broke down near Happy Valley-Goose Bay and, in dead last, it looked as if they would have to scratch.
"It's hard on the heart, very hard on the heart," said Susan Keefe, the mother of Team 6 CSR racer Jamie Butt, on being so far from the action.
Butt and his teammate Gary Travers managed to get a few stores in Happy Valley-Goose Bay to open their doors, where they found the necessary parts and spent most of Sunday slaving away to get the sled back in shape.
"They've been there for hours upon hours, ripping the Ski-Doo apart and putting it back together," said Travers' son, Christopher Travers.
The entire viewing troupe sat on pins and needles during the repairs, hitting refresh and hoping their team's dot would soon be on the move.
When it finally did, the living room erupted in cheers, hugs and shouts of "Go Team 6!"
Keefe said she'll continue to track the race until the end, but hopes the worst is over for her son.
"I sure love for him to come in first, but to me now, if he comes in last, I'll be just as happy as if he comes in first."
Everyone in the room agrees they'll be there at the finish line, no matter the hour.
Until then, they'll be clicking the refresh button every few minutes.
Follow all the action with our Cain's Quest 2016 live blog.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Jacob Barker and Labrador Morning