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Supertour Finals: Juniors Opportunities

By on 19 March, 2018 in Junior Blog

We have plenty of snow, and a GREAT string of races coming up in Craftsbury! Everyone is tired and beat-up from the season, but racing into the spring is a great way to keep the feeling of skiing and competing going, and a fun way to end the season.

From March 23-28th, some of the best skiers in the WORLD will be competing just up the road. MNC Juniors are encouraged to take part in at least one race of this upcoming series. Below is a list of the races and suggestions for options.

Information can be found via the official Supertour Finals Website (click)

Friday 3/23: Classic Sprint

This is a National-Level race (think APU, Green Racing Project, SMST2, etc) but also features heats for Junior racers.

Who should race: If you are interested in this event let Adam know! MNC is happy to do race support.

Saturday 3/24: Freestyle Mass Start

First up is a freestyle mass start for men (15k) and women (10k).

Who should race: All racers, regardless of age, start together for these races, so this event is suggested for U18 racers and older.

Later in the morning is the Spring Fling, a more low-key freestyle mass start with options for a 25k or 12.5k race (one or two laps). This is a really relaxed event but also a great chance to practice a race at longer distances.

Who should race: If you are an MNC Junior, this should really be your target! If you are a U16, the 12.5k option is a great way to get experience at longer distances. If you’re a U18 or older, a 25k is a fun change from your typical race distances.

Sunday 3/25: National Champ Relays and MNC Relays

First up is the relay at the National-Level (think APU, Green Racing Project, SMST2, etc) but any team can compete. Many college teams will likely field a relay group. 2 women and 2 men race, alternating classic-classic-freestyle-freestyle.

Who should race: If we have 4 MNC team members interested in competing it would be great to field a team for this event. However, Juniors should be focused on volunteer duties for the NE Club Relays which will follow.

After the National relays is the New England Club Championship relay. MNC Juniors are expected to help volunteer and staff this event (so long as there are no prior conflicts). A chance for the youth to give back to the sport 🙂

Tuesday/Wednesday 3/27 and 3/28

Looong distance. Tuesday is the women’s 30k classic mass start, but there is also a 20k Junior option. Wednesday is the men’s 50k classic mass start, but there is a 30k Junior option.

Who should race: Racing here would require missing school, so that’s something to note. For a challenging but fun way to cap off the season, U18/U20 athletes who are interested should let Adam know! He’ll be on-site for wax and race support.

 

Junior Nationals 2018

By on 12 March, 2018 in Junior Blog

This past week marked another incredible Junior National Championships. From the windy, wet stretches of New England our team flew out to the dry, dusty deserts of Utah to compete against the best in the nation. The courses at the 2002 Olympic venue of Soldier Hollow were a total blast to ski on. We were limited to a 3.3k loop which suited us Vermonters just fine! Especially nice was the amazing mountain vistas and snowcapped rocky peaks which made it hard not to feel inspired to race fast and enjoy the outdoors.

Racing kicked off with individual classic events, and MNC skier started their week strong. Magda skied two consistent laps and held tough in the altitude to finish 27th, while Isaac narrowly missed out on the top-10 with a 12th-place finish. Aidan scored an All-American performance in his first-every JNs race by taking 8th! We were starting off strong! The U16 boys, the group I had the pleasure of coaching, ended up the top team in the country with a 1st (Will Koch), 2nd (Finn Sweet), 8th (Aidan), 12th (Carl Kellogg) and 16th (Brian Bushey).

Having an icy course and plenty of klister helped New England ski strong, but in what is typically our strongest event (New England produces the country’s best classic skiers) we were a bit surprised to get handily beaten overall by the Rocky Mountain region who definitely made the most of their high-altitude awareness. There was nothing left to do but turn it around!

The next day, a super fun sprint course helped usher in that turnaround. While the U18 men stole the day for the points with 4 in the top 6 (including a 1-2 performance by James Kitch and Ben Ogden, and a 6th from Greg) the rest of the group skied great as well. Magda continued to put up stronger skate results in this later part of the season, as did Isaac although they were both just outside of the heats. Aidan qualified a solid 11th, making up about 8 seconds on the field in the last 500m flat and rolling portion of the course. This would prove key later in his quaterfinal as he made a great surge to get into the semis and eventually B-final! Aidan finished that day in 12th.

Magda heading out in the skate sprint qualifier (Paul Bierman photo)

Aidan cruising out of the start in his quarterfinal heat…the PNSA girls look impressed! (Paul Bierman photo)

After a busy two days of racing, we had a bit of a chance to regroup with an off day. With the U16 boys, our goal was to start the day focused, then relax, then bring the focus back for the final push. We talked about some goals and reflections early in the morning, writing some notes down on paper. Then, I collected the notes and we spent the rest of the day unwinding with some non-ski activities. The U16 boys, or “Da Boiz” or “The Boyz” are becoming quite a cultural phenomenon at Junior Nationals. Last year we took a pretty intimidating group photo and this year we of course needed to replicate that. All week we had been eyeing an old train station and railroad cars with the Uinta mountains as their backdrop. That was no doubt the site of our photo, we decided, and we just needed something to get on the same page with.

Will and Finn preparing their Jorts and discussing just how long (or rather, short) to go with the length

I can’t remember if it was Finn or Carl who made the suggestion, but we ended up at Walmart to get ourselves some sunglasses and jeans, along with a pair of scissors to make some sweet Jorts. After we cut with precision, we “distressed” the jeans by kicking them around in the dirt and gravel in order to get that nice worn look…that’s what the cowboys did, right? Either way, U20 men’s coach Rob Bradlee was kind enough to put up with our crew and agreed to take this years group photo…I’m not sure how I’d describe it but I suppose I’ll just post it here for the world to see:

Presenting the top-ranked U16 men’s team in the entire country. Possibly the most interesting team in the country as well!

Of course, this was only a minor distraction as we had plenty of racing to get after in the coming days. It wasn’t long before our goals were brought back out and we focused on the final two days of racing: a mass start skate race and the team relays.

In the mass start skate race, the older skiers went early and Isaac nabbed another top-20 finish. By the time the U16 races started it was pure slush and sun! This was a great day for Da Boiz as Will Koch took his 3rd gold medal in 3 races. Next, Carl crossed the line in 4th, Aidan in 6th, and Brian in 8th. 4 skiers in the top 8!

In the women’s race, Magda had a really tough crash that hyperextended her arm and left her out of the results for this day. With a visit to the medical station and a sweet tape and sling job, she was ready to give it one more go the next day.

Magda and U16 girls coach Hilary, ready to give it 100% no matter the obstacles!

Relay day was a big day for the club! We had 2 members on the podium, with Isaac’s team getting 3rd and Aidan’s team getting the WIN! It’s been a few years but that’s right, we are super proud to have a NATIONAL CHAMPION this year! Congrats to Aidan and his relay teammates Will and Finn. It was in fact another killer day for Da Boiz. Finn led off for team 1 and skied into the tag zone in 3rd, but it was Brian Bushey (scrambling for team 2) that WON the opening leg. Aidan skied his best race of the week on the 2nd leg, bringing the team up into first and tagging Will Koch in the lead spot. Will just extended and extended the lead, enough that we were all able to wait in the finish area to celebrate when Will crossed for the win and Carl brought it home for the 2nd team. It was as good as it gets for this crew.

Worth checking out the Live Feed Video at the 3 hour and 18 minute mark: that’s when a guy by the name of Aidan Burt starts to turn on the jets and catch up to that lead spot! Just watch that awesome push on the uphill and crazy fast skis on the downhill.

JN Relay Video

The Boiz, psyched with the win and watching for Carl to bring it in for the next team!

National Champions!

Winning Junior Nationals feels pretty good! Congrats guys!

That relay was an amazing way to cap off the week for those guys. What was even better was watching the ladies relay with all of team New England cheering their heads of for Quincy and Magda as the anchors of the two U16 women’s teams. Quincy had a killer week with top-10 in every race, and Magda battled it out with one-and-a-half arms to bring her team home in 8th!

Of course, there were lots of other photos from the week, but I’d like to share some group shots below. One thing we did was gather together a big group of MNC “past and present” which included the current team members as well as alums like Will, Ben, Eliza, and Brandon. In the photo below you have 4 divisions and 5 age groups represented by skiers with MNC connections. And that’s not to overshadow our training friends still in New England like Greg, Conor, and Adam Glueck!

Pugs past and present!

At official team photo time we also have some more current MNC squad members! Of course this is bittersweet without Ali who had to miss the trip due to illness…but you can also consider this MNC FUTURE team, not just present 😉

All of team New England, the top region in the country for the 5TH YEAR IN A ROW!!!

A stoic and intimidating photo of the U16 Boiz who are not to be messed with

It was an incredible week in Utah and it only builds the excitement more for races to come, training to be done, and more killer performances to be chased. Let’s go TEAM!

All results can be found via Summit Timing

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bogburn!

By on 26 February, 2018 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

Another year and another memorable Bogburn ski race. This year the event was moved to the Woodstock Nordic center which ended up really changing the character of the course quite a bit. Last year’s conditions and the nature of the traditional course made double poling at any point nearly impossible. This year, it seemed like skate skis and double-pole-only racing was the method of choice for many. Those that went on klister probably still felt it in their upper bodies because there was no escaping the long stretches of open field on this course.

One thing that stayed consistent about the race, regardless of location, was the fun atmosphere and real old-school vibes even amidst the posh country club setting. The fact that most of us got to race in a T-shirt was an extra bonus!

Things got going with the BKL contingent and while it was a bit of a bummer to not see more of our BKL crew in attendance for this one (I think fatigue, both athlete- and parent-based, is lingering from the early BKL Festival this season) Virginia and Julia tore it up and even got to ski together into the finish. In a running series of close finishes rarely more than a second apart, Virginia got the better of her rival Sarah Glueck on this day! Then it was time for the open races, where MNC coaches and athletes alike raced through the slush.

Many MNC folks raced in the open races, from athletes like Dakota and Baxter, to all the coaches, to stalwart Masters competitors like Karen who has scored tons of Club Cup points for MNC this year with her super attendance at races far and wide!

Dakota went with the vintage suit which was the right call, but unfortunately lost a pole basket right after the race started and decided to soldier-on without it for the rest of the way. I told him people would’ve given him a new pole but he said he wanted to be polite since it wasn’t an intense Eastern Cup race! (photo by Camille)

 

Opting for the double pole, and also for the lemon-lime color scheme (photo by NENSA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before us older races got going, I entrusted Julia and Virginia with the GoPro for the remainder of the day, and thanks to their hard work interviewing and capturing race footage I was able to put together the first-ever “BKL Mini-Vlog”. So, without further ado, enjoy some footage of the 2018 Bogburn as seen through the eyes of these two:

Stay tuned for a full-length vlog of this past week, including the Bogburn and the adventures around Woodstock that Dakota, Sara, Magda and I had after the race ended. A few more photos from Camille below…check out the NWVE recap for links to the full album.

This was a fun day where every coach actually raced as well! Adam, Sara, Rick, Rosemary and Tom all competed! (photo by Camille)

Not sure what type of post-race cooldown method Magda is going for here, but good knee-drive and hip activation! (photo by Camille)

Results can be found on NENSA!

 

EHS Qualifier

By on 19 February, 2018 in Junior Blog

People like to use baseball analogies to describe waxing. It makes sense for the most part: a lot of variables, plenty of glory when it goes right, and a serious sting when it doesn’t. Fellow coach Jeremy Nellis described some ways of thinking about it a few weeks ago while we were conversing in the wax room.

“You can’t start out chasing a home run,” he said.

“[Coach X] would always start out going in all sorts of directions looking for a home run, without focusing on the basics and the process. When you hit a home run everybody knows it, but you can’t start by chasing that elusive one. You get a solid foundation, and build from there.”

I relate that story because on Sunday morning, at the EHS/U16 qualifier race, we did not hit a home run. In fact, if we’re sticking with the baseball analogy, we struck out swinging. In some ways we struck out swinging so poorly, we almost let go of the bat and flung it into the crowd.

But we didn’t get there by chasing home runs, or swinging blindly. We focused on the process, tested as well as we could, and made decisions based on reason, experience, and process. And we still got it horribly wrong for the men’s race, the first event of the day. Despite getting things on a better track for the rest of the day with both the women’s race and both afternoon skate races, all I could really focus on was how poor the skis were. A timely article has recently been going around from the New York Times with an apt title and subject matter:

Tough Job: Norway’s Ski Wax Chief Is Only Noticed When He Fails

Yikes…painfully relevant.

The testing we did was focused, and we emerged from that testing with a few options. It was weird snow, but it was weird snow for everyone. This was kick waxing, and we have some of the best products available. We may have been hindered by having fewer staff than usual, meaning we had to make a call earlier in order to begin application. We were also hindered by a lack of being able to ski the course that much, but so was everyone else.

We were using a unique and nontraditional combination for kick, but it was a combination that had already worked well in similar snow this year. It was tested against every other possible combination of wax types and application methods, and we chose it as the best option…it just ended up being the wrong choice.

It sucks to look at a results sheet and know our skiers were handicapped for that first race. But it also happens. What stings most is that it happened on a one-day qualifier event that is make-or-break for many. It might seem like I’m dwelling on this subject, but mainly I am hoping to convey some key thoughts:

  • Our skis in that men’s classic race were not good. Staggeringly so, in fact
  • I take ownership for that fact, although I am confident that poor skis were not for lack of effort and quality testing
  • MNC skiers kept at it, raced hard, and continued to push themselves and not let poor skis keep them from sending it

With that little personal essay complete, it’s time to talk about the RACING itself. The men’s slip-fest was highlighted by Baxter who has continued to carefully ease back into hard skiing after a winter battling a few large illnesses. Baxter has been operating at less than 100% since all the way back in the fall when pneumonia had him in it’s grasp. He gradually got back into racing recently by opting into one event at each of the final 2 Eastern Cup weekends. He looked like he was coming around in EC3, looked even better in EC4, and started to really turn it on during Sunday’s races. With 2 solid races he made the top-18 cutoff and got himself a spot on the EHS team! This is really great, and having more time to get back to full strength gives some great motivation for the end of the season.

For the women’s classic race, we altered the skis and had some more positive reviews, and also results that were a bit more representative. Ali continued her recent streak of strong classic races, Magda is consistently able to classic ski near the top of VT and even New England even when the race doesn’t go perfectly. Rose and Sammie were solidly in the top-30, and things were looking up!

In the skate race, there were some banner performances for sure. It’s somewhat ironic that skating went so strongly, as it seems that as a whole on group has raced slightly stronger in classic this season. I think a few things contributed to stronger skate racing, but one theory I have is that the stronger training background of our group (summer, fall, and winter all in the picture here) means that skiers in programs like MNC have a lot more fitness to fall back on when it comes time to race for the second time in a day.

In the men’s race Tim Cobb had what might be the race of his career so far. He absolutely smashed the course and came in 5th, just behind Isaac and ahead of 6 skiers who are bound for JNs in a few weeks. Baxter, Aidan and Kai also notched up there strongly. Unfortunately Kai’s back gave him a bit of trouble in the skate race after having to “force it” a bit during the kick-less classic race so he had to back off the pressure and speed. Dakota skied very strongly to assert himself in the top third of the whole field (100+ racers) and it was great to see some new MNC skiers like Brook and Peter really give it their all and get after it in this tough event!

For the women, Rose had a big race skiing with amazing tempo up every hill to finish 14th! Ali looked super strong to take 8th, and Magda had what might be her strongest skate race since the sprint at Fort Kent for 16th. Sammie had a strong skate race after working to find those freestyle gears a bit this season, and Lily narrowly missed the top-30, finishing 35th out over 114 racers and showing just how strong she is within this combined VT field!

In the end the skate races were a little bittersweet after the morning races although Baxter, Ali, and Magda will all be repping VT within the top 18 of the combined results. Sammie qualified for the U16 championships and has a great shot to bump that up to an EHS qualification within the State Meet quota. The same goes for Kai, Aidan, and Rose.

I would be remiss in discussing this event without mentioning how it is somewhat of an informal measuring stick for VT clubs, teams, and academies. Taking a glance down the top 30 finishers in each race (and in the combined results) it is exciting to see MNC well-represented. It’s also telling to see the number of strong club and academy programs that are competing at a high level. The level of skiing in our state is incredibly high, and competitive events are a huge part of what makes our sport develop at a stronger and more professional level. I’m proud to see that MNC skiers are part of the main group of top competitors at this event, but our goals are even higher. I think this year we are leaving this qualifier feeling like we could’ve had even more top finishes, and as a comparison I glanced back at last year’s results. My own analysis? We’ve set our own bar higher, and raised expectation. Even if we don’t all meet these expectations, this year has definitely been a rising tide and I think there’s still a whole lot of impressive skiing still to come from the Pugs before the end of the 17/18 season!

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