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 🙂
Courses will be marked and labelled in the intended direction of travel. For safety reasons, please DO NOT ski backwards on the course at any time.
A designated rollerski warmup loop (400m) separate from the race courses will be marked within the stadium area. Course preview for U18 and older athletes available after the finish of the final U16 athletes, roughly 10:20-10:30AM
Race and Ski Notes
NENSA will determine seeding list for matched Swenor rollerskis as part of the NENSA Bag Balm Rollerski Race Series. Expect matched ski list to be published alongside start list on Friday, 10/12
While this is a race, please keep safety in mind at all times. HELMETS ARE MANDATORY for all racers. Avoid overtaking competitors on fast downhill and cornering sections.
Coaches First-Aid and Red Cross certified will be on hand in stadium and on-course.
Volunteer course monitors will be present on race day. While TD officiating will not take place, please do your best to observe all FIS rules regarding races in the classic technique. Link: FIS Classical Technique Rules
Race organizers reserve the right to omit or make note on published/final results any skiers utilizing rollerskis with unreasonably fast or “racing” (e.g. urethane) wheels.
Directions to Camp Ethan Allen Training Site
Please follow THIS LINK for some helpful directions. Be mindful of Range speed limits at all times!
We’re in the midst of peak foliage right now, which means that even when the days are grey and misty, the scenery still can’t disappoint. That was nice to have this week, since we were trying to fit in a lot of big training and saw everything from sun and vibrant colors to rain and clouds. Fall sure makes for some great photos and videos, though! There were a LOT of sessions this week and hopefully some of the media captured just how busy we were.
We took the opportunity for a week without a “race” effort to get some good L3 work in. On Tuesday morning we were still overcoming a bit of the sickness from the past week and missed a few of the gang, but the crew got in a really good set of skate intervals working on staying smooth and working transitions well. Hopefully the video conveys a bit of that, as I tried to take clips on flatter and mixed terrain instead of the usual “uphill interval” style clips. I also figured out how to do a better job of creating and uploading thumbnails to our Youtube videos, so hopefully they are even more engaging…be sure to subscribe to the channel and all that!
Gravel grind on Old Pump Rd
Wednesday was the first “rough” day of the week in terms of weather. We were supposed to have a fun MNC Bikegang mountain bike ride at Saxon Hill but a ton of rain closed the trails. Instead of ripping berms and flow, we went on a foliage tour up through Essex and into Jericho.
As you can tell in the above photo it wasn’t quite “peak” yet but getting close. A few more cold nights afterward helped.
It’s also important to keep fueled during your workouts…so even though we were mostly on dirt roads seeking the finest views and country life in Vermont, we also made sure to get back to the pavement before our crew had to go to school…because on days like this coffee is essential.
In the afternoon, we had a big group out at Mobbs Farm but the weather remained it’s dreary self. With the dropping temps and occasional shower and frost it’s easy to lose motivation. Thankfully, everyone comes to training with good energy and we usually find a way to make things fun even when it’s not picture-perfect outside.
Jax getting his strength gains going!
Things were bright again for Thursday afternoon, when we got our big gang together including St Mikes for some towing strength. We’ve done this workout basically all fall and will continue to do so weekly…we ski up a gradual hill 4 times…if skating, we alternate V2 and double pole. If classic skiing we just double pole. Each week we extend the distance of the tows just a little bit, and this week we also added in two speeds up the hill WITHOUT towing after everyone had their turns pulling their partners. We’ll keep progressing like this as we go along through fall.
We were in for a treat on Friday morning. This is a workout we tried once earlier this fall with similarly amazing weather and sun, and this day was no different. If you’re anything like us, you’re sick of rollerskiing out-and-back on Cochran Road all year…so, this workout changes it up! It involves a pre-drive of the route to check on the “trail conditions”, so to speak, on Dugway Road, but if all systems are go there you end up with an awesome route. Starting at the Round Church, taking a right onto the dirt road at Dugway, emerging into the beautiful valley in Huntington, and skiing up to the town library.
The dirt road is all gradual uphill, the scenery is unbeatable, and the traffic is pretty much nonexistent on a Friday morning at 8AM. Even when you get onto Huntington Rd, almost all of the traffic is headed toward Richmond and is going the other way, not trying to squeeze around a group of skiers. It’s by far one of the most scenic rollerskis you cold do outside of Pleasant Valley!
Dirt or pavement? Almost hard to tell in this photo…
On Saturday, we returned to another “favorite”, this time getting treated to another of the most scenic rollerski routes you could find in our area. We were ready for some classic intervals up Road 101 at Smuggs, made famous a few times earlier this year by both Juniors and Masters alike. This hill is great, and the setting is astounding. We made 3 trips up the hill, each one taking between 15 and 20 minutes. The first 2/3 of the intervals were smooth L3, and then cranked up to race pace once the steep sections hit and the pedals went down. We got some nice footage from this ski:
After the ski we had a nice team lunch down in Jeffersonville, and then headed BACK up to get in a ride and run on the mountain bike trails right off the side of Road 101. Lots of fun!
NOTES OF INTEREST
Be sure to register for the Fall Rollerski Classic: registration closes WEDNESDAY at 5pm!
Signup to contribute to the concession table here. Thanks 🙂
