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That’s what I’ve begun referring to the last 30 days as, with nothing but clouds and rain and cold temps. It all culminated in one of the more epic days to ever be had for training Saturday, when our group convened at Trapps for one of two tough sessions: bounding intervals up Trapp Hill Rd (the dirt side), or the NENSA Elite Invitational rollerski race.

First up was bounding, where our group of Pugs joined up with some GMVS and Craftsbury skiers for 5×4 minutes of L4 action from Nebraska Valley road up to the nordic center. It started off with a little wind, and ended with sideways hail and frozen hands. Luckily I got one quick photo from the run DOWN to the start, before the madness ensued.

Even this photo is blurry from the already-rough conditions

After everyone thawed their hands and changed their clothes, it was off to the local sandwich shop for some soup and lunch…right before we headed back up the road to cheer on the racers in the NENSA Invitational. Aidan, Magda, Ali, and Sammie were all invited to compete in this event which was a tough 10km from Nebraska Valley, up Barrows Rd pas the high school, and then up the steep Luce Hill Rd to Trapps.

Our crew was all U16 athletes last year (including Aidan who is still a U16 this year, and along with Quincy the only two U16s who qualified to race) so the 10km distance is the next step up. It’s especially tough to get to learn the distance when you’re competing against Caitlin Patterson, Ida Sargent, Julia Kern, Ben Lustgarten, Adam Martin, a bunch of college teams…you get the picture. This race wasn’t your average event, and everyone who just got to compete alone was a standout athlete!

Samu! Photo by Paul Bierman

Sammie continued her strong string of classic races, and this time her and Quincy finished less than a second apart and ahead of a couple of strong collegiate competitors. Magda wasn’t far behind, and Ali raced with great tempo and energy and looked like she had some serious new energy after a few busy weeks. Here’s a short clip of Magda I took as she breezed by in the rain:

In the men’s race, Aidan got a sweet ride with Middlebury skier Wilson Moore, and the two skied together up the steepest and toughest climbing section to the finish. It propelled him to a pretty killer race among the Juniors, especially when you consider that Aidan was the youngest guy in the race by a full year. Afterward, it was time for THAT gang of racers to head into town for pizza before the NENSA kickoff fundraiser event.

More photos from Dave Priganc!

It was a very raw New England day, but it was super inspiring to see everyone getting after it. We were on our own part of the trail, but I find it hard to believe other teams had a more dedicated cheering gang out there!

The entrance sign for the brewery: the only shelter we could find

An update from Gary Richter, reporting on Kai’s experiences in British Columbia this year!

Pugs from afar

One of our original Pug-era skiers, Kai Richter, reporting in from afar, continues to spread the MNC spirit and work ethic.  

Consistent and typical of his style, Kai reports near death experiences running at 11,000 ft.+ elevation near Mammoth Lakes, California with his new training partner, Remi Drolet and Alex Harvey.  Yes,….that Alex Harvey.  See attached. The super thin air made him “…feel like I was dying!” or at least hallucinating, so took this snap to confirm reality.   Of course speaking of near death, now that he has had a shirtless hug from Alex, he can stoke that off his bromance bucket list.  

Kai has just finished three weeks of altitude training there with the Black Jack ski team of Rossland, B.C.  Although Kai reports that the Canadian national team program appears to be currently in a shambles, it was cool to have constant access to them and talk and interact with athletes at that level.

Kai reports that he has learned the most this season from a blind man.  Yes,…the most decorated blind skier in history, Brian McKeever of Canada’s Paralympic team, has provided extensive technique instruction including some totally new insights to this pug.  Brian’s 13 paralympic medals including 3 golds in Vancouver give him huge cred and Kai reports his sense of humor and approachability make him a real contributor.

(For those not aware, Kai is doing his grade 12 year in Rossland, B.C., skiing with the Black Jack Ski Team, coached by 26 year veteran former national coach Dave Wood, and studying at Seven Summits Learning Center.  Rossland has 200 km+ of maintained single track, lit ski trails that pass under the highway from Kai’s host home on lower slopes of Red Mountain to town, commonly used by bikers, skiers and black bears, and a cappuccino cafe : human ratio of about 1:200,…or so it seems,…maybe it’s the caffeine.  Oh,…and he is also working on his Canadian accent, eh? )

-Gary

Kai and Alex Harvey!

Nice views at training

Getting that altitude training in

Buff season is officially here, as workout gear is chosen based on keeping skin warm rather than getting skin bronzed. You could say it’s a little harder to motivate and get after it when the hail is blowing sideways and the ski and trees alike are all shades of grey. Doesn’t stop us though. This week was crammed with some tough workouts that seem to make the weather go away in the spur of the moment…double pole test, Bolton uphill run, and a long ski/run combo in Pleasant Valley that began with plenty of shivering.

About 10 minutes before a small hailstorm started in Williston on Wednesday!

Our ski in Pleasant Valley capped off a week that now leads into a bit of a break…although it wasn’t planned, some of the testing has essentially told us that it’s time to back off a bit and recovery before things get quite busy in November…with Thanksgiving Camp and the first snow skiing of the year being eagerly awaited, it’s easy to give it a little too much gas. We’ll mix it up this week with some different workouts and activities and plan to make the most out of November!

Skiing toward the snow…and toward “that spot” in Pleasant Valley, one of the most photographed barn+mountain shots in the state

Here’s a short video edit of the day…a pretty simple workout (skate for 1 hour, run for 1 hour) but a beautiful spot to do it in. Scenic roads to roll on and about 2 cars seen total, and then a vast network of singletrack to run on…we aren’t big fans of running on pavement and I think the only time we actually do it is when we are forced to in order to reach a trail!

What a big day! 172 racers made for the biggest rollerski race in North America! Thanks to everyone who competed, volunteered, and came to support. It truly felt like an Eastern Cup on rollerskis,

The MNC crew had a great time, with some standout performances! Hanna duked it out with some strong Canadians to finish 4th in the 5km race…but 1st American 🙂

Aidan won the U16 5km race by 2 minutes, while Sammie put the hammer down at a race she was looking forward to for a long time. She was 1st place for all the U18 racers and you could tell just by watching her ski that she was going to win. Really cool!

Sammie and Ali striding up from Badger loop!

What’s more, Julia and Meredith battled it out the whole way to push to times far faster than this same course back in August…in slower conditions nonetheless. Brook snuck ahead of some college racers and skied with great tempo the whole time, while Ali and Magda laid down a solid ski working their strengths.

We ski on these trails all the time, so it’s great to see so many others racing hard. With a lot of starters and a 3-lap race it meant that some of the girls got to ski with Olmypians like Caitlin Patterson and Ida Sargent, while the guys got to share the trail with pro skiers like Kyle Bratrud and Adam Martin.

Brook pushed to the max!

Happy Pug gang!

Thanks again for a great event…results and photos (thanks Dave!) can be found on the previous blog post. We’re proud to have played a role in such a big event and we’re looking forward to even more next year. Can we surpass 200 racers??

Some trusty volunteers headed home after a long day…Rick, Rose, and Lily 🙂