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Great Conditions at the Silver Fox Trot!

By on 20 January, 2019 in BKL Race Blog, Uncategorized

 

Dylan Torizzo on the course.

It is always a treat to race on the beautiful trails at Rikert Touring Center and this past Saturday was no exception. Conditions were perfect and the course was well marked for both the BKL and Citizens races. It was a bit on the cold side (single digits), but the lack of wind made it very tolerable.

Kate and Ryley show us one of the most important pre-race rituals: getting your face glitter on!

Everyone agreed that the race courses were very challenging. The race was held on Rikert’s homologated course which was made for Division I college races. The uphills are substantial and the downhills are fast with lots of turns. Our MNC skiers definitely rose to the challenge, conquering the uphills and ripping the downhills! Congratulations to Ryley, Astrid, Ripley, Tessa, Kate, Pippa, Niko, Dylan, Gillian, Esther, Julia, Virginia, Mia and Carl who all looked strong and did a great job racing.

Special kudos to Astrid Longstreth and Ripley Boyden (above)  who both did their first race for the year- way to go guys!

Congratulations to Kate, Niko and Esther who all won their age class races!

Riley, Kate and Pippa getting ready for the start.

Special “Shout-out” to Pippa who decided that her race goal was to put on a surge up the last hill and sprint to the finish.  Holy cow, did she stick it! She was in fifth place at the bottom of the hill, turned on the steam, and finished in third! Way to go girl!

Just before the Citizen’s race, the Ford Sayer Chicken Race got going. Most of us Citizen Skiers had to miss it because we were warming up, but I heard that skiers had to don chicken suits and race to collect eggs- what a hoot!

The MNC Masters had a strong showing in the 10 km Citizen’s Race and may of them proved they could hold their own skiing against the young and the fastest.  The race started in one big mass start: U16’s, Seniors, Masters, Women and Men.  Coaches Rosemary, Tom Thurston and Emilie Dillar all raced along with MNC Masters Steve Crafts, Mike Millar, Michael Gaughan, Michael Coleman, Andres Torrizo, Joanne Hanowski and Jim Fredericks. Many of the kids stayed to cheer us on and just as we finished, the snow started falling. Results below.

RESULTS

 

BKL Practice 1/22- 1/27/19

By on 20 January, 2019 in BKL Training Schedule

Tuesday 1/22: Classic for Everyone

It’s going to be a perfect classic day- cold with lots of powder! Get ready for some fun touring and downhills! If the trail to the alpine hill is groomed, Arctic Foxes and Racers will head there for some downhill practice in the powder.

It looks like the high will be about 11F, so bundle up. I am looking for a parent to monitor the Walker Building so we can send kids inside to warm up. If you can help, email Coach Rosemary.

Wax will be Toko Blue or Swix Green or Blue.

Thursday 1/24: Skate

Hopefully the groomers at the Range will be able to pack out the fields by today and we’ll be able to play some games. Arctic Foxes and Racers may play a game of Stones!

Older Racers skiing up with the Juniors should check the Junior Training Doc to confirm technique for today.

Sunday, 1/ 27: Mt. Top Paintball Race

Racers and anyone who wants to race! This race at the Mt. Top Touring Center is always a blast. See the Event Listing for all the details. Coach Rosemary will be on hand to help kids warm up and get oriented. Registration on Ski Reg is open through Friday.  Email Coach Rosemary if your child is going.

Bogburn 2019 Report

By on 14 January, 2019 in Junior Blog

Photos by Jamie Doucett

Results at NENSA

No slush this year! It felt kind of odd, actually. If you raced this event for the past 2 years you know that the wet and sloppy conditions have been the name of the game (particularly in 2017 when the course conditions could be described as chocolate milkshake-consistency mixed with rocks and sticks). Of course, the true testament is that this race always happens and is always a good time.

This year we traded slush for cold, as those of us in Northern VT woke up to temps of -12 in Bolton and -14 in Westford. Crossing the mountain line into Waterbury though, things warmed to a balmy 9F and for the race it was more like low teens. Some easy kickwaxing, some beautiful snow-covered trees on a narrow old-school course, and a bright sunny blue sky made for a very Vermont-y race if there ever was one.

Another thing that I particularly love about this race is that it brings together everyone: BKL, Junior, and Masters racers all in the same event! Shows how great the club scenes are to have all ages from all across New England making the journey. Oh, and the older skiers also had the same start lineup, so it meant there was a lot of skiing with your teammates out there:

Meredith and Timmy. Biathlete Timmy beat a lot of strong Eastern Cup classic skiers, showing how fit and strong he is as he gets ready to take on the 2nd half of the race season

Not counting Max who is quite busy with USBA, every Cobb raced this year! Here’s Charlie who had a top-10 finish

One thing that was particularly nice was having a relaxed atmosphere after a lot of stress surrounding the first Eastern Cups and US Nationals. I think the Junior team really needed the change of pace, and it seems like they made it into quite a weekend with a sleepover hosted by the Grossman family in Woodstock and then the Olivers in Montpelier. Truly a dysfunctional traveling circus of motley teenagers but in the best way possible.

Rose, sporting what I only now recognize as the vintage VOLVO bibs from NENSA days of yore

Coaches raced too, as Adam, Liam, and Rosemary fought valiantly to bring home some Club Cup points for MNC

The Masters contingent raced hard and also helped rake in those Club and Zak Cup points! Mike Millar avenged his dislocated shoulder from the slush situation of 2 years ago, Katie had one of her first races with the club, race regulars Karen and Ellie fought among the fray of powder, and another great Bogburn went down in the books.

Next week will be a new adventure for the Junior team aka Pugs aka Dysfunctional Traveling Circus, as a group of us will head over to Gore Mtn for a Mid-Atlantic race. Have heard only good things about this venue, and it’ll be a nice chance to mix it up with the best of NY as we’ll spend Friday night over there in prep for a short classic race on Saturday morning.

This past weekend was also the first EISA Carnival…congrats to many of our alums who raced, some in their first collegiate meets ever.

Eliza Thomas (SLU), Will Solow (Colby), Ben Carnahan (SLU), Isaac Freitas-Eagan (Williams), Greg Burt (UVM), Charlie Maitland (Clarkson), and more. Keep up the hard work!

 

Bogburn BKL: Cold & Snowy

By on 13 January, 2019 in BKL Race Blog

Ten fearless MNC BKL skiers braved the cold temps for this years Bogburn Classic!  If you’ve never been to the Bogburn, it’s a classic race on old-time classic style trails at the Haydock Family farm in Pomfret. The race features a single classic track running on narrow trails that wind through the woods with lots of up and lots of down, including some very tight turns where you forget about your form and just try to stay upright on your skis. Because of the cold temps this year, grades 1-4 did a 1.2 loop and grades 5-8 did a more difficult 3.3 course through the woods.  With the wide trails and often banked turns at the Range, Craftsbury and Rikert, skiing on narrow trails with tight turns and whalloping downhills is a rarity for us and it’s really good practice! We want our kids to be able to ski anything, so skiing the Bogburn is a really great thing to do. Thanks to Kari Cuneo for taking all these pictures in the cold!

Kate was our only 1-4th grade racer and she did great, winning her age group and a coveted Bogburn ski hat!

Brady had a good ski in the 5/6 race, pulling in an impressive 3rd. Look how bundled up he is!

Niko showing us how to keep warm while you wait for your start- parka over the shoulders! He pulled out a good one in the cold – finished 2nd!

Taylor showing perfect classic technique! He is going up a slight uphill and his body is in just the right place!  Hard to do at the end of a difficult classic course!  He was our only 7/8 boy skier today.

Gillian is a first year racer and I think she’s getting faster with every race she does. She lost her hat out there, but kept on going!

Virginia did 2 races: the 7/8, then the U16 and she learned a little about pacing today. She also learned not to bundle up too much- she wore her parka for the U16 race (she planned to ski it more slowly) and had to stop and take it off during the race because she got too hot!

Carly has been doing a lot of classic skiing recently and you can tell. She’s got a quick stride and has really learned to shift her weight quickly from ski to ski.

Rachel kicked in right behind Carly with smooth technique that has really improved from last year.

Finley Barker, one of our MMU buddies, came down and skied the race too. Look at that big stride!

Esther waiting to start her U16 race. Esther is quite an athlete. Her first sport right now is swimming, but she is also a great skier and has beautiful classic technique. She skied well today!

Greta Kilburn swooped in and skied the U16 race today too. Unfortunately, I did’t even see her and we didn’t get a picture of her. Next time Greta!

BKL Practice 1/15- 1/20/19

By on 13 January, 2019 in BKL Training Schedule

This should be a good week for skiing at the Range with new snow and cold temps last weekend to help set things up.

Tuesday 1/15: Classic for Everyone!

A high of 27F is forecasted meaning the kick wax should be  Toko Red or Swix Extra Blue (V40) or possibly Special Purple (V45).

Thursday 1/17: Skate for Everyone!

Saturday 1/19: Race: Silver Fox Trot

Note: All BKL races are open to all kids who want to race (not just “Racers”). There are age group racers from lollipop (K & under) up to 8th grade.

This year’s Fox Trot will be held at Rikert Touring Center in Ripton.  The Fox Trot is a classic race for grades 1&2, but a SKATE race for everyone else. It will feature traditional BKL distances for the different age groups. Get more info and register (by 1/17)  on SKI REG and email Coach Rosemary to let her know you are coming. Day of race registration also available (extra fee).

The trails at Rikert are beautiful and worth the trip! Many families make a day of it, watching and racing in the morning, then skiing together and with friends after races.

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