FasterSkier

Category: XCFeeds

A collection of live feeds from cross-country ski blogs around the web.

  • History is made as Tim Burke takes yellow bib!

  • Classic Sprint #1

  • SMS Skiers Fly to Victories at EC Sprints

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2POBiTLTI/AAAAAAAABxY/bWCwMejPfvg/s1600-h/IMG_1585.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/Sy2POBiTLTI/AAAAAAAABxY/bWCwMejPfvg/s400/IMG_1585.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417143397889813810″ //aClear, cold skies welcomed everyone to Preque Isle for the first stop on the Eastern Cup Circuit. Most of the top Jrs in NE along with a strong group of college and senior skiers showed up to stage battle on the beautifully groomed sprint course at the Nordic Heritage Nordic Center.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2PGUaAYLI/AAAAAAAABxQ/7m6ib8aVZq8/s1600-h/IMG_1587.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/Sy2PGUaAYLI/AAAAAAAABxQ/7m6ib8aVZq8/s400/IMG_1587.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417143265516347570″ //aThe morning prelims went well for the SMS crew (which includes alums Sophie Caldwell and Megan Killigrew who are traveling with us on loan from Dartmouth for the weekend). Heather and Brooke Mooney qualified 1,3 in the J2 girls race. Mac and Tyler qualified 4,7 in the J2 boys race. Skyler won the open mens prelim and Sophie, Megan and Gage placed 1,2,4 in the womens open race!divPictured above are Skyler and Bridger placing 1,2 in their quarter final.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2O_9syNgI/AAAAAAAABxI/1xQ2dHOUrN4/s1600-h/IMG_1590.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/Sy2O_9syNgI/AAAAAAAABxI/1xQ2dHOUrN4/s400/IMG_1590.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417143156341880322″ //aThe heats showed that the prelims were no fluke. Here is Mac leading a semi-final race.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2O46JWWRI/AAAAAAAABxA/-bTRDoTebTk/s1600-h/IMG_1606.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2O46JWWRI/AAAAAAAABxA/-bTRDoTebTk/s400/IMG_1606.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417143035128862994″ //aRachel and Isabel Caldwell made it to the womens B final and placed 1,2 there!br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OynaWSkI/AAAAAAAABw4/skiZ3hxcLpA/s1600-h/IMG_1608.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/Sy2OynaWSkI/AAAAAAAABw4/skiZ3hxcLpA/s400/IMG_1608.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142927020673602″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2Or5bp1-I/AAAAAAAABww/DbjnDcxnZDM/s1600-h/IMG_1623.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/Sy2Or5bp1-I/AAAAAAAABww/DbjnDcxnZDM/s400/IMG_1623.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142811598903266″ //aThe Mooney girls hug after their race, below, where they placed 1,3 in the J2 girls A final.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OmRJkjLI/AAAAAAAABwo/jpVVMNtkenc/s1600-h/IMG_1621.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/Sy2OmRJkjLI/AAAAAAAABwo/jpVVMNtkenc/s400/IMG_1621.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142714886294706″ //abr /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OgZREfXI/AAAAAAAABwg/i9s7mSL_0Zk/s1600-h/IMG_1636.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/Sy2OgZREfXI/AAAAAAAABwg/i9s7mSL_0Zk/s400/IMG_1636.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142613986016626″ //aTeammates cheering from the bridge.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OarTR6hI/AAAAAAAABwY/Qxzcp6Hk_IY/s1600-h/IMG_1638.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/Sy2OarTR6hI/AAAAAAAABwY/Qxzcp6Hk_IY/s400/IMG_1638.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142515747908114″ //aSkyler blew away the field in the mens A final…here he is coasting home with Kevin Cutts in second.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OUYU3BNI/AAAAAAAABwQ/OjFbqvWQRsI/s1600-h/IMG_1629.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 385px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_H2SCM3lmKm8/Sy2OUYU3BNI/AAAAAAAABwQ/OjFbqvWQRsI/s400/IMG_1629.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417142407575045330″ //aSophie dominates the A final with Megan in 2nd and Gage in 4th. /divdivThe official results are not up yet, but it was a great day for the team and we look forward to tomorrows classic mass start races./divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/4680416899705879324-6104304074107255151?l=smsxc.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • More Rogla

    Tobi Angerer on a sprint podium, huh? Okay. It’s happened before on the World Cup: two freestyle individual-sprint bronzes in 2003 at Reit im Winkl and 2007 Rybinsk (both in freestyle) and freestyle team-sprint medals in 2006 at Sapporo, 2004 at both Duesseldorf and Oberstdorf, and in 2003 again at Duesseldorf. On top of that, he has a silver in the team sprint at Liberec this year. Not shabby,

  • Canmore Day 1: Close but not quite there

    I’m in Canmore, Alberta this weekend racing in NorAms and Canadian Olympic Trials. They are also points races which the US Ski Team is looking at for US Olympic team selection. Its back to back classic sprints on a hard course with lots of uphill. I got here very very early yesterday morning and previewed the course yesterday in complete awe of the incredible mountains jutting straight up from the hillside of the course. The Canadian Rockies are unbelievable and I definitely want to come back someday when I have more time to explore! I’ve taken some pictures but I left my camera cord in Vermont so I will have to get home before I can post any.

    Today was the first race day. It was warm ( just above freezing) and the tracks were hard and fast. After a registration mishap I was slotted to start last for the women but luckily the field wasn’t very big and the conditions were staying constant. I started out really fast and about 50 meters after the start, the tracks broke for a stretch before restarting. I wasn’t paying attention and as I stepped back into the new tracks, I pulled a very JV move and clumsily tripped myself up. I was on one ski for awhile and then had a hand down quickly but pulled myself together to save from completely crashing. I was a little flustered but pulled myself together to get back up to speed. Then when I got to the hills I realized the tracks on the course were much slicker than the tracks on the warmup area. My skis were slipping a lot and had to get out of the tracks into the softer snow to run. So I wasn’t expecting much for the qualifying and was thus pleasantly surprised to find myself 1oth overall and the 2nd American. But with Laura Valaas just a second in front of me it was frustrating to know that I could have been the first American.

    I had a short break and then it was time for the heats. In my quarterfinal I started conservatively figuring I would make my move on the big climb which was late in the course. But I soon found myself being pushed around on the corners and stuck behind two skiers on the climb, not being able to pass. Luckily I had fast skis on the downhill and was able to get a good draft and then move into second during the double pole finish to move onto the semis.

    My semi-final heat was very stacked and I had the slowest qualifying time of all six skiers. But I was determined not to get pushed around or intimidated this time so I started out hard and aggressive. I was either leading or second for most of the race but then the draft was not in my favor this heat and I ended up getting caught and passed on the downhill and finished the heat in fourth place, just out of third place and the A final.

    It was hard to watch the A final from the sidelines, especially when the three girls in my semi solidly went 1,2,3 in the final, skiing much faster than the girls from the other semi. I ended up as the 2nd American on the day but I know that I’m in the hunt and it won’t be long before everything comes together for a great day. And the best part is that tomorrow I have another chance. Same race, same course, same field and its on!

  • Angerer: Sprint Specialist? + 15/30km Preview

    The sprints were long and the weather was on the chilly side – with most athletes wearing their buffs or a type of neckwarmer on – but that didn’t mean it was a boring day on the tracks. The conditions were sub par with snow covering the tracks which made it slow going in the qualification and even slower in the knock-out with times over four minutes. The surprises start early in Rogla with some big names not qualifying for the top 30. Especially since it was a classic sprint; bread and butter for Norwegian sprinters. The event went by quicker than usual as the B-finals were cancelled for the race, I’m not sure why though.

    Women
    It was the usual suspects in the women’s rose to the front with Bjørgen, Kowalcyzk, Majdic, Haag, Saarinen, and Andersson hitting the start line for the A-final. It appeared that Majdic had the motivation and the home crowd behind her back to win as she went out of the gate like a rocket only to slip to the back of the pack after starting too hard. Though, she did recover and put herself back in a good position for the finish stretch, she burned too much energy at the start and subsequently failed to keep pace with Kowalczyk and Bjørgen.

    1. Marit Bjørgen
    2. Justyna Kowalczyk
    3. Petra Majdic

    (Note all three of my picks made it into the top 4 :) )
    Note: The Swedish women had a very good day, even though they failed to make the podium they placed four athletes inside the top 11.

    Men
    On the men’s side, it was last weeks winner Dahl who failed a top 30 qualifying time, and was joined by Næss and Gløersen on the side-lines. Rather surprising considering how strong they are in classic sprints. The final included the presence of Angerer, Cologna, Northug, Kruikov, Newell, and Northug. You could tell it was a long, hard course as only half of those athletes are considered true sprint specialists. The pack was tight until the final uphill when Northug scrambled to the front of the pack and lead the charge to the finish as Angerer and Modin were left to fight it out for silver and bronze.

    1. Petter Northug
    2. Tobias Angerer
    3. Jepser Modin

    Notes: It’s very interesting that this is not the first time Angerer has been on the podium for a sprint race. He grabbed a bronze three seasons ago in Rybinsk and in 2003 in Reit im Winkl he place third. Cologna seems to be coming back into his own after back to back weekends where he has qualified in the top 5. He must have been spurred on by the news that he was named Swiss Best Newcomer of the Year last weekend (his trainer Fredrik Auckland was fittingly named Trainer of the Year). Unfortunately, I don’t believe he has the top end speed like the sprint specialists (or Northug) to truly challenge for the win in those last 150-200m. An athlete I’ve been very impressed with this year is the Swedish monster Jesper Modin who has a very bright future ahead of him. I’d definitely keep an eye on him for the sprints in Vancouver.

    North American Watch:

    Other than Newell’s impressive 6th and first A-final of the year, it was a very disappointing day for North America skiers. Newell was the only male to qualify while none of the females did. Hopefully some R&R over the Christmas break will recharge their batteries. On the other side of the Atlantic in Canmore, the first classic sprint was run with Dasha Gaiazova and Stefan Kuhn winning the long 1.45km and 1.7km sprints. Results for men and women.

    15/30km Preview

    Alex Harvery has talked about how he wants to change the way mass starts are run, which he successfully did last year in Trondhiem. If the conditions are anything like they were today, then it’ll be very difficult to break the pack apart which falls in favour of Northug. As always, I have a hard time believing there’ll be any real big surprises on the women’s side. Here’s how I see it playing out.

    Men
    1. Petter Northug
    2. Sami Jauhojaervi
    3. Vincent Vittoz

    Women
    1. Justyna Kowalczyk
    2. Irina Khazova
    3. Kristin Størmer Stiera

    Til Tomorrow.

  • Itasca Biathlon Trials


    Gravestone Generator
    They are not dead till they are warm and dead.
    Do not believe everything you see.
    The Nerve

    Although it has it has warmed up from subzero temp to the low teens it is still cold out here. While some people may lose focus towards the end of a tryouts. JackedUp knows it is go time.

    In 2006 a faction of MWSC and the USBA put up a gravestone in Fort Kent Maine. Marking the end of BIathlon for JackedUp. I missed that team by 3 places working full time as an Anesthesiologist and as a National Guardsman.



    To seal the deal on June 26th 2006 due to a mechanical during a bike race I suffered a fractured Acetabulum and Pelvis. Was relegated to crutches for 2 months. For awhile it was questionable weather I would be able to run again yet return to a competitive level in any sport. Due to the timing of this missed a deployment to Iraq in its stead had a Sept till Dec training camp in Boston with the US Army doing an active duty stint and with CSU(Cambridge Sports Union)
    After all clawed my way back so that:
    In spring I returned to Fort Kent and took home 2 National Biathlon Championship medals.

    Now it is the last hour of tryouts. So far shooting has been ok. Skiing speed has not been as fast as expected.

    Ready to $^&^$ on that F@#$% Gravestone during the next race.

  • Itasca Biathlon Trials


    Gravestone Generator
    They are not dead till they are warm and dead.
    Do not believe everything you see.
    The Nerve

    Although it has it has warmed up from subzero temp to the low teens it is still cold out here. While some people may lose focus towards the end of a tryouts. JackedUp knows it is go time.

    In 2006 a faction of MWSC and the USBA put up a gravestone in Fort Kent Maine. Marking the end of BIathlon for JackedUp. I missed that team by 3 places working full time as an Anesthesiologist and as a National Guardsman.



    To seal the deal on June 26th 2006 due to a mechanical during a bike race I suffered a fractured Acetabulum and Pelvis. Was relegated to crutches for 2 months. For awhile it was questionable weather I would be able to run again yet return to a competitive level in any sport. Due to the timing of this missed a deployment to Iraq in its stead had a Sept till Dec training camp in Boston with the US Army doing an active duty stint and with CSU(Cambridge Sports Union)
    After all clawed my way back so that:
    In spring I returned to Fort Kent and took home 2 National Biathlon Championship medals.

    Now it is the last hour of tryouts. So far shooting has been ok. Skiing speed has not been as fast as expected.

    Ready to $^&^$ on that F@#$% Gravestone during the next race.

  • Itasca Biathlon Trials


    Gravestone Generator
    They are not dead till they are warm and dead.
    Do not believe everything you see.
    The Nerve

    Although it has it has warmed up from subzero temp to the low teens it is still cold out here. While some people may lose focus towards the end of a tryouts. JackedUp knows it is go time.

    In 2006 a faction of MWSC and the USBA put up a gravestone in Fort Kent Maine. Marking the end of BIathlon for JackedUp. I missed that team by 3 places working full time as an Anesthesiologist and as a National Guardsman.



    To seal the deal on June 26th 2006 due to a mechanical during a bike race I suffered a fractured Acetabulum and Pelvis. Was relegated to crutches for 2 months. For awhile it was questionable weather I would be able to run again yet return to a competitive level in any sport. Due to the timing of this missed a deployment to Iraq in its stead had a Sept till Dec training camp in Boston with the US Army doing an active duty stint and with CSU(Cambridge Sports Union)
    After all clawed my way back so that:
    In spring I returned to Fort Kent and took home 2 National Biathlon Championship medals.

    Now it is the last hour of tryouts. So far shooting has been ok. Skiing speed has not been as fast as expected.

    Ready to $^&^$ on that F@#$% Gravestone during the next race.

  • Itasca Biathlon Trials


    Gravestone Generator
    They are not dead till they are warm and dead.
    Do not believe everything you see.
    The Nerve

    Although it has it has warmed up from subzero temp to the low teens it is still cold out here. While some people may lose focus towards the end of a tryouts. JackedUp knows it is go time.

    In 2006 a faction of MWSC and the USBA put up a gravestone in Fort Kent Maine. Marking the end of BIathlon for JackedUp. I missed that team by 3 places working full time as an Anesthesiologist and as a National Guardsman.



    To seal the deal on June 26th 2006 due to a mechanical during a bike race I suffered a fractured Acetabulum and Pelvis. Was relegated to crutches for 2 months. For awhile it was questionable weather I would be able to run again yet return to a competitive level in any sport. Due to the timing of this missed a deployment to Iraq in its stead had a Sept till Dec training camp in Boston with the US Army doing an active duty stint and with CSU(Cambridge Sports Union)
    After all clawed my way back so that:
    In spring I returned to Fort Kent and took home 2 National Biathlon Championship medals.

    Now it is the last hour of tryouts. So far shooting has been ok. Skiing speed has not been as fast as expected.

    Ready to $^&^$ on that F@#$% Gravestone during the next race.

  • Thoughts from a foreign land.

    a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/Sy2EtkgX02I/AAAAAAAABDM/dm3librGtKQ/s1600-h/elena+kristin.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3c1Nv5NLyNg/Sy2EtkgX02I/AAAAAAAABDM/dm3librGtKQ/s400/elena+kristin.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417131845225010018″ border=”0″ //a
    br /Often we can forget that Elena Luethi comes from Switzerland. Her affable personality and ease with the American culture wouldn’t lead you to believe that she hasn’t been to her home for over seven months. We all missed her today as we competed in one of her favorite events–the skate sprint up her in Presque Isle, Maine. She missed us too and here is a short blog post where she sums up the last couple weeks of her GMVS (and American…and Vermont) experience.
    br /
    br /meta name=”Title” content=”” meta name=”Keywords” content=”” meta equiv=”Content-Type” content=”text/html; charset=utf-8″ meta name=”ProgId” content=”Word.Document” meta name=”Generator” content=”Microsoft Word 11″ meta name=”Originator” content=”Microsoft Word 11″ link rel=”File-List” href=”file://localhost/Users/justinbeckwith/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip1/01/clip_filelist.xml” !–[if gte mso 9]xml o:documentproperties o:templateNormal/o:Template o:revision0/o:Revision o:totaltime0/o:TotalTime o:pages1/o:Pages o:words180/o:Words o:characters1027/o:Characters o:companyGreen Mountain Valley School/o:Company o:lines8/o:Lines o:paragraphs2/o:Paragraphs o:characterswithspaces1261/o:CharactersWithSpaces o:version11.1282/o:Version /o:DocumentProperties o:officedocumentsettings o:allowpng/ /o:OfficeDocumentSettings /xml![endif]–!–[if gte mso 9]xml w:worddocument w:zoom0/w:Zoom w:donotshowrevisions/ w:donotprintrevisions/ w:displayhorizontaldrawinggridevery0/w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery w:displayverticaldrawinggridevery0/w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery w:usemarginsfordrawinggridorigin/ /w:WordDocument /xml![endif]– style !– /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:”Times New Roman”; panose-1:0 2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:0 2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:50331648 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:””; margin-top:0in; margin-right:0in; margin-bottom:10.0pt; margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ansi-language:DE;} table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-parent:””; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} — /style !–StartFragment– p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-size:100%;”span style=””While watching Tim Burke racing on TV and hitting refresh on the NENSA results page every minute to see what is going on in Presque Isle, I realized that it’s been a while since an athlete wrote a blog post. Although this last week has been stressful, the last month was amazing! Our camp in Silver Star was definitely the highlight of the year so far and we had incredible skiing out there. We had tons of fun and lots of good training out there. After that it was hard to please us with the snow conditions but we still had some good conditions. Ole’s and Trapp’s were groomed and that is all we could ask for. Since we had exams this whole last week our focus was on academics but it was nice to go out and ski to get a study break. Some of us got to do some speeds when the BKLers were at Ole’s and it was nice to see so many young skiers out there. Then on Thursday most of the team departed for Presque Isle, Dan Moore went back to Canada and I went back to Switzerland. I got to talk to the people up in Maine and it seems to be very cold. The races have now been going on for a while and I’m very anxious to hear how everything went!o:p/o:p/span/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=”font-size:100%;”span style=””Hope everyone will have a great holiday break with lots of snow.o:p/o:p/span/span/p p class=”MsoNormal”span style=””span style=”font-size:100%;”Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!/span/span/pp class=”MsoNormal”—————/pp class=”MsoNormal”We had an awesome opening Eastern Cup day!!/pp class=”MsoNormal”The team all skied great races and we had six of nine skiers move on to the rounds in the sprint./pp class=”MsoNormal”Results are available at the

  • Can’t qualify if you fall

    Just a quick update from the Eastern Cup in Presque Isle. I crashed on the first corner in the sprint and despite my best efforts to salvage my qualifer, my day is over. I was 3rd man out, less than a second from qualifying. Briggs made it, as did Lauren and Chelsea. They’ll have fun in the rounds.

    As for me, I’ve got to work on staying on my feet. Sprinting doesn’t leave much room for error (Bozeman also was evidence of this), so you can’t expect to ski rounds if you touch down on the course. Now it’s time to conserve energy for tomorrow’s 10k classic.

  • Roberts and Colliander take Day Three of Olympic Trials, Shepard solid with 3rd Place

  • DAY 1 – CLASSIC SPRINT

    UPDATED: 6:30am – Morning run. It is WARM out there!
    7:29am – Call from the coaches saying it is SO warm, we might need klister skis! 1:45 of ski testing yesterday, waxing and race preparation out the window. And so it goes. I love klister and I hope it goes there. If not today, most likely it will tomorrow.

    We have heard forecasts from the teens to the forties so anything goes, here in Canmore, Alberta. Game continued…

    11:11am – I start in the back, with the juniors because I don’t have any points from last year. I started 4th from last today and passed 2 girls before I even got out of the stadium. To start with – that equals not fast. Another thing that equals not fast is when you are the only one herring boning up all of the hills. I was into it but things just didn’t line up for me today.

    The good news is that tomorrow we have the exact same race on the same course with the same technique. Believe me, my skis will be kicking up those hills tomorrow.

    Most of the team plans to sit out the heats today since US qualification goes off of the prelim. We will all be ready for tomorrow.

    Results will be HERE when they come up. I didn’t stick around to see how I or anyone on the team placed. If I know before Zone4 posts, I will do another update.

    A disappointing day for me but it is done. Fuel for the fire. `kate

  • DAY 1 – CLASSIC SPRINT

    UPDATED: 6:30am – Morning run. It is WARM out there!
    7:29am – Call from the coaches saying it is SO warm, we might need klister skis! 1:45 of ski testing yesterday, waxing and race preparation out the window. And so it goes. I love klister and I hope it goes there. If not today, most likely it will tomorrow.

    We have heard forecasts from the teens to the forties so anything goes, here in Canmore, Alberta. Game continued…

    11:11am – I start in the back, with the juniors because I don’t have any points from last year. I started 4th from last today and passed 2 girls before I even got out of the stadium. To start with – that equals not fast. Another thing that equals not fast is when you are the only one herring boning up all of the hills. I was into it but things just didn’t line up for me today.

    The good news is that tomorrow we have the exact same race on the same course with the same technique. Believe me, my skis will be kicking up those hills tomorrow.

    Most of the team plans to sit out the heats today since US qualification goes off of the prelim. We will all be ready for tomorrow.

    Results will be HERE when they come up. I didn’t stick around to see how I or anyone on the team placed. If I know before Zone4 posts, I will do another update.

    A disappointing day for me but it is done. Fuel for the fire. `kate

  • DAY 1 – CLASSIC SPRINT

    UPDATED: 6:30am – Morning run. It is WARM out there!
    7:29am – Call from the coaches saying it is SO warm, we might need klister skis! 1:45 of ski testing yesterday, waxing and race preparation out the window. And so it goes. I love klister and I hope it goes there. If not today, most likely it will tomorrow.

    We have heard forecasts from the teens to the forties so anything goes, here in Canmore, Alberta. Game continued…

    11:11am – I start in the back, with the juniors because I don’t have any points from last year. I started 4th from last today and passed 2 girls before I even got out of the stadium. To start with – that equals not fast. Another thing that equals not fast is when you are the only one herring boning up all of the hills. I was into it but things just didn’t line up for me today.

    The good news is that tomorrow we have the exact same race on the same course with the same technique. Believe me, my skis will be kicking up those hills tomorrow.

    Most of the team plans to sit out the heats today since US qualification goes off of the prelim. We will all be ready for tomorrow.

    Results will be HERE when they come up. I didn’t stick around to see how I or anyone on the team placed. If I know before Zone4 posts, I will do another update.

    A disappointing day for me but it is done. Fuel for the fire. `kate

  • DAY 1 – CLASSIC SPRINT

    UPDATED: 6:30am – Morning run. It is WARM out there!
    7:29am – Call from the coaches saying it is SO warm, we might need klister skis! 1:45 of ski testing yesterday, waxing and race preparation out the window. And so it goes. I love klister and I hope it goes there. If not today, most likely it will tomorrow.

    We have heard forecasts from the teens to the forties so anything goes, here in Canmore, Alberta. Game continued…

    11:11am – I start in the back, with the juniors because I don’t have any points from last year. I started 4th from last today and passed 2 girls before I even got out of the stadium. To start with – that equals not fast. Another thing that equals not fast is when you are the only one herring boning up all of the hills. I was into it but things just didn’t line up for me today.

    The good news is that tomorrow we have the exact same race on the same course with the same technique. Believe me, my skis will be kicking up those hills tomorrow.

    Most of the team plans to sit out the heats today since US qualification goes off of the prelim. We will all be ready for tomorrow.

    Results will be HERE when they come up. I didn’t stick around to see how I or anyone on the team placed. If I know before Zone4 posts, I will do another update.

    A disappointing day for me but it is done. Fuel for the fire. `kate

  • Silver Star to Canmore

    On Monday we made the 7 hour drive from Silver Star B.C. to Canmore Alberta. It was one of the most beautiful and most scenic drives I have ever experienced! We lucked out with a clear, sunny, cold day which made for some spectacular views of the Canadian Rockies!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1Drnf26cI/AAAAAAAAAhM/CS0_E_wimAE/s1600-h/winter+09+005.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1Drnf26cI/AAAAAAAAAhM/CS0_E_wimAE/s320/winter+09+005.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417060343412615618″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”The view from the car window!/spanbr //divbr /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1DrZLMNHI/AAAAAAAAAhE/XfDcpMD0Qmk/s1600-h/winter+09+001.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1DrZLMNHI/AAAAAAAAAhE/XfDcpMD0Qmk/s320/winter+09+001.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417060339567834226″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”All ten of us, trying to peak our heads out the front windshield (all the windows were foggy)br //span/divbr /After hearing so many wonderful things about Canmore, I am finally here to check it out myself. The Canmore Nordic Center is an amazing venue with world class trails, racing and facilities. They hosted the nordic ski events for the 1988 Winter Olympics and have hosted several world cup events. It is truly a high-caliber racing venue…and the amazing scenery tops is off!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1DsP8RTsI/AAAAAAAAAhU/8lrsN3wMGYU/s1600-h/winter+09+007.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1DsP8RTsI/AAAAAAAAAhU/8lrsN3wMGYU/s320/winter+09+007.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417060354269204162″ border=”0″ //aspan style=”font-style: italic;”A glimpse of the beauty at the Canmore Nordic Centerbr //span/divbr /We arrived to some colder temperatures, -14 Celsius. A weather front with warm winds, also known as Chinook Winds, moved in on Thursday bringing in some warmer temperatures, +3 Celsius.br /br /Today we raced our first of two back to back classic sprints. Temperatures were warmer than expected, resulting in moredifficult and more technical waxing. The course is a long climb to the top (3 minutes of climbing) before a long sweeping down hill brings you into the stadium for a 150 meter stretch of hard double pole. Today I finished 13th (3rd American) in the prelims…not a great or satisfying result. In preparation for a strong race tomorrow, I decided to sit the rounds out in order to get rested and ready to go! I feel like todays effort was a good “practice-run” for tomorrow. Now I know how my skis run, where to push harder and how to ski the corners. I learned some valuable things from todays race and I am ready to learn from those things and use them to create an even better performance tomorrow!br /br /Ski on!br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_bfd1dFDmRWA/Sy1DsfptwRI/AAAAAAAAAhc/fYNkhPpD7jg/s1600-h/winter+09+008.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/Sy1DsfptwRI/AAAAAAAAAhc/fYNkhPpD7jg/s320/winter+09+008.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5417060358486343954″ border=”0″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/5903545846797966075-6512902631757051492?l=in-the-arena-nicole.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div

  • It’s On Like Donkey Kong!!


  • It’s On Like Donkey Kong!!