Blog | Mansfield Nordic Club

BKL Training 2/2 – 2/4

By Adam Terko on 1 February, 2016 in BKL Training Schedule

A big high five to all MNC racers who skied fast and fired away at their targets in the 2016 Paintball Biathlon race this past weekend! Many top performances and podium positions were claimed by MNC members, and many targets were splattered with all sorts of paint!

Carl skating fast at Mtn Top!

This Tuesday (2/2) we will skate ski with the first annual MNC Lollipop Timetrial! Racers are encouraged to try this interval-start race format…you pick the distance, and a lollipop awaits at the finish regardless of your time.

There will also be a wax clinic with Dave Boucher from Toko from 4:45 to 6:00 on Tuesday. Bring any skis you’d like to wax!

This Thursday (2/4) we will classic ski. Those who did not get to try air rifle biathlon can give it a go (bring skate gear) and the rest will work on technique and our striding skills!

This Saturday (2/6) Saturday, BK Racers: Ski-Cheer Intervals at the Eastern Cup at Trapps: Meet Coach Rosemary at the MNC tent at 9 AM with your SKATE skis. We will do a ski, find some spots to watch the U16 boys, ski some more, and then get back to watch our U16 girls and women race (including Coach Rachel). We will finish with a little more skiing and will be done by noon. E-mail Coach Rosemary at sheacobb19@gmail.com if you plan to go. Also, MNC Junior Families do a potluck lunch & snacks at our tent. ..see below:

MNC Eastern Cup Potluck

On Saturday (2/6), the BK Race team who will be practicing/racing from 9am -12pm with Coach Rosemary and of course, cheering on the U16 and U18 MNC racers. Thus, lots of hungry mouths to feed…..so here is the link to the potluck signup: (http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0e48aba928a3f85-mansfield1).

SATURDAY: We need a couple of families to volunteer to bring a warm, protein filled soup or chile for lunch. (Adam will supply a generator for power). Other families can fill in with healthy snacks/muffins, etc. There will be a large hot water dispenser for hot chocolate as well as coffee/cream/sugar along with the paper goods needed for the potluck (bowls, spoons, napkins but do bring your own travel mug, if possible).

Please do remember to bring your own travel mug for coffee/mochas so we can be a GREEN as possible – thanks! If there is something that you want to bring that is not on the sign up, please let Sharon know (sharonhenry5149@gmail.com) and she can add so that the food remains (somewhat!) coordinated.

Thanks everyone for your potluck contribution!

Also, check the blog later in the week for an update. With variable snow conditions, plans may change!

See more photos from the Paintball Biathlon HERE!

Masters Training 2/2 – 2/4

By Adam Terko on 1 February, 2016 in Masters Blog, Masters Training Schedule

Congrats to all Masters who raced in the Craftsbury Marathon! There were reports of great conditions and fast skiing. Let’s hope this warm weather passes quickly so we can pick up more snow…

This week we will skate on Tuesday and classic on Thursday.

There will be a wax clinic with Toko’s Dave Boucher (and Adam) Tuesday (2/2) from 4:45 to 6:00pm at the Range. Swing by to pick up some tips!

Tuesday 2/2: Skating. V1 weight shift while climbing and carrying momentum over hills

Thursday 2/4: Classic. Double-pole work and speeds, with other specific strength

For great video this week, check out the Swedish Wintersport Research Center! Yes, there is a research center devoted to skiing in Sweden…

Last week some Masters and I discussed herringbone. Here’s a clip on it!

MNC @ Paintball Biathlon

By Adam Terko on 1 February, 2016 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog

This past Saturday was a major BKL event: Paintball Biathlon at Mountain Top! Many MNC skiers took to the trails to ski fast and hit some targets.

You can find some photos on our MNC Flickr album of the event, and results can be found at NENSA. Thanks to the organizers for a great event!

24727246136_c499a7c955_k 24457892060_539bb34ee0_k 24727289926_9822d440d7_k

MNC Juniors storm top-10 in Lake Placid

By Adam Terko on 31 January, 2016 in Junior Blog

The third weekend of Eastern Cup racing just finished up in Lake Placid, NY. It was a great showing featuring a brutally tough course, sunny warm weather and fast skiing.

First up is the congratulations to Greg for WINNING the U16 sprint event! Despite falling in his qualifier, Greg still advanced in 8th to the rounds where he rocketed to the front on the long downhill into the finish in both his semifinal and final heat. Greg stuck with the pack on the climb and was able to “slingshot” to a massive win! Here is some video from the last 400 meters, just before re-entering the stadium:

raw speed in the qualifier, coming off the sharp right turn

Greeeeg was not the only Pug having a great day on Saturday. We set a goal of three top-10 finishes and are still waiting on the “official” results to find out if Kai nabbed either 10th or 11th…both Kai and Timmy qualified for the heats as well, with Tim finishing 4th in his semi and Kai in 5th. Their first head-to-head sprint heats!

Kai catching his “15-second man” in the qualifier

Tim staying ahead of CSU in the semifinals

Just a few spots outside the heats was Baxter in 15th. In the open heats, most all were happy with their performances. Both Cobb boys were within the same second, Ben L was ripping the descent and Will was “hungry” and continues to pick up speed each weekend.

Baxter hammering the sprint

Saturday evening we walked up the road to dinner, and after our team meeting took a trip across the street to get after it with some cosmic bowling action. Baxter took the win and is still owed $1 by some team members at practice this week…

Ben and Baxter were definitely the most aggressive bowlers

The temps stayed warm overnight which meant the classic events were klister straight from the get-go on Sunday! Classic interval-start races were on tap, beginning with the U16 boys once again. Greg walked straight from the podium to the car on Saturday in order to make it back to VT for his winter ball, but otherwise all other Pugs were ready to rock.

Coach Sara and Coach Adam klistering furiously

Kai put down a negative split to go from 9th on his first lap up into 7th at the finish, while Baxter nearly matched him moving from 11th on his first lap to 8th place. Baxter’s previous best finish in the U16 Eastern Cups was 25th so to say this season has been an improvement is an understatement! Kai has become a top-10 regular and will find himself on the bubble for Junior Nationals heading into the final weekend in Stowe! Tim was not far behind in 14th.

The older Pugs were in the warmest and slushiest of tracks. Will topped his great classic race from Waterville with an even stronger race this weekend, 16th U18 in a tough field with a big last lap. Part of the success could be due to the reduced weight of going shirtless:

No-Shirt Solow

It was another well-paced distance effort from Charlie, who has made the most of injuries in the fall to come on strong this winter.

Passing and takin’ names

Both Ben L and Ben C skied strongly and showed that they are at the top of their game. After a strong Pursuit race last weekend for all the Pugs, the public high school duel between MMU and CVU particularly fierce…of course, I am rooting for all the athletes and wish them the best, but seeing this storyline play out makes things extra exciting!

carnahancl bencl

CVU is probably still wishing they had Rachel on their side, but since graduating Rachel has only gotten faster! She looked phenomenal on the climbs today and had another top Eastern Cup result…those are becoming the norm! No photos of Rachel yet but Gary Solow (who took most all the photos here) snapped one of Marika in the qualifier Saturday. Marika had a killer classic race!

Marika in the skate race

The main Pug missing in action this weekend was Eliza, who was out sick upon arrival. Unfortunately according to Karen the only Lake Placid sightseeing she did was “the ceiling of the room” from the bed. With a little rest and recovery Eliza should be back in action for the final Eastern Cup of the season in Stowe next weekend. The races have flown by! Check out Adam’s Virtual Team Meeting HERE

MNC on TV!

By Adam Terko on 29 January, 2016 in Uncategorized

Check out this segment from Tuesday’s training at the Range, where reporter Erin Coffiel from the local news joined us to learn the ropes and talk with our skiers!

Darin’ Erin: Skiing with Mansfield Nordic Club

MNCTV2 MNCTV1 MNCtv3