pThe best in the country start at Junior Nationals. (via HB)/p
Category: XCFeeds
A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.
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Junior Nationals Skate Race
Another blue bird day here in Maine. Our perception of “The County” has probably been changed forever. We’ve had 7 sunny days in row, and #8 promises to be in store for tomorrow. I’m sure the westerners are happy to be maintaining their tans, and us easterners are getting a head start on our spring break tans.br /br /Racing today was fast and furious on a fun, but deceptively hard course. The J2’s learned this lesson early on in the day, as quite often the standings shifted around a bit in the last 1.5k’s of the race. Conditions are fabulous, pretty firm for how warm and sunny it has been, and the snow is fast. It’s easy to feel good skiing on this stuff, and absolutely essential that you hunt for time everywhere.br /br /We’ve got pics of everyone today thanks to Michael Cobb:br /br /p align=”center”
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The Day Before
Of course the day I try to get some pictures up here the internet is running slow. So this will have to do. It’s the Holmenkollen Stadium. The most amazing ski jump you will ever see is off to the right. The big 50k is tomorrow. Today they were setting up tents all over the place on the course and hauling firewood out there for the party that is Holmenkollen. Tomorrow it goes off!
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The Day Before
Of course the day I try to get some pictures up here the internet is running slow. So this will have to do. It’s the Holmenkollen Stadium. The most amazing ski jump you will ever see is off to the right. The big 50k is tomorrow. Today they were setting up tents all over the place on the course and hauling firewood out there for the party that is Holmenkollen. Tomorrow it goes off!
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The Day Before
Of course the day I try to get some pictures up here the internet is running slow. So this will have to do. It’s the Holmenkollen Stadium. The most amazing ski jump you will ever see is off to the right. The big 50k is tomorrow. Today they were setting up tents all over the place on the course and hauling firewood out there for the party that is Holmenkollen. Tomorrow it goes off!
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Racing
There is a lot of racing going on right now. Usually, racing happens on the weekend, but this isn’t just any week, it’s the One Week in March when all the racing happens: NCAA’s, Junior Nationals, Holmenkollen, and even the Track & Field Indoor Championships.
Check it.
Newell – bib 11 – brings it home. photo: worldcupdrammen.no
First of all, a huge Congratulations to Newell who climbed onto the podium taking third in Drammen, Norway yesterday. That’s a great day for Andy, but his performance doesn’t surprise me at all. Stay tuned for the next sprint this Sunday at the Holmenkollen.
Northug, Jonsson, Newell – photo: worldcupdrammen.no
The Holmenkollen is the King of Nordic ski races–a 50km World Cup. This will be the first year that it’s run as a Mass Start of the Skate variety (it’s typically an individual start 50km!) and I’d say that suits my teammate Brian Gregg very well. Hammer Brian!
Yesterday, NCAA’s kicked off for the Nordic skiers in Steamboat. Though Midd’s got a pretty small crew, they’re still getting after it and skiing strong. Stay tuned for the 15/20km Mass Start Skate that wraps up the Championship tomorrow.
Out in Maine, the Junior National Championships have been going on all week. It’s been exciting to follow the Midwest skiers that I’ve gotten to know at training camps and on the trail over the years. I can’t wait to get out to Maine for the US 50km Championship and Spring Series in a couple weeks.
Finally, the most exciting news of the day. . .
Garrett Heath and Will Leer, two of my good friends from high school, are racing for the US today in the 1500m at the World Indoor Track & Field Championships in Doha, Qatar. In today’s qualifier, Heath, from Winona, Minnesota, ran the 1500m in 3:39, fast enough to make it into tomorrow’s final. Leer, from Minneapolis, ran a 3:42 and just missed tomorrow’s final. Congrats to both of them and Good Luck Garrett in tomorrow’s final!
Will Leer – AP Photo/Michel Euler
Garrett Heath relaxing in 5th during Heats at Worlds – photo: iaaf.org
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Some JO Pictures
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margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5q1v2qJASI/AAAAAAAACj4/aJgOSmuPeEs/s400/IMG_3264.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447866532988780834″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5q05SA99yI/AAAAAAAACjw/spaVpUmsclM/s1600-h/IMG_3258.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5q05SA99yI/AAAAAAAACjw/spaVpUmsclM/s400/IMG_3258.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447865595439478562″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qztxRezjI/AAAAAAAACjo/hO8dfPY8hY0/s1600-h/IMG_3254.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qztxRezjI/AAAAAAAACjo/hO8dfPY8hY0/s400/IMG_3254.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447864298160180786″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qytP6DUvI/AAAAAAAACjg/z2Ec41ok-0w/s1600-h/IMG_3249.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qytP6DUvI/AAAAAAAACjg/z2Ec41ok-0w/s400/IMG_3249.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447863189691912946″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qyM-N7HKI/AAAAAAAACjY/-YaDco4KfpY/s1600-h/IMG_3240.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qyM-N7HKI/AAAAAAAACjY/-YaDco4KfpY/s400/IMG_3240.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447862635187608738″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qxTu4F8cI/AAAAAAAACjQ/6kgxywnkPmU/s1600-h/IMG_3235.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qxTu4F8cI/AAAAAAAACjQ/6kgxywnkPmU/s400/IMG_3235.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447861651816968642″ //adiv style=”text-align: left;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”color:#0000EE;”span class=”Apple-style-span” style=”text-decoration: underline;”br //span/span/diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qvvmECF9I/AAAAAAAACjA/IqDR4ZH8ifQ/s1600-h/IMG_3227.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qvvmECF9I/AAAAAAAACjA/IqDR4ZH8ifQ/s400/IMG_3227.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447859931464210386″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qvOCFA-WI/AAAAAAAACi4/Zkj0BzhvzYo/s1600-h/IMG_3223.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qvOCFA-WI/AAAAAAAACi4/Zkj0BzhvzYo/s400/IMG_3223.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447859354868971874″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qufmI4ygI/AAAAAAAACiw/Y4pqwtHFL3g/s1600-h/IMG_3219.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qufmI4ygI/AAAAAAAACiw/Y4pqwtHFL3g/s400/IMG_3219.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447858557095037442″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qt2QhpV6I/AAAAAAAACio/9sgCOKFIIxk/s1600-h/IMG_3214.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qt2QhpV6I/AAAAAAAACio/9sgCOKFIIxk/s400/IMG_3214.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447857846918666146″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qtMj1rK6I/AAAAAAAACig/SQfffyt9eTc/s1600-h/IMG_3213.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qtMj1rK6I/AAAAAAAACig/SQfffyt9eTc/s400/IMG_3213.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447857130548439970″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qsjmSNnaI/AAAAAAAACiY/AYKImucQh9U/s1600-h/IMG_3208.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/S5qsjmSNnaI/AAAAAAAACiY/AYKImucQh9U/s400/IMG_3208.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447856426830372258″ //abr /more comingdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-4341075725281513056?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Tilly’s Photopeach of Team Gregg and the 2010 American Birkebeiner
Just before heading to Europe, Team Gregg took on the American Birkebiener. Tilly just sent me an email with a slideshow from the event. Click the image below to watch.
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Holmenkollen Arena
Another beautiful day here at Hollmenkollen arena. I skied in the afternoon to get my body used to going at 2pm (qualifying time for Drammen sprints). Hardwax barely worked and I could have skied in my t-shirt.br /br /a rel=”attachment wp-att-34″ href=”http://xcskilife.com/?attachment_id=34″img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-34″ title=”Norway 005″ src=”http://xcskilife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Norway-005-500×375.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”375″ //abr /p style=”text-align: center;”emThe new jump and stadium/em/pbr /a rel=”attachment wp-att-35″ href=”http://xcskilife.com/?attachment_id=35″img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-35″ title=”Norway 006″ src=”http://xcskilife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Norway-006-500×375.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”375″ //abr /p style=”text-align: center;”emHappy to have this opportunity/em/pbr /a rel=”attachment wp-att-36″ href=”http://xcskilife.com/?attachment_id=36″img class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-36″ title=”Norway 010″ src=”http://xcskilife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Norway-010-500×375.jpg” alt=”” width=”500″ height=”375″ //abr /p style=”text-align: center;”emChris, this picture is for you/em/pbr /p style=”text-align: left;”The ski world is small. I ran in to Anders Folleras (former UVM and MSU skier) on the trails today and we did some speed together. I enjoyed dinner with my good friend Kjetil Dammen and his parents. It was fun to recall our years at UAA together and to catch up on our recent adventures./pbr /We catch the transport bus to Drammen in 20 minutes. I am excited for my first Euro World Cup. Classic City Sprint. 5 racers (Newell, Hamilton, Hinckley, Me, and Kikkan)br /br /Info at:
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First Time to Norway
p style=”text-align: left;”Norwegians are very proud. For years I have been told how great the bread is in Norway. My friend and college roommate Kjetil would try hundreds of loaves of bread but never found any to his satisfaction. This morning I understood why, the bread here is awesome. Kuzzy and I have made some pretty awesome loaves at home in Wisconsin, but the bread here is unreal./pbr /p style=”text-align: center;”
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OPA Cup Finals
This weekend marks the last OPA cup races of the season (OPA cup races are the European version of the local racing circuit). Upon our arrival here, we were “invited” by 40-50 mph winds, zero visibility and a huge dump of snow. Since then, each days has gotten a little bit nicer…and today, we actually saw the sun! Rogla is a popular ski resort that draws families, recreational skiers, and racers all alike. It is about 20k from any other town and is at the top of a mountain at 1517m (about 5000 ft).br /br /Today kicked off the first of three races. It was an event that I have never done before…a 2.5k classic prologue. It is a tough race because its at sprint pace, yet it is long enough that if you go out too fast and hard you can loose time in the end. I tried to ski fast yet smooth. When I finished, my lungs were definitely burning…I felt like I put in a hard effort. I ended up in 19th place, 22 seconds out of the lead. Nothing too impressive. I am hoping that today’s hard effort will get me warmed up and ready for tomorrows 5k classic mass-start race. It should be fun!br /I will keep you posted!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S5o45y_6XgI/AAAAAAAAAl0/6yKR1NQf3mI/s1600-h/Europe+2010+082.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S5o45y_6XgI/AAAAAAAAAl0/6yKR1NQf3mI/s320/Europe+2010+082.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447729264851574274″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”The clearest day yet! Those are the bungalows we are staying in.br //span/divbr /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S5o4m0mjZQI/AAAAAAAAAls/jTnxtXFdonA/s1600-h/Europe+2010+080.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/S5o4m0mjZQI/AAAAAAAAAls/jTnxtXFdonA/s320/Europe+2010+080.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5447728938864567554″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”Sylvan, me and Mikey. Congrats to Mikey with a 6th place finish!br //span/divbr /oh, by the way… Petra Majdic is standing right next too me:) For those of you who don’t know who she is, she’s an awesome Slovenian World Cup skier. She won bronze in the classic sprint at the Olymipcs, even with broken ribs and a punctured lung! Talk about TOUGH!!!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5903545846797966075-5886279801969614002?l=in-the-arena-nicole.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
