For skiers aspiring to World Cup starts, a World Championship or Olympic birth, the International Ski Federation’s (FIS) website can be either a glimmer of hope or something to smudge out dreams. The FIS site allows for a query of any single athlete: there you can analyze the full historical record of a skier’s FIS race results. It’s essentially an elite skier’s domestic and international rankings laid bare.
This last year of domestic racing proved it may be time for 25-year-old Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier David Norris to break into the international racing scene. A quick analysis of his recent results on the FIS site reveals a skier steadily becoming one of America’s top-tier skiers.
In January of this year, Norris won his first Super Tour in Lake Placid, N.Y., a freestyle sprint. The next day, he came up huge again, winning the 10 k classic. Three weeks later, Norris capped off the cold months of winter with an American Birkebeiner win.
Despite the uptick in positive results, Norris’s late-season push did not qualify him for U.S. start rights at the Ski Tour Canada. His strong finish to the season, he also placed third in the 50 k classic at U.S. Distance Nationals, makes him a skier to watch this winter. He’s also a mountain runner to watch — Norris won his first-ever Mt. Marathon Race, a storied uphill and downhill running/scrambling race in Seward, Alaska.
David Norris on an Alaskan-style backcountry skate ski on the Harding Icefield. (Photo: Scott Patterson)
FasterSkier interviewed Norris for its latest podcast episode. Norris describes his efforts to heal from a debilitating virus which prevented him from training seriously during the 2013/2014 season and his uncanny ability to pretty much just show up and crush the Mt. Marathon course in record time. He did so even after last year’s Mt. Marathon men’s winner, international trail-running and ski-mo star Kilian Jornet, set a new benchmark.
“I did go camp in Seward for a weekend a few weeks before the race. I went to the top only once, but I did a few laps of the lower section, where there’s more, I think there’s more danger, and more importance on knowing the specific route you want to take. So I practiced that a few times,” Norris said of his less than hyper-detailed study of the Mt. Marathon course.
What is clear is that Norris is a quick study, calculated risk taker and able to harness his serious lung power when it’s on the line.
For the full podcast interview click the play arrow below.
Caitlin Gregg said she had a hard time falling asleep Friday night, the eve of the 43rd annual American Birkebeiner. Understandable: she was going for a record-breaking fourth win in the 52-kilometer Birkie freestyle race, but moreover, she was going to have to do it in potential rain, slush or even ice, depending on how temperatures and precipitation shook out.
“I was so impressed with the grooming. They did an amazing job,” she said in an interview with USSA’s Tom Kelly the next day, shortly after winning her fourth Birkie title to become the winningest skier in American Birkebeiner history. “It was the perfect mix of hard-packed with just a little bit of just soft snow on top, so that gave you a little purchase where you needed it. It would maybe change a little bit and become firmer in some areas or a little softer in others, but considering what they were delivered it was phenomenal.”
The 2016 Birkie on a gray, windy morning with temperatures in the upper 30’s was a tale of two races. It always is, with the elite women starting 20 minutes before the elite men, but on Saturday, Gregg and France’s Aurélie Dabudyk — the Worldloppet Cup leader — dropped the field around 42 k and Gregg held off Dabudyk by five seconds across the line. Just behind them, the men’s race remained tight over the slushy Lake Hayward and into the final stretches of Main Street, with David Norris of Alaska Pacific University winning by 1 second and fewer than 7 seconds separating the top five.
It was the first time two Americans had topped the podium in the elite men’s and women’s skate races since Holly Brooks and Tad Elliott won the Birkie in 2012.
“I did the Birkie this year for the first time because it fit my calendar really well and it is one of those American races you have to do!” Norris, a Fairbanks native, explained in a post-race email. “I knew their were a lot of experienced Euros and top Americans in the field today so I knew winning would be tough, but that was still the goal at the starting line.”
Of the top seven men, Norris was the only American. He outlasted France’s Ivan Perrillat Boiteux, of team Houte-Savoie, by a second at the line, winning in 2:05:35.4, and another Frenchman Benoit Chauvet (GEL intérim Rossignol) by 1.3 seconds.
“Winning the Birkie is like no other win,” Norris wrote. “The spectators are so supportive and the other Americans in the race were so happy for me even though their own races didn’t go as planned. Maybe the happiest moment of the day was seeing how happy my result made my friends and supporters.”
“I was very excited to win again,” Gregg wrote in an email Saturday night. “Every Birkie Victory has been a huge part of the financial equation for Brian and I in our racing careers.”
(Her husband and Team Gregg teammate, Brian Gregg, was the fourth American man and 13th overall, 1:01.9 minutes behind Norris. For the win, Caitlin received $7,500 dollars for winning plus $2,500 for being the top American, as did Norris, for $10,000 apiece.)
“I am so grateful to the thousands of friends and family who were cheering me on, the endless work of the organizers and volunteers, the fantastic skis by Caldwell Sport and their wax techs and the incredible support of our Team Gregg’s sponsors,” Gregg wrote. “I said it before but this race seems to be the most important of my entire career year after year (Including the Olympics and the World Championships) because I can share the experience with so many important people in my life. Skiing with 10,000 of your friends on the same trail on the same day is pretty tough to beat!”
‘I had a lot more to give’
According to Gregg, the pace of the women’s race started “very slow” by her standards, and “the foreign ladies did a lot of work out there today with 5 or 6 of us taking turns in the lead,” she wrote.
Gregg shared the workload with the likes of Dabudyk and her Houte-Savoie teammate, Italy’s Elisa Brocard and another Italian, Antonella Confortola (Forestale), who finished second to Brooks in last year’s Birkie. New to the Birkie, Klara Moravcova of the Czech Republic and Switzerland’s Rahel Imoberdorf came into the race ranked third and fourth in the overall Worldloppet standings, behind Dabudyk and Brocard.
While word spread among spectators that Gregg may have broken a pole early in the race, Gregg dispelled it.
“The broken pole was actually a rumor,” she wrote. “I never broke a pole out there (thankfully). All of my equipment was perfect…”
About 38 k into the skate race, at a checkpoint called Mosquito Brook, Gregg decided it was time to turn it up a notch.
“I looked at my heart rate monitor periodically throughout the race and saw that I was sitting around 150-160 bpm which is level 2 for me. I have been doing a lot of harder training lately and knew I had a lot more to give,” she explained. “After spending the first 40K trying to ski as easy as possible (besides a few attacks) I decided to put the hammer down just after Mosquito Brook. There wasn’t a definitive plan at the start of the race because every race is different in terms of conditions and competitors but I could tell the other ladies were tiring on the uphills so I went for it on the longest one I knew.”
When she looked back around 42 k, she could see Dabudyk was the only one who had stayed with her.
“She pulled up behind me but I could tell she was spent,” Gregg wrote. “I hammered again and she was able to hang with me but wasn’t looking very comfortable.”
Gregg led most of the way from Mosquito Brook to the finish — about 14 kilometers — explaining that she tried to pull over at times to led Dabudyk take some of the workload up front. But her pace wasn’t cutting it for Gregg, who recalled that it was too slow and she was concerned the chase pack would catch back up to them.
In the final kilometers of the race, across Lake Hayward, Gregg planned her finish.
“All I was focusing on was not tripping up and falling,” she wrote. “There was a headwind so I couldn’t pull away there but I could tell I was feeling a lot fresher than Aurelie. I wanted to be first over the bridge to have a clear shot into the finish lanes and it worked.”
Still leading Dabudyk into the final straightaway on the snow-covered Main Street, Gregg stayed ahead. Dabudyk moved to the left about halfway down the stretch to size up a move, but she didn’t have it. Gregg won in 2:22:44.5 by 5.1 seconds over Dabudyk.
“I felt great in the final 400 meters and was able to get the gap I needed,” Gregg wrote.
“My finish was very, very hard because Caitlin was very high speed…” Dabudyk said through a translator at the press conference. “Trying to pass at the finish, Caitlin was too fast.”
With the silver, Dabudyk retained her lead in the FIS Worldloppet Cup.
“For sure, the Worldloppet Cup is my big goal of the season,” Dabudyk said.
Erika Flowers of the SMST2 Team (r) racing to third in the 2016 American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis., ahead of Italy’s Elisa Brocard (l) and Klára Moravcová of the Czech Republic in fourth and fifth, respectively. (Photo: Worldloppet)
Nearly two minutes later, Erika Flowers of the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) T2 Team held off Brocard and Moravcova by 1.4 and 3.1 seconds, respectively, for third place, 1:51.1 behind Gregg.
“I felt really good coming into the last 5km of the race and skiing onto the lake with Elisa, Clara and Antonella,” Flowers wrote in an email. “I knew I needed to push over the bridge and I felt confident in my finishing speed. I came over the bridge in 5th and knew I could catch at least one person but I was thrilled to ski into 3rd!”
In her first Birkie, Flowers, of Bozeman, Mont., explained she “had no idea what to expect …especially since I had never raced against many of the European skiers in the elite field,” she wrote. “However I have been feeling stronger every week this winter and I love skate distance racing so I figured that on a good day, I had a shot at the podium.”
The last time she did a marathon was seven years ago at the 50 k freestyle Rangeley Lakes Loppet in Maine. She explained that was more of a tour than a race, and she couldn’t remember how she did.
“Besides that, the longest race I have ever done is the 30km at Spring Series each year. I was sick in Sun Valley and didn’t race last year but I finished 9th in the classic 30km in Anchorage two years ago,” Flowers explained.
She’ll wrap up her season with OPA Cup races in Europe in a few weeks.
“I really wanted to be racing the Canadian World Cups this year but an unfortunately timed elbow break in the fall challenged both my race shape and confidence in the early season,” she wrote. “I would have loved to be getting these kind of results a few months ago but I am proud of the work I have done since then and excited to keep on the up and up! I am also psyched to watch all of the Americans racing in Canada! I think we could see some awesome results from both World Cup veterans and newbies and can’t wait to cheer!!!”
“Both Brian and I are headed to Canada in a week to compete in the World Cups and we are very excited!” she wrote. “I will spend everyday this week working with the local Loppet Nordic Racing juniors helping them prepare for the Junior Nationals back here at Telemark. After Canada, Brian and I will go to Vermont and spend some time in the Mad River Valley (where I learned to XC Ski) visiting with the local community, skiing with local schools and Bill Koch kids and training with GMVS. Then it’s off to Craftsbury for Super Tour Finals.”
About 10 seconds behind Flowers, Confortola placed sixth (2:00.7 minutes after Gregg). Imoberdorf was seventh (+2:55.8), Switzerland’s Nicole Donzallaz finished eighth (+2:56.8), Minneapolis native Rosie Frankowski of APU placed ninth (+3:09.5), and CXC’s Alice Flanders took 10th (+5:55.1).
Notably, FasterSkier’s Kaitlyn Patterson, of Traverse City, Mich., placed 18th in the elite women’s field.
‘Nobody wanted to lead’
For Norris, it was as simple as resolving to catch a rogue racer with about 7 k to go. Chauvet, a regular podium contender at the Birkie, had surged off the front, leaving about 20 men in the lead pack chasing behind him.
“I decided to go for him,” Norris wrote. “When I caught him he shut down the effort immediately and I had to decide whether or not to take the reins. We ended up slowing up the pace coming into the lake and it became a pack of seven guys. I think six Frenchmen and myself.”
There, racers met soft and slushy conditions for the first time on an otherwise fast course.
“We had to double pole through a small ankle deep section of water, but overall the groomers made the course fast and firm for us!” Norris noted. “We slowed up coming into the lake and throughout the majority of the lake crossing. There was the typical headwind on the lake that I had heard about. It seemed nobody wanted to lead on the lake.”
But he wanted to be in the lead coming off of it. With experience from the elite sprints two days earlier, Norris knew the 400-meter stretch up and over the International Ski Bridge and down into Main Street to the finish was a short one — not much ground was going to be made up there.
“I pushed it coming off the lake and tried to come off the bridge as fast as possible,” he wrote. “Main Street was the loudest thing I have ever heard and I honestly had no idea If skiers where coming up on me cause I couldn’t hear a thing. I got the dream legs sensation where the pain goes numb and I was just going max effort until I hit the line. I don’t think I celebrated until I was on the line and knew I couldn’t lose it!”
Not only did Norris beat Perrillat Boiteux in second and Chauvet in third, he also outlasted a third Frenchman Adrien Mougel (GEL intérim Rossignol) in fourth (+4.7), Switzerland’s Candide Pralong (GEL intérim Rossignol) in fifth (+6.6), France’s Mathias Wibault in sixth (+8.7), and Italy’s 2014 Birkie champion Sergio Bonaldi (Team Salomon Italia) in seventh (+12.9).
The second American, Kris Freeman (Team Freebird) placed eighth (+33.7). Ivan Babikov of the Canadian World Cup Team was ninth (+349), and one of the initial challengers, Tad Elliott (Ski & Snowboard Club Vail) placed 10th (+38.9).
“Tad made the first real move with 15 or 10km to go and that was the first real push,” Norris recalled. “I think that made people second-guess themselves for the first time. During this effort I realized I was feeling strong and had skid the early portion of the course well and had saved energy for the finish.”
“Chauvet is really experienced and a really nice guy,” Norris added of the Frenchman who changed the race for good. “He did some early work to make our pack just a leading group of maybe 20 guys.”
Asked if the move was too early, Chauvet responded at the press conference, “I’m not sure it was too early. I think I was in very good shape in climbs, but the last 7 kilometers it’s difficult when you are alone when there is a group behind you because people try to catch you.
“I thought I was able to win today and I’m a bit disappointed, but I’m rather happy to make the podium,” he added. “And I will try to win again last year.”
With his second-place finish, Perrillat Boiteux moved into first in the Worldloppet Cup.
“I’m very happy to get the red bib,” he said at the press conference through a translator (Chauvet). “The goal this season is to win the FIS Worldloppet Cup, but the race in two weeks [the Bieg Piastow] is classic and classic is not my main technique so I will try to do the best there and try to keep the red bib to the last race.”
Asked if Norris would continue on the Worldloppet circuit after earning 100 points as the winner (putting him 10th in the overall standings) he replied, “No.” Next year? Probably not, he said with a laugh.
Three races remain in the Worldloppet Cup series, including the Bieg Piastow in Poland, Engadin Skimarathon in Switzerland, and UgraSki marathon in Russia.
Norris planned to end his season with the Tour of Anchorage and Spring Series in Vermont.
“I had a slower start to the season with frustrating results at Nationals, which made qualifying for [the Ski Tour] Canada tough,” he wrote. “At the moment my plans are to return to Anchorage and attend the Tour of Anchorage ski race. The final set of races for me in four weeks will be spring series. I feel like my fitness is improving the longer the season goes so I am hoping to stay healthy and try to finish out the season with a strong result in the 15km and 50km in Vermont.”
Classic Birkie
In the 55 k classic Birkie, Welly Ramsey (Maine Winter Sports Center) won the men’s race in 2:48:59.9, and former Michigan Tech skier, 23-year-old Deedra Irwin of Wisconsin claimed the women’s title in 3:11:58.8. Both won the elite sprints on Thursday and went on to win the classic marathon by more than 12 minutes.
Ramsey, 25, skied to the Birkie classic title by 12:07.2 minutes over Nick Power of CXC. Third went to Canada’s Murray Carter (+12:09.2).
“I just wanted to be on the front and stay out of the fray, but then I turned around and no one else was there so I had a nice 50 k ski by myself,” Ramsey told FasterSkier afterwards. “This is my first Birkie. It feels pretty good. You can call it beginner’s luck.”
Meanwhile in the women’s race, Irwin won by 12:46.7 over Isabel Caldwell (U.S. Ski Team standout Sophie Caldwell’s younger sister) of Peru, Vt. Another 10 minutes back, Josie Nelson of Medicine Lake, Minn., placed third (+22:49.4).
Ivan Babikov (Canadian World Cup Team) striding during the classic sprint qualifier at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski earlier this season in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Marcel Hilger)
Ivan Babikov’s last race was up the Alpe Cermis in Italy. A month and 10 days later, the Russian-born Canadian World Cup Team member plans to be at the start line of the 2016 American Birkebeiner on Saturday in northern Wisconsin.
It’s been a few years, but Babikov, known by some as “Babs the Bulldog,” won the 51-kilometer freestyle marathon in his last try in 2008. He took home $5,000 U.S. dollars for the win, and this year, if he repeats the feat, he’ll earn $7,500 for his efforts. It’s not all about the money, but it gave Babikov, 35, incentive make the trip and 6 a.m. flight along with it.
On the phone earlier this week, Babikov explained he first thought about racing the 2016 Birkie last week. He had heard that Central Cross Country (CXC) revived its Marathon Cup series, of which the Birkie is part of, and reached out to CXC Executive Director Yuriy Gusev as a friendly hello.
“I emailed him and said , ‘Oh, good job, you started that loppet series again. Those are fun, that’s good,’ ” Babikov recalled. “So we started talking about Birkie and he said, ‘You wanna come? We’ll support you.’ And I said, ‘Really?’ ”
“Really?” became a reality, and early this Thursday, Babikov planned to fly to the U.S.
Ivan Babikov, the fastest man of the day at the final stage of the Tour de Ski in 2009.
“They pretty much offered to pay for everything and support me there, so that was kind of the last thing,” he explained. “I was like, ‘Sure, why not?’ I think it will also be good prep for the Tour of Canada.”
Babikov skipped the NorAm Eastern Canadian Championships (Feb. 5-7 in Cantley, Quebec) and Western Canadian Championships (this Friday-Sunday in Prince George, British Columbia) because of the travel involved. Instead, he spent the last month training at home in Canmore, Alberta, ahead of the last World Cups of the season March 1-12 at Ski Tour Canada.
“Since I’m in Canmore for such a long period of time, there’s not much races to do between Easterns and Westerns, but I didn’t want to travel for those,” he explained. “The Birkie, I remember, is a super-fun race and of course it’s a good way to make some extra cash, which is of course a big help for me.”
Last year, Babikov launched a “Make a Champ” online fundraiser to fund his World Cup racing. He reached 50 percent of his goal, raising just over $8,300, and ended the campaign two months ago.
“I was planning to finish [the campaign] before the season started,” he said. “I didn’t reach my 100-percent goal … but I’m still thankful for all the people who donated. I know it’s not that easy.”
When he left the World Cup after the Tour de Ski, Babikov explained there were a couple factors involved, such as the team budget and criteria for staying on the circuit for Periods 2 and 3.
“I was 11th on the day of the hill climb, which was better than last year, and I ended up in the top 30 in the overall, which is a pretty good thing, too,” Babikov said of his 29th overall finish in the Tour. “But [the national team] decided to send me home. Of course I wasn’t happy with it, it’s kind of the first time in so many years I’ve been sent home, and skipping pretty much half of the season. So of course I was a bit upset, but I cannot do anything about it – it’s their decision, and I’m just now trying to focus on Tour of Canada. I’m hoping that it’ll be actually a good thing for me, so I’ll be rested and I’ll be ready for the Tour.”
Back in January, Canadian head coach Justin Wadsworth explained that despite Babikov’s positive end to the Tour de Ski, he did not meet the team’s standards for Period 2 and 3 in Europe. He would have needed to achieve three top-30 World Cup results this season, two top 12’s, or even two top 20’s, Wadsworth said.
“I’m hoping that it’ll be actually a good thing for me, so I’ll be rested and I’ll be ready for the Tour.” — Ivan Babikov, Canadian World Cup Team veteran, on returning home to Canada in early January
But the fact that Babikov returned to Canada mid-season is old news. Now, he’s looking forward.
“I’ve been home, which is a good thing,” he said. “We have really good snow in Canmore so training has been really, really good. I feel much, much better. So Birkie will be good kind of test just to see how body feels, not even in terms of results or anything, but just to see how I feel, how body feels, just to get the last, final touches to preparation. It’s 50 k or a bit longer, but it’s fun and it’s a good financial [decision].
“I remembered how crazy the Birkie is and how much people there care,” he added. “This is their local Olympic Games, so I’m pretty pretty psyched to be going.”
“I haven’t done a race like that in a while so I have to remember how to ski it,” Babikov said of the point-to-point marathon from Cable to Hayward, Wis. “I don’t think there’s pressure; I’m going there kind of last minute, just as a preparation. This time of year, I wasn’t focused on getting ready for the Birkie especially, right? [It’s] after a big load of training and getting my mind on the Tour of Canada. So of course nervous a bit – it’s been a few years since I been there – but that’s fine. I’m excited.”
Babikov has raced the Birkie three times, placing sixth in 2004 and 2005 before winning in 2008.
“I remembered how crazy the Birkie is and how much people there care. This is their local Olympic Games, so I’m pretty pretty psyched to be going.” — Babikov
After that, he’ll set his sights on the eight-stage Ski Tour Canada, which he prequalified for by scoring World Cup points this season.
“Having a World Cup Finals in Canada, it’s a pretty big thing,” he said. “Even for North America. All those guys coming to North America to race, but for the finals, with so many stages for the full tour, so it means a lot to us. Racing at home, with my family and friends watching and stuff. You heard this kind of thing many times, but when you’re racing at home and you know the course really well, every inch of the course … I will be ready, and for sure, I’ll give my 100 percent every day, especially finishing here in Canmore.”
Beyond the final pursuit in Canmore, Babikov said he’ll likely finish the season at Canadian Nationals in Whitehorse, Yukon, March 20-26. Beyond that, he’s taking each year as it comes.
“With the team now and the budget and all this stuff… I don’t know. Right now I’m not trying to think about it too much…,” he said. “Thinking about the Tour of Canada, and I guess I’ll decide finally after that. I’ll see what I want to do and see if I still have drive and excitement for racing, and I’ll see if I want to keep going – hopefully I do.
“And the team doesn’t mind me being on the team,” he added with a laugh. “There is some opportunity, some options, but right now I’m just staying in the game.”
Training for a Cross Country Ski Marathon is hard enough. Save time and reduce stress by having your skis precision glide waxed by the best in the business! Race wax service is available for the 2016 American Birkebeiner. The service includes an LF base layer, HF race layer, 100% Fluoro top-coat, and hand structuring. Testing and waxing will be done on site to ensure the best possible skis for you.
The service is available for both classical and skate skis. It is important to note, however, that for classical skis only binder wax will be applied to the kick pocket. We will provide recommendations for kick and an area to apply wax at ski pickup, but due to the wide variance in the amount of kick preferred, we do NOT APPLY KICK WAX for you.
Please note for the American Birkebeiner. All skis will be picked up at the Birkie Start Line. This provides the allotted time for the best possible wax service for you.
We highly recommended that if you are not dropping off your skis at Gear West the week before the Birkie, that you ship your skis to Gear West ahead of time. See shipping address below.
If you drop your skis off Friday at the Birkie Expo, you will be charged a Friday Drop Off Charge: $104.99 for skating & $114.99 for classic. Again, we recommend shipping your skis ahead of time to Gear West.
Further information about the 2016 Marathon Race Services is available HERE. If you have any questions, please call us at 877-473-4327 or email wax@gearwest.com.
Ship your skis ahead of time to this address:
Gear West Cross Country Ski & Run
Attn: Birkie Wax Service
1786 W Wayzata Blvd, Suite B, Long Lake, MN 55356
Official 2016 Event Poster and T-shirts Available Now
HAYWARD, Wis. — Earlier this year, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF), hosted design contests for the official Birkie 2016 event poster and t-shirt. The ABSF is pleased to announce the contest winners and to share their creative designs which will become the face of the 2016 Slumberland American Birkebeiner, North America’s largest cross-country ski race.
Winner of the first official Birkie poster design contest is Christopher Schmidt of Minneapolis, MN. Schmidt’s design was selected by a panel of ABSF judges. As part of Schmidt’s prize package, he will receive two complimentary race registrations for any Birkie skiing event; VIP parking at the Birkie race start; and use of his design on numerous official 2016 Birkie materials. Official 2016 Birkie posters are available at the Birkie Store in Hayward, or online at www.BirkieStore.com.
The official Birkie poster image serves as an icon for each specific year’s race and festivities and its announcement is awaited by participants worldwide. The poster design graces the cover of the ABSF’s pre-race Birch Scroll magazine, the annual ABSF participant race-guide, as well as on official ski stickers given to every participant of the American Birkebeiner race. Not only is the design printed into a full-size poster, it is also printed into a much smaller version for use by area businesses and Chamber of Commerce members throughout Hayward & Cable, WI.
The ABSF is pleased to announce the official 2016 Slumberland American Birkebeiner t-shirt design contest winner is Brooke Wentland from Madison, WI. Wentland’s design was selected through on-line voting at www.Birkie.com. She originally caught Birkie Fever during the Kortelopet in 2011 and plans to compete in her first Birkie in 2016. The official 2016 Birkie t-shirt is available for purchase online at www.Birkie.com/store and will soon be in the Birkie Store in Hayward, WI.
The Birkie Store, located at 10527 Main Street in Hayward, WI, is open just in time for holiday shopping. Birkie Store hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm and 11:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday. Shoppers will find a variety of branded Birkie merchandise, including wearables, posters, books, and gift items in the store and will be able to see the future space of the Tony Wise Museum of the American Birkebeiner slated to open in 2016.
The 2016 Slumberland American Birkebeiner Ski Marathon is North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon and the third largest in the world. Spanning 51 kilometers from Cable to Hayward for skate skiers, and 55K for classic skiers, on the 107K Birkie Trail, the race attracts over 10,000 skiers each year. The Birkie is part of the Worldloppet circuit of 20 international ski marathons. Over 250,000 skiers have finished Birkie ski events (Birkie, Kortelopet, Prince Haakon) since the races began. An estimated 45,000 spectators and skiers are expected to gather in and around the Hayward area for the annual Nordic sports festivities from February 18 through Sunday, February 21, 2016.
About the American Birkebeiner® Ski Foundation and Birkie® Events
Located near Hayward and Cable, Wisconsin, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, is known for its signature American Birkebeiner Ski Marathon held each February. Today, the Birkie brand has grown to encompass a year round lifestyle that provides healthy, active events for thousands of outdoor fitness enthusiasts of all levels. From the iconic Birkie ski race to the Birkie Trail Run & Trek, and Fat Bike Birkie race, the ABSF and the Birkie Trail attract skiers, runners, bikers, trekkers, and hikers, from casual day-trippers to elite superstars. Birkie. Ski. Run. Bike. Live! Visit www.Birkie.com to learn more.
Slumberland American Birkebeiner and Kortelopet race registration will close Tuesday, November 3, at 11:59 p.m. CST!
We don’t want you to miss out on the 2016 Birkie experience!
Based on registrations received as of this morning,
the participant cap will be reached by Tuesday night!
Please share this with family and friends who have yet to register!
Prince Haakon registration will remain open!
Slumberland American Birkebeiner – Skate & Classic! February 20, 2016
![David Norris winning his first Mt. Marathon Race in Seward, Alaska July 4th., 2016. (Photo: MMR by Cale Green)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/08/July-4-Mount-Marathon-1-e1471463110369.jpg")
![David Norris on an Alaskan style backcountry skate ski. (Photo: Scott Patterson)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/08/IMG_1686-e1471463226877.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/U.S. Ski Team) soaks up her record-setting fourth win at the 2016 American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/c-James-Netz-23369.jpg")
![David Norris of Alaska Pacific University celebrates his first victory in his first time at the American Birkebeiner 52 k freestyle race on Saturday in Hayward, Wis. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/c-James-Netz-23411.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg after winning her fourth Birkie, making her the winningest racer in American Birkebeiner history on Saturday in Hayward, Wis. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/c-James-Netz-23385.jpg")
![Italy's Antonella Confortola (508) and American Rosie Frankowski (504), a Minneapolis native who trains with Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, racing with the pack out of the start of the elite women's wave at the 2016 American Birkebeiner. Frankowski went on to place ninth. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/SBP_7271.jpg")
![Erika Flowers of the SMST2 Team (r) racing to third in the 2016 American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis., ahead of Italy's Elisa Brocard (l) and Klára Moravcová of the Czech Republic in fourth and fifth, respectively. (Photo: Worldloppet)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/flowers-3rd-in-womens-race-birkie-worldlopet.jpg")
![Caitlin Gregg (Team Gregg/U.S. Ski Team) celebrating her unprecedented fourth Birkie win on Saturday at the 2016 American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wis. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/SBP_7476.jpg")
![David Norris (APU) celebrates his victory at the 2016 American Birkebeiner, holding off France's Ivan Perrillat Boiteux, Benoit Chauvet and Adrien Mougel in second, third and fourth, respectively. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/SBP_7541.jpg")
![France’s Aurélie Dabudyk (l) and Caitlin Gregg at the finish. Gregg beat her by 5.1 seconds for the 2016 American Birkebeiner title. (Photo: James Netz/American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation©2016)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/c-James-Netz-23379.jpg")
![Ivan Babikov (Canadian World Cup Team) placed 59th in the 1.2 k classic sprint qualifier at Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, Germany. (Photo: Marcel Hilger)](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/01/i2P6AOnH0_GiY7tjGbkGiRth45x2DhOshyr1SvsFPa4-e1452033888875.jpg")
![Ivan Babikov, the fastest man of the day at the final stage of the Tour de Ski in 2009.](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2009/01/babikov-tour.jpg")
![The Start of the American Birkebeiner](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2010/02/birkie-start.jpg")
![Gear West Premier Race Wax Service](http://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2016/02/premier_service_2015_img-600x400.jpg")
