SWIX WAX CLINIC:
There will be a wax clinic at the Ski Rack on Monday 11/26. From 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Intermediate and advanced Swix wax clinic hosted by Drew Gelinas. Floros, brushing, binders, klisters, plus Q&A at the end.
Mansfield Nordic Club
Ski coaching, training and playing in the shadow of Mt Mansfield for all ages and abilities
SWIX WAX CLINIC:
There will be a wax clinic at the Ski Rack on Monday 11/26. From 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Intermediate and advanced Swix wax clinic hosted by Drew Gelinas. Floros, brushing, binders, klisters, plus Q&A at the end.
Yesterday we did a “sprint test” that measured athletes’ times over a short stretch of pavement. The athletes did the test 3 times using V2, double-pole, and no-pole skate techniques. This is an idea I learned about from Rob Bradlee at CSU.
The idea is to compare data within the group and identify if certain athletes seem lacking in specific strength (upper- or lower-body) or coordination and technique. A slow double-pole time may indicate weakness in the upper-body. A (relatively) slow V2 time may indicate the athlete needs to work on coordination and technique.
This test is from a rolling start…if an athlete came into the 100m with a full head of steam, their time could be skewed significantly!
Here is the data:
Name, V2 time, Double Pole time, No Pole Skate time
Bill H, 13.5, 15.5, 17.6
Forrest, 13.0, 14.4, 14.9
Henry H, 12.2, 13.9, 15.3
Ben H, 13.5, 15.9, 14.7
Newt K, 16.0, 17.0, 18.2
Parker, 14.1, 15.9, 17.1
Emmett, 14.7, 16.0, 17.3
Sam L, 13.1, 15.4, 15.2
Nate K, 17.1, 19.7, 19.7 (J3)
Charlie, 20.3, 24.5, 20.9
Missy, 15.5, 17.7, 19.9
Cally, 17.8, 20.1, 22.0
Rachel, 18.2, 19.7, 19.9
Amy B, 17.4, 18.7, 20.4
Murray, 16.3, 18.5, 20.3
Drive for 25:
This is a fundraiser in support of the National Nordic Foundation. The NNF supports the development pipeline for nordic skiers — helping fund things like the J2 summer camps, J1 Scando Cup Trip, Junior World Championships, etc. When I led the J1 trip to Finland in 2010, the NNF gave us $20,000 of funding to defray athlete costs. Two of our MNC junior athletes were directly helped by these funds this past year (Ben Hegman and Henry Harmeyer — both as part of the J2 National Elite Group). Let’s see how much we can raise from MNC!
Swix wax clinic at Skirack:
Skirack and Swix will host an intermediate/advanced wax clinic the Monday after Thanksgiving. Drew Gelinas will be here from Swix to give a demonstration on the tips and tricks he has picked up after many years in the industry. The tentative plan is:
This past week we had a focus on volume and continuous skiing at low- to moderate-intensity. In spite of the shortened days and the venue changes, we were able to get some quality workouts. Thanks to good attitudes from the athletes and help from several parents, we stayed safe and had fun to boot. The banner picture above shows us near the end of training last Tuesday (11/6 at 5:30pm). That is what a group of 15 hard-core rollerskiers looks like! Thank you to the following parents for helping with “chaperoning” the end of our training sessions when it has been pitch black:
We still have a handful of MNC Race Suits available for sale. Contact me immediately if you’d like one.
Training 11/12 – 11/18: “Speed Week”.
Training 11/19 – 11/25: “Volume Week”. No formal training however lots of opportunities:
Training 11/26 – 12/2: “Recovery Week”. Monday night Swix Wax clinic at Skirack hosted by Drew Gelinas. Take 2-3 days of rest this week if you are tired from Thanksgiving Camp!
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| Warmup drills last Thursday. |
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| Dusk on the Greystone ascent. |
This morning we did our second double-pole test of the year up Greystone Rd in Richmond. It was cold, damp, and breezy with the temp around 39˚. We last did this test in August (9th and 15th) on two days that were both beautiful, sunny, and 70-80˚. The course is a steep climb for about 600m. We do this test a few times each year to track individual progres over time. Because rollerski speeds vary so much, it isn’t useful to compare times against other athletes. This morning it was much colder than all of our previous attempts (summer and last fall), which makes getting the poles to grip a bit more difficult. Results are below.
Training 11/12 – 11/18: “Speed Week”.
Click through to check snow conditions at Tomasi Meadow in Underhill. Submitted by on-the-ground reports, as current as possible. Read More about “Snow Conditions”…
Our summer training is OPEN for 2026! Come join us as we work to improve and grow as skiers. Summer kickoff BBQ on June 20th! Read More about “Summer”…
A piece sharing memories and photos of MNC’s dynamic and inspiring founder, Murray Banks, who passed in February 2026 Read More about “Tighten Your Boots: A Murray Banks Remembrance”…