ttspan style=”font-size:85%;”Hey everyone-br /br / Monday night we had our second annual roller ski and end of the year team banquet at my house in the Champlain Valley. We had great weather and almost all of the athletes in attendance. This was a really exciting year to be a part of GMVS’s nordic program and we had a very successful year. After dinner we had a chance to recognize our departing seniors and PG’s, our four All-American skiers(Hans and Kristin Halvorsen, David Sinclair and Dylan Grald), and a special “most improved/great attitude” award that went to Devlin Shea and Kaitlin Fitzgerald.br /br / I am very proud to be a part of this growing program and even more excited to report on the success and improvement that our athletes had across the board. You all know that Preston Butler qualified for World Juniors in Biathlon and Kristin Halvorsen represented the US Ski Team in Norway for the Scandinavian Championships. But, our success continued throughout the season, with five of our athletes qualifying for Junior Nationals in Truckee, California. From this group of five, we had 8 top-10 performances. Even with our relatively small numbers, we were the 8th strongest club in the nation! David Sinclair and Kristin Halvorsen were both knocking on the door for a national championship as first year J1’s. And, Alum Doug Debold, PG ’08, was the national champion in the Sprint, posting the fastest time of the entire field!br /br / I have attached a spreadsheet that quantifies each team members end of the year USSA rankings. I listed each year they have posted points and computed their improvement year-by-year where there is enough data. I also listed each athletes Year of Birth ranking for the 2009 season. We have six athletes on our team that are 8th or better!br /br / As we head into the new year we are more focused than ever. The kids are just receiving their plans for the 2009-10 training year and they have made a pact to perform and monitor their training throughout the summer. We will be hosting Sunday training sessions throughout the summer, and offering opportunities for our kids to train with two other clubs (and vice-versa), the Jericho group and the newly found Frost Mountain Nordic right over in Middlebury. By associating with these clubs we will expose our kids to a greater pool of skiers and give athletes outside our program a chance to see what we are all about here at GMVS.br /br / There is a lot going on at school right now with kids finishing classes and spring sports. When your children get home, and catch their breath, let them show you their plans for summer training and help them carry out a consistent training regimen.br /br / I would like to congratulate our skiers accomplishments this year and applaud our leaders who set the bar for the rest of the team. We had several skiers who set lofty goals for the season, some made them and some fell just short. In order to succeed, you need to dare to do your best and it leaves you vulnerable — I saw desire on each of your faces this winter — don’t forget that feeling! It will get you through the long summer hours and someday help you accomplish great things.br /br / Great job. Let’s finish the year proud.br /br /Thanks for supporting GMVS Nordic,br /jbbr /br /PS: Don’t forget to let me know if you will be attending our Training Camp: June 29-July3. It will help me plan for food, transportation and T-shirts! Thanks.br /br /Preston Butler Overall Points SP Points DI Points Point Change Year Birth Rankbr /2009 List 5 (Rank) 177.28 (228) 177.98 (136) 219.96 (310) 19.96 37br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 197.24 (224) 264.97 (238) 207.96 (250) 48.11 br /2007 List 5 (Rank) 245.35 (334) 295.44 (259) 240.12 (326) br /2006 List 5 (Rank) 990 990 990 br /br /Andrea Dunkle Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 303.8 (311) 344.35 (230) 309.22 (325) 309.21 31br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 613.01 (450) 656.14 (373) 621.88 (447) br /br /Kaitlin Fitzgerald Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 316.82 (325) 447.32 (297) 281.99 (292) n/a 33br / br /Louis-Etienne Garceau Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 191.39 (256) 256.7 (240) 188.93 (251) n/a 43br /br /Dylan Grald Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 114.68 (101) 117.17 (54) 127.67 (122) 60.75 8br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 175.43 (189) 205.11 (133) 180.94 (200) br / br /Hans Halvorsen Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 239.35 (341) 273.13 (263) 297.51 (420) 191.18 7br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 430.53 (488) 430.53 (422) 990 br /2007 List 5 (Rank) 990 990 990 br / br /Heidi Halvorsen Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 398.84 (384) 398.84 (272) 990 n/a 6br / br /Kristin Halvorsen Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 158.27 (95) 177.1 (59) 174.2 (129) 53.54 5br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 211.81 (148) 253.18 (108) 222.81 (180) 74.71 br /2007 List 5 (Rank) 286.52 (266) 990 286.52 (277) br / br /Daniel Kuzio Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 188.41 (250) 343.77 (324) 186.38 (246) 67.79 42br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 256.2 (317) 285.5 (262) 255.1 (312) br / br /Elena Luethi Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 181.04 (147) 192.37 (74) 208.43 (194) n/a 4br / br /John McGlenn Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 196.74 (267) 263.43 (249) 189.06 (252) 130.29 44br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 327.03 (400) 435.2 (427) 328.23 (394) br / br /Alec McGovern Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 270.14 (388) 391.75 (369) 263.32 (379) n/a 49br / br /Daniel Moore Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 238.7 (340) 251.6 (231) 243.06 (354) n/a 39br / br /David Sinclair Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 124.15 (121) 155.58 (93) 123.45 (113) 121.24 2br /2008 List 5 (Rank) 245.39 (305) 263.8 (232) 278.97 (340) (up) 8.37 br /2007 List 5 (Rank) 236.99 (321) 324.58 (305) 240.17 (327) br /2006 List 5 (Rank) 990 990 990 br /br /Devlin Shea Overall Points SP Points DI Points br /2009 List 5 (Rank) 473.21 (510) 508.97 (406) 401.7 (494) n/a 23br //span/ttdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1847564486460994594-7122282105354989615?l=gmvsxc.blogspot.com’//div
Category: XCFeeds
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Bend Camp
divbr //diva onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ObMdc4mpVIg/ShRobIhJznI/AAAAAAAAAHY/7GOnLj9Z4A0/s1600-h/DSC_7609.JPG”img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;” src=”http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_ObMdc4mpVIg/ShRobIhJznI/AAAAAAAAAHY/7GOnLj9Z4A0/s320/DSC_7609.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338006273693175410″ //adiv style=”text-align: center;”Girls team!! We are working on our ups!/divbr /div /divBend, Oregon is a pretty neat town. We have come here for the past 3 years for an on snow camp and this year, as with the other years, we have incredible snow and so far, the weather has been unbeatable. It is the typical ski in the morning and drive down the hill to sunbathe in shorts in the afternoon. We are getting in a pretty big training week, around 20 hours, which is my biggest of the training year so far, and what a great place to do it. Great people to train with, both my teammates and XC Oregon, members of the CXC team, Sun Valley and others, so the living is really good. Kikkan was here until this morning when she took off for Croatia. She is one of two nordic athlete representatives for the coming year, a really important job, and so she will be in FIS meetings, giving input for our sport for the next 2 days. Croatia shouldn’t be a bad place to be!! Taz is also here which is great, as we don’t see our Alaskan teammates as much as we would all like to, so it is great to get a little training in with them before our Whistler camp in September. I only have these two pictures, both taken by Pete Vordenberg, but there are a few more on teamtoday.org if you want to check them out. Carina Hamel, my idol and the person who I followed around for my entire first year on skis came by for a ski on our first morning here. It was great to see her again and to click her heels a bit as well, just for old time sake! Carina is now working in Portland, Oregon in production for Keen Shoes parent company! In the next few years there may be a shoe line out called the “Carinas”. If you see them, she is the designer, and I promise you they will be amazing!br /img style=”display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ObMdc4mpVIg/ShRoa2xJiNI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/_TsFgD-uijo/s320/DSC_7593.JPG” border=”0″ alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338006268928428242″ /div style=”text-align: center;”Carina Hamel and I skiing on our first day of snow in a month!/divdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8313858291794282393-5846072365931496683?l=lizhstephen.blogspot.com’ alt=” //div
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Check This Out!
Click HERE to view an article about the Silent Sports May Athlete of the Month!
I’d like to say a BIG thank you to Lee Borowski for taking the time to nominate me and write this wonderful article. I’d also like to thank Lee for all of the help he gave me as a developing high school athlete, and for everything else he has done for the cross-country ski community in Southern Wisconsin. Thank You Lee!
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Track
It’s May 19th, my high school track season is almost over, and it feels like It just started. My history teacher, Mr. Kulsrud has always tried to talk me into running track, so I decided to give it a shot. Last fall Scott challenged me to break 4:40 in the mile during one of our track workouts. Running a 4:44 that day in the midst of a workout made me think that I might do well at track. After taking a short break after the Junior National Championships, I slowly began to get my legs into running shape over a several week period. My hope in concentrating on the mile are to gain some power and speed in my legs. So far I have been having a great time. All we have left is League Districts, and then the state meet the last weekend in May. I’m finally just starting to feel like I’m in running shape. It took 4 or 5 weeks and I struggled a bit with shin splits when I started. I have to say that I have really enjoyed getting the chance to compete in the sport. Track definitely has its similarities because it is an individual race, but I also feel like it is quite a bit different. It’s a different type of hard. It’s a race just over 4 minutes, and in that 4 minutes you have to be very aggressive, there are no down hills to recover like in skiing. I think it should be very beneficial to my skiing. I feel lucky to have gotten the chance to compete with a lot of talented runners. I can tell there are a lot of very dedicated kids and coaches putting a lot into the sport, always trying to raise the bar, a lot like what we are trying to do in skiing.br /br /Here are the meets and what my times where for the day.br /Royal WA:br /1600m, 4:47, 2nd placebr /Tonasket WA:br /1600m, 4:43, 1st placebr /Quincy WA:br /1600m 4:39, 1st place, School Recordbr /3200m 10:15, 3rd place, School Recordbr /Oroville WA:br /1600m, 4:55, 1st placebr /Winthrop:br /1600m, 4:31, 1st placebr /800m, 2:06, 1st placebr /Bridgeport:br /1600m, 4:54, 1st placebr /3200m, 10:49. 1st placebr /br /This is a picture of me about to make my move 2 laps into the race at Tonasket.br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/ShIqbUF3OzI/AAAAAAAAAAs/BifJgSVVEEM/s1600-h/DSC00041.JPG”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_pZgXW6b1QMk/ShIqbUF3OzI/AAAAAAAAAAs/BifJgSVVEEM/s320/DSC00041.JPG” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337375157125593906″ border=”0″ //adiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-6993723070152249653?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’//div
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Back in Marquette
After a great stay with the DelBellos in downstate Michigan, I am back in Marquette. The summer is off to a great start (it hasn’t really felt like summer though… it snowed here on Saturday…) The good news is that my legs are feeling better every day. I have been adding some running and bounding back into the training, and it is feeling great! There are a bunch of skiers living in Marquette this summer, so we will be able to push eachother to that next level during hard workouts. And we will be able to relax and have fun while enjoying eachother’s company when we aren’t working out.
I’m also back working my part-time job at Farmer Q’s Market. The asparagus is amazing right now, and I suggest stopping by to buy a bunch and say hi if you get the chance!
Tonight I’ll be going to a cooking class offered through the Marquette Food Co-op and I’ll be learning all about Greek Cooking! A few weeks ago I went to an Indian cooking class, and it was so much fun. I’m really looking forward to tonight’s class!
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Back On Snow – Bend Camp Pt. 1
Yesterday morning Scott, myself, Brian Gregg and Sadie Bjornsen piled into Scott’s Eurovan and made the seven and a half hour drive to Bend, Oregon for our first official MOD Team training camp. For the next seven days we’ll eat, sleep and train in the glorious tradition of cross-country ski training camps. We’re lucky enough to be hosted by Scott’s good friend and U.S. skiing legend Dick Hunt, who has a spacious condo only twenty minutes from the mountain venue.br /br /Today’s morning on-snow workout couldn’t have been more ideal. We arrived at the Nordic center and greeted the other U.S. athletes who have showed up to get this last bit of winter. The US Ski Team, along with various Regional Elite teams like ours are all in attendance and the trails are buzzing with the familiar excitement of the race circuit. The difference, however, lies in everyone’s relaxed attitude: only a few weeks into the 2009 dryland season we are all focused on low-level intensity, building volume and strength for the upcoming months. Racing is the farthest thing from anyone’s mind right now and it shows in the periodic greetings and trailside chats that occured during the morning’s ski. We were able to spend two hours working on our classic technique on the softening corn snow, with most of us using the newer “Zero” model classic skis, which boast a synthetic kick zone ideal for warmer and wetter snow conditions.br /br /This afternoon’s workout involved some lactate testing to establish our base training zones for the season. Another bout of dinner and relaxation, and it’s go-time again tomorrow morning. Stay tuned…div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-9165170615448227415?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’//div
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Waiting for Hoffman
From the AP today:VIENNA — Prosecutors in Austria are investigating possible blood doping by 2002 Olympic cross-country ski champion Christian Hoffmann.Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service spokesman Gerald Tatzgern told the Austria Press Agency on Sunday that prosecutors have “reasonable suspicion” that the 34-year-old Hoffmann was involved in illegal blood enrichment.According to the Kurier
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Becca’s Best Blog
The best XC-Ski blog thing I’ve seen all year.br /br /It’s Becca Rorabaugh’s US World Juniors / U23 Ski Team Photo Shoot Competition. The point is to wear your team spandex and take a picture, the more inventive, public, and awkward, the better. Becca completely nails it. She’s unbeatable in the Photo Shoot Competition.br /br /You can find it
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photo: Factory Team
img src=”http://17.media.tumblr.com/COiZNt422niy9fu1kbBofsDvo1_400.gif”/br/br/photo: Factory Team
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From the Rumor Mill: Factory Team to Close Down Due to Lack of Sponsor Dollars…
This note was forwarded this week…br/br/br/Dear Factory Team Sponsors and Reps, I regrettably must inform you that after 15 years the Factory Team will be closing. I cannot get a secure a commitment for a new title sponsor, so I must close the team. I thank you for your years of trust, investment and time. It has been a pleasure working with all of you. Without your dedication to the sport, and the Factory Team brand, we could not have thrived this long. SkiPost, our email newsletter which reaches 40,000 consumers, 1200 coaches/SkiClubs, 700 retailers and 50 media will continue with added Social Networking features. You you will receive a marketing/advertising proposal for SkiPost and additional marketing consulting services in the coming weeks. Please call me next week if you have questions. Have a great weekend, Sincerely, ibAndrew Gerlach/b/i Endurance Enterprises, Inc 201 S. Wallace C1 Bozeman, MT 59715
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…Kick It!
a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIfYQgqdI/AAAAAAAAACo/Ip-UQyzw5Vc/s1600-h/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+003.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIfYQgqdI/AAAAAAAAACo/Ip-UQyzw5Vc/s320/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+003.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437887475329490″ border=”0″ //abr /I’ve always been a fan of the Beastie Boys, and the above title to this post is from one of my favorites, “Fight For Your Right (To Party)”. It’s an apt title for this post, as we have just “kicked in” our 2009 dryland season. For the last few weeks and a few more to follow this means an abundance of low-intensity volume training, general strength work, and getting ourselves and our bodies to the level of fitness and aptitude which we’ll need for later in the year when we begin our more specific regimen of training.br /br /a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIfOLFCHI/AAAAAAAAACg/DfzrhqYbY8c/s1600-h/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+002.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIfOLFCHI/AAAAAAAAACg/DfzrhqYbY8c/s320/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+002.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437884768192626″ border=”0″ //abr /This past weekend I was able to take a few days and travel with the Methow Valley Junior Team up to the Callaghan Valley in B.C., home of the 2010 Olympic courses. I hadn’t been to the Callaghan since last March when I raced there at Canadian National Championships, so it was a great chance for me to log some hours on trails which I hope to be competing on this coming season. The conditions were great, with hard granular snow in the morning making for ideal klister skiing, and a gradual warming to mid-morning for a switch to skating. It was also great to spend some time with the junior team and be able to ski with and do a bit of coaching for the juniors. Many of them have come a long way with their technique and it’s great to see them taking advantage of such opportunities as training on Olympic courses in mid-May!br /br /div style=”text-align: center;”a onblur=”try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}” href=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIe9OpABI/AAAAAAAAACY/MSjAChFIonM/s1600-h/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+001.jpg”img style=”margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;” src=”http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Mg2hQbkHkNs/SgtIe9OpABI/AAAAAAAAACY/MSjAChFIonM/s320/Callaghan_Squamish_Training_May09+001.jpg” alt=”” id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335437880219729938″ border=”0″ //a/divbr /This week’s an easy one, in preparation for a week-long volume camp (also on-snow) in Bend, Oregon next week. The full team is together now as Sadie has returned from school. Brian Gregg is also here training and will accompany our team to Bend as an honorary member of MOD; he has been training and racing for the CXC Elite Team in Wisconsin for the past three years, so it’s great to get some of our native talent back in town for a bit. More soon!div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2910103639238326543-3378379461101987470?l=methowolympicdevelopment.blogspot.com’//div