Update 2 PM: The Range got enough snow for us to ski. A few spots in fields are icy because they are windblown. We will still go classic.
Sprint Doubleheader Action
Saturday and Sunday were two busy days of back-to-back sprint action. Sprint days are long: from the morning qualifier to the last afternoon heat you’re talking about near-continuous testing, waxing, and racing. Add in klister for some bonus fun.
For us, this was the weekend to get the ball rolling. It seems like most years we start the season and hit the first Eastern Cup still “ramping up” to full speed. With this new event, it feels like we made the most out of the weekend and are going into the first Eastern Cup at full tilt. We gave New England a taste of what we’re made of!
For the men Eli was our lone competitor as many of the guys were either resting up or competing in the first HS race at Rikert. Side note: Brook won the men’s race and Ava and Rose went 1-2 in the women’s race over at Rikert!
In the women’s race a solid group took on possibly one of the toughest 20-person fields you could ask for. Everyone made the open heats, and the structure basically consisted of
-One World Cup skier
-One Middlebury, UVM, or Dartmouth skier
-One or two Pugs
-One or two other club skiers
A totally non-intimidating heat: Jenny, Meredith, NCAA Champion Katharine Ogden, and Swedish UVM Junior Evelina Sutro
Everyone held their own and we had a lot of 3rd- and 4th-place finishes in the 5-person heats. In the men’s race, Eli skied more smoothly than ever and continued a streak of really solid performances! Sammie was the top for the crew in 13th place, just missing out a spot in the semifinals to Laura Appleby by less than a second.
What was so awesome for me as a coach was watching everyone be so professional about the day. From warming up and tackling the course, to changing into dry clothes and snacking between races, everything was DIALED-IN and it may seem like that’s trivial, but it’s a lot of important factors at play. Not to mention it was icy klister tracks and everyone looked like they were skiing really well. Lots of hard work paying off.
Julia was victorious in an epic battle with DublinXC coach Kathy Maddock
Eli in the qualifier!
On Saturday the fields we much bigger, with many of our HS racers also coming out to tear it up. Full open heats, as well as consolation “Queens Court” heats were held, though all of the Juniors made it through to the opens! The big performance in the morning came from Aidan who took on the whole field with a 3rd place finish in the overall qualifier. Brook made it through in 16th and Eli in 22nd to make it three into the opens. For the girls Ava continued to turn heads with a 5th place finish just ahead of Quincy in 6th. Not bad for two U16 skiers!
Also stacking the open heats were Meredith (13th), Rose (15th), Julia (17th), Sammie (20th), Jenny (22nd), Hanna (23rd), Ali (25th) and Lily (29th)! Also, Rachel Porth had her first race against the tough older competition in 39th!
Time to head to the start!
Hanna bringing it home up the last hill in the qualifier
In the heats there were more close finishes, and from the quarters both Aidan and Ava moved onto the semifinals. 4th in his semi-final netted Aidan somewhere around 8th of 9th (we think) while Ava made it through to the FINAL and got to duke it out against Quincy, pro skier Heather Mooney, and 3 Middlebury ladies. Although Ava ran out of gas at the very end it was another incredible performance for her…keep in mind she is a freshman/first-year U16!
Not shabby for your first sprint race ever
With two great days in the bank it’s easy to keep getting excited to see where this season will take us. The next stop is…well, back to Craftsbury! The skate sprint on Saturday to open the Eastern Cup season is the same course, same format, so we’re going in with a great card to play having already been through it! It’s time to start the 2018/2019 season…
Thanks to the Wilbrahams for the photos!
BKL Practice 12/18/18- 12/23/18
Tuesday 12/18: Classic
Check the website before you leave- with the warmer temps this past weekend and possible mixed weather on Monday, conditions at the Range may change.
*We need a parent to monitor the Walker Building today- it will be cold and we may need to send kids inside. Email Rosemary if you can do it.
Probably Wax: Swix V40 (Extra Blue) or Toko Red
We’ll have Guest Coaches/MNC alums Will Sollow and Charlie Cobb to help today!
Penguins: Meet Coaches Julie & Chris inside the Walker Building
Jack Rabbits: Meet Coaches Andy and Peter at the Penalty Loop
Arctic Foxes: Meet Coach Luke on the Far Field (opposite Penalty Loop)
MS Racers & Racers: Meet Coaches Rosemary & Jen outside the Walker Building after you get waxed.
Thursday 12/20: Skate
HOT CHOCOLATE & COOKIE DAY! We need lots of people to bring jugs of water for the Hot Chocolate and we need everyone to bring snacks or cookies. Bring everything to the kitchen area.
Jack Rabbits: Meet Coaches Andy and Peter at the Penalty Loop
Arctic Foxes: Meet Coaches Chris and Tom on the Far Field (opposite Penalty Loop)
MS Racers & Racers: Advanced Older Racers meet Adam at 4 pm (same group as last week). Other Racers meet Coach Rosemary outside the Walker Building.
Sunday 12/23: Racers:
Craftsbury Opener BKL Race, Freestyle
First Race of the Season! Unfortunately, Coach Rosemary will be out of town, but Coach Jen & Coach Tom will be around to help new racers get oriented.
Registration opens at 10:30, Lollipop Race starts at 11:15 followed by grade groups, in order from youngest to oldest. Mass start.
MNC Masters Racing 18-19
One of the goals of our Masters program is to promote and develop a broad based and vibrant MNC Masters racing community. So whether you are looking to race for the first time or an experienced racer looking for other like minded skiers, MNC plans to offers several options to engage in racing for all abilities.
Masters Racing Group – Join this group to find out the latest information on upcoming races and to meet up with other MNC racers. Each week our Masters Racing lead Karen Alence will send out a list of upcoming races and it is a great way to get first hand information on events, arrange car pools, share wax support info etc.. A quick list of upcoming events can be found here with more details for each event on our MNC calendar. To join the list, please email Karen at kalence@comcast.net.
Custom Training Plans – Plans are available for those athletes looking to focus on improving ski fitness and to meet specific race goals. So if you have a specific goal and want some structure to your training, these plans are for you. Plans cost $25. To register, sign up here
Craftsbury Marathon Preview – On January 19th join our Coaches for our second Mini-camp of the season. This Classic Only session on the intended Marathon loop is a great way to familiarize yourself with the course and learn helpful techniques for race day success.
Masters Focus Race Support – Each season the club encourages all Masters to try at least one of the events below. To help, MNC Coaches will be on hand to provide classic wax supplies and testing in order to get you ready on race day. Support for all three events costs $35. To register, sign up here.
Craftsbury Marathon Doubleheader*
Feb 2 – 50k & 33k Classic / Feb 3 – 33k & 16k Skate.
This classic New England event with a new addition this year of second day skate races.
Mansfield Nordic Club Skiathlon*
Feb 10 – 6k Classic/6k Freestyle Skiathlon.
Skiers switch from classic to freestyle skis mid-race.
MNC New England Relay Championships*
Mar 10 – 4 person x 5K relay race.
Teams of four skiers (2 FS & 2 CL) pair up for this fun end of season event and great for all levels of skiers.
Build your own team or MNC will build one for you.
*Zak & Club Cup points scoring applies.
NENSA Club Cup & Zak Cup Racing. At designated races throughout the season, Masters skiers can earn points for their club or individually in these season long competitions. Winning clubs and skiers are recognized by NENSA, so when registering please designate Mansfield Nordic Club to support our club.
Club Cup points are given to all NENSA members competing in a sanctioned Club Cup event with 10pts for first, 9 for second, and so on. However, after 10th place every skier for a club still gains 1 point, so the more competitors a club has in a race, the more points they will get!
Zak Cup points are determined by the top 15 finishers within each age group in a sanctioned Zak Cup events (see listing here). Racers also need to have completed a minimum number of races within each season for these points to count: participation is rewarded! NENSA Membership at the time of the race is required for Zak Cup Scoring.
To read more details on how the Zak and Club Cups work, check out the NENSA pages by clicking HERE.
Just send it!
It’s hard to wait much longer for the race season to arrive…I’ve kept blog posts relatively short and direct lately, but don’t let that fool you into thinking this isn’t the most prepared we’ve ever been to ski fast. In fact, this is primed to be our biggest Junior year ever, and we’ve grown SO MUCH it’s hard to believe everything that’s happened since May.
Not everything has been smooth sailing. In fact several elements this season have forced us, both individually and as a team, to really think hard about what kind of group we want to be, what kind of athletes we want to be, and what kind of people we want to become. Despite some tough situations in a number of different instances, I think this group has come together stronger than ever. If it weren’t for teammates supporting each other, maybe that wouldn’t be the case. In fact, I’m led to believe that more tough decisions, difficult discussions, and emotional weight have come to the surface BECAUSE we are a stronger and more deeply-connected group than ever before.
And just as we’ve made it though some hurdles, we’ve also set ourselves up to smash through other barriers and leave New England and even the rest of America SHOOK, as Meredith would say. I’ve said it every year but…there hasn’t been a season yet where we’ve trained this much and this hard. And I hope to keep saying that every year as we raise the bar.
Not always easy, but always worth pushing. Sammie in last weekend’s TT
It’s time to RACE, and given how everything has shaped up this year (from our long epic distance workouts to our testing events to timetrials and early-season races against other teams) we are ready to throw down. I ALWAYS say that we’ve never trained harder, but sometimes I feel an air of apprehension as the first big races loom on the horizon behind the wind-turbine-capped hills of Craftsbury. Not this year…it’s all excitement and impatience!
A gang ready to send
We’ve raced the new courses on Craftsbury’s trails, we’ve made our presence known at the NENSA rollerski series, and we’ve spent the spring, summer and fall working toward improving at every opportunity. That process is so fun in and of itself, but now it’s time to get after it even more. Let the races begin!
Aidan and Eli tearing up the new 5km “South” course at Craftsbury
