Archive | BKL Race Blog

BKL Season Lease Ski and Race Suit Return

Thanks to everyone that rented race suits and ski equipment from MNC this season. It’s hard to believe that the season is almost over.

Race Suit Rental Return:

If you are done racing for the season, please return your washed suit to Coach Liz at any of the next few practices. Please put it in a bag and write your name on the outside so we know who returned the suit.

If you are hoping to race some late season races, please keep your suit and return by March 30th. Email Coach Liz for drop-off details – bkl@mansfieldnordic.org

Ski Equipment Rental Return:

If you are done skiing for the season please return your skis at the last day of practice. If you can’t make it to practice or want to try and ski a few more times this season please try to return skis by March 30. Email Coach Liz for drop-off details – bkl@mansfieldnordic.org

BKL Mini Marathon 2025 – Montpelier to Albany

The Mini Marathon is one of our favorite days of the season! It’s a fun affair where kids are in charge. They choose who they ski with and how many laps of the course they ski. There are no warmup games or technique sessions, it’s just skiing!

This year we had to postpone one week (due to a school snow day), which landed us just days after the biggest snowstorms of the season (of the last couple seasons for that matter). Groomer and coach Peter Davis did a tremendous job whipping the windblown snow into shape and setting a beautiful double classic track around the whole course.  A double track is the perfect way to visit with friends while gliding along side by side.

Skiers had the choice of skiing a short lap and a long lap.  At the end of each lap volunteers at the tally sheets recorded the laps skied.

The snack table is another highlight of the Mini Marathon. After everyone skis a few laps the snack table opens and skiers are treated to a snack at the end of each lap.

This year the MNC BKL skied 255KM! That’s from Montpelier, the Capitol of Vermont to, Albany, the Capitol of New York.

Thanks to our skiers, coaches and parent volunteers for helping make this a really fun ski event.

Photos

JackRabbits Short Lap 1 km Long Lap 2.5km
Bodhi White 3 2
Claire Dolbec 2 1
Daisy Tremble 4
Elsie Tuck 4
Ford Nearey 5
Grant Gillian 2 2
Johannes Hollenbach 4
Julia Tuck 4
Kyle Mack Granzow 4
Leah Schwartz 4
Maddy Lou Granzow 4
Margo Dillon 2 2
Nathaniel Schroeter 3 2
Nora Johnson 5
Oliver Wooster 4 3
Ollie Laber 2 3
Ophelia Popkin 2 2
Ronin White 5 1
Rory Dolbec 1 3
Taylor Miles 2 3
Willa Niles 1 2
Arctic Foxes
Adrianna Bibeau 4
Charlotte Niles 4 1
Elise Ochs 2 2
Gabriel Schroeter 1 2
Jackson Neary 3 2
Levon Sterritt 3 1
Maddie Schwartz 4
Martin Sterritt 3 1
Racers/Devos
Finn Laber 5
Fiona Repp 4
Izabella Altadonna 2 3
Mazzy Merritt 3 3
Oliver Tremble 1 5
Rory Dillon 1 3

BKL Ski Adventures for Feb Vacation Week!

It’s almost February vacation week and if you are sticking around Vermont we have a couple fun BKL ski options this week. (We don’t have regular Tues/Thurs BKL during February Vacation, but practice resumes Tuesday, March 4th.)

Please RSVP and let coaches know that you are coming (There is a tab for each of these events on the spreadsheet)

Sunday, February 23th 11:30am-1pm- Ski Games Day with the UVM Ski Team at Sleepy Hollow

Everyone is invited. We’ll play games on skis and have fun with the UVM Ski Team.

Meeting Time: 11:30am at Molly’s Meadow Sleepy Hollow. Eat a big snack before you come and bring a water bottle. If you arrive late get your skis on and meet us up in Molly’s Meadow (this is where the Skiathlon start and finish were a couple weeks ago). Sleepy Hollow Website

Ending Time: We’ll ski until about 12:30pm, then gather for hot chocolate and snacks with our UVM skier friends.

Technique: We’ll skate ski.  Penguins and anyone else that’s more comfortable can classic ski.

Tickets: Everyone needs a Sleepy Hollow ticket or season pass. We’ve organized $5 Sleepy Hollow tickets for this event. Please purchase your ticket inside the lodge when you arrive.

We had a ton of fun playing games at Craftsbury last year!

Wednesday, February 26th 10am- Craftsbury Ski Day
Join us for our traditional MNC BKL ski adventure day at Craftsbury.

This is a family event! Parents are encouraged to ski with us. We’ll have all different abilities and speeds and only a few coaches.  If you have never been to Craftsbury, you are in for a treat! There is tons of snow and beautiful trails and it’s very affordable.  Craftsbury Outdoor Center Website

Getting There:  In google maps or your map app, enter: Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Craftsbury Common, VT

Meeting Time: 10:00am in the upper field, just outside the Nordic Center Lodge (bring a water bottle and holder)

Ending Time: It’s a little fluid. We will ski from 10 to about 11:30, have lunch and then play some games and do some relays, probably ending about 2. You are welcome to stay as long as you want!

Technique: We will skate ski. Penguins classic. And any parents that want to join, but don’t skate ski, can classic too.

Lunch: Bring lunch! There is also a food option in the Nordic Center. Front Seat Coffee (of Hardwick) has an outpost at Craftsbury and they serve m-f 10-4 with sandwiches, baked goods, drinks and coffee.

Tickets: Everyone who skis needs a day pass or membership. It’s $5 for kids, $10 for adults, Free for 6 & under and you can get tickets in the lodge when you arrive.

Conditions: Craftsbury Trail Conditions

BKL Skiathlon Race Report 2025

Photos by Adam Popkin, Results and Thanks to Clover Whitham for writing this race report.

Mother Nature was smiling on the Mansfield Nordic Club Skiathlon, which was held Sunday at Sleepy Hollow on great snow under sunny skies.

It was all smiles with friends after the race for Rory, Bella, Hanna, Margo and Ophelia!

This is the “home” race for the club and proceeds support the MNC scholarship fund. It was also the first race of the season for many. Adults and Juniors (U20, U18 and U16s) raced in the morning before the Lollipopers kicked off the slate of Bill Koch races.

The Lollipop race is always a spectator favorite where the smallest racers of the day tackled some wild hills in the Sleepy Hollow fun park on the way to the finish line. Racers from around Vermont, including Craftsbury, Frost Mountain, Mad River Bill Koch and Sleepy Hollow BKL clubs, participated.

Next up were the eager Grade 1-2 racers who showed up to the start line ready to race many minutes early!  MNC racers Nathaniel Schroeter, Johannes Hollenbach, Tanner Magnan and Grant Gillan, Margo Dillon, Claire Dolbec and Daisy Tremble flew off down the trail when the starter finally said “Go!” They skied a 1k loop around Molly’s Meadow and into the woods on Acadia Mania and returned on Potato Farmer to the fun park and finish.

There were a couple tangle ups in the mass start of the Grade 3-4 race but it didn’t stop these skiers! There were five MNC racers on the boys’ side – Rory Dillon, Rory Dolbec, Ollie Laber, Ronin White and Bodhi White – and two girls – Bella Altadonna, Nora Johnson. They skied in a crowd of 28 total racers for the first kids’ skiathlon race of the afternoon. They completed 1 classic and 1 skate lap, each 1 kilometer long. There were a lot of smiling faces flying by! Perhaps it was the promise of cookies made by volunteers at the finish line.

The racers in the Grade 5-6 race showed real grit and skill by finishing 4 laps (2 classic, 2 freestyle) for a total of 3.75 kilometers. This was also the first timed race of the Bill Koch races. Suiting up for MNC were Kaisa Weaver, Mazzy Merritt, Oliver Tremble, Finn Laber, Charlie Goosen and Jackson White. It looked like the ski exchange practice on Thursday paid off with smooth transitions and racers speeding back on the course.

Racers setup for the start of the Grade 5 + 6 race.

Sylas Weaver and Fiona Repp represented MNC in the Grade 7-8 race, which had 24 finishers from more than a half dozen clubs. These racers also completed 2 classic and 2 freestyle laps, for a total of 4 kilometers.

An honorary gold medal goes to former MNC coach Hanna Holm in her trademark cow in pink tutu costume for leading and keeping racers of all ages on the course!

Racers and their families made this another successful skiathlon! Special thanks to volunteers who made cookies for prizes, stocked the lunch table and monitored the transition zone and race course.

MNC Skiathlon Wax Tip

Wow, we have SNOW and things are looking awesome for the Skiathlon on Sunday. This is a classic race, followed by a skate race, all together (switching skis in the “exchange zone” in the stadium). It can be overwhelming, but the weather looks stable and perfect for nice classic skiing and smooth skating.

Be sure to start with clean skis: that means glide zones, too! Make sure to use a dedicated glide zone cleaner (not to be confused with a more potent chemical kick wax cleaner).

With bases all cleaned, a great paraffin layer would be Toko Red, Swix 7, Rode R30/40, or any other simple mid-range glide wax. If using a Toko or Swix spray, put this on the night before and let it sit until race morning, then scrub with a nylon brush.

For kickwax, it looks to be hardwax in the purple/red range. Start with a hardwax binder like Toko Base Green ironed in, and then feel free to stop by the MNC bench for help with the wax of the day…coaches will be testing and helping application.

See you at the race!

 

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