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Why PRO?

By on 9 June, 2025 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

As we exit the transitional spring period and start seeing more structured training, more athletes arriving, and more group sessions, the excitement around the Mansfield Pro Nordic team feels palpable. At least to me.

It may not be breaking the surface just yet, but speaking from the perspective of someone who is now entering their 10th summer with MNC I can say that there’s a different feeling in the air.

When Coach Perry and I sit down each Friday and look ahead to the upcoming week, we are coordinating locations, sessions, and workouts with young Juniors, collegiate champions, and World Cup skiers alike. The conversation is open and productive. “Does it make sense for Juniors to join this one? What is one of the Pro skiers came to this day with the high school athletes? What if we all start from here as a big group?” etc…

This is just the start of something that has potential beyond just competitive Junior athletes…when we need coaches in a pinch for regular sessions OR when traditional coaches are at a camp, we’ve got a rolodex of insanely competent older athletes to reach out to. What about a BKL game day? Certainly cool to have great role models attending. Would the Masters want to have some of the Pro Team share their strength training exercises? No doubt.

But it trickles down much further…we have a chance to expand the visibility of skiing in Vermont and beyond.

Wouldn’t it be cool to have that road sign on Cochran Rd say “rollerskiers” in addition to “cyclists” and “pedestrians” and other athlete users on the shoulder? It seems like having a team of professional skiers, maybe with some Olympic hopefuls or one-day Olympic athletes could help sway a town to make that addition.

Speaking of roads, we’re also in more places at once as a club. Rollerskiing can start to be a more visible part of our communities. We can reach out to other clubs in the running, biking, or youth scene and bring even more to the table. And that’s just the summer…

I hope you’ll consider supporting and engaging with this new team! It is a team FOR the COMMUNITY but it also relies so heavily on COMMUNITY SUPPORT. This is a new part of MNC that we want to grow and nurture!

If you are around on June 20th, check out our kickoff event and meet the team, get in a run if you like, play games, and enjoy dinner at Cochrans!

REGISTER HERE

MNC singlet order! (Due by June 4th)

By on 29 May, 2025 in Masters Blog

Looking to stay cool on a run, or be visible to cars on a rollerski this summer? Order an MNC singlet! These are the same super lightweight, breathable singlets worn by our collegiate and pro athletes.

How does it work?

1) Order your size and style below

2) We will place an order on June 5th

3) Screenprinting will take place once the items arrive

4) Happy training!

Thanks to star Masters competitor Carolyn Siccama for helping to put this idea together, and for modeling the piece! Carolyn is wearing a women’s XS in the photos.

MNC Singlets

 

Dryland season checklist

By on 13 April, 2025 in Junior Blog, Masters Blog

We’ve taken a few strides into the dryland season already. It’s likely you have been out running a bit, or have gotten the bike tuned-up in anticipation of some warmer weather for riding. Here’s a few things to check off the list now that winter is in the rearview.

1. Snow ski storage

There’s lots of specific instructions out there, but it really doesn’t have to be complicated. Take care of your skis by cleaning the kick zones with a dedicated kick zone cleaner/wax remover, and clean the glide zones with a dedicated glide zone cleaner. After that has been done, make sure the glide zones are brushed with a metal brush and then put on a layer of ironed-in paraffin wax of your choice for the summer.

To glide wax over the kickzone or not? Doesn’t matter.

To use blue wax, or red, or yellow? Doesn’t matter.

To “soak” in one wax, or “harden” with another? It doesn’t really matter.

Just be sure to store your skis for the summer like you’d store your oatmeal or crackers…a cool, dark place without excessive humidity or excruciating thermal swings.

2. Shoes and running

As a definitive non-expert in running, I will defer to professionals on exactly when to change shoes. But it’s likely that if you got new shoes last spring and ran all summer/fall in them, you might consider a new pair.

If you’re ok not having the “best and latest” shoes you can often find a previous-year model online for a huge discount.

The folks at Skirack, however, are a good bet to help you analyze your running form and help identify some of the best footwear or orthotics for your feet and gait.

It’s important to start out the running season in a controlled way, and for an outline feel free to take a look at this April Running Progression doc…despite the title, you could use this as a 4-week starting protocol for any month you are working back into running.

3. Strength, PT, “Pre-hab”

Doing some work in the gym is one of the best decisions you can make all year, but never moreso than in the spring when we are transitioning to new forms of movement like running or cycling. Having enough strength to gradually increase our training volume and intensity will help stave off injury.

Masters, we are still moving right along with our Wednesday strength sessions at the MNCC!

4. Rollerskiing

For some it’s a dreaded term, but now is a good time to at least make sure you are ready to rollerski, even if you don’t begin yet. For reference, Juniors don’t usually start rollerskiing until early/mid-May, but now is still the time to be checking things like:

  • Wheels
  • Pole tips
  • Helmet
  • Bindings

If you need new skis, our yearly order through Skirack is available until May 4th! You can check that page out here.

Bright, visible clothing and all the right gear

 

Cross is Boss

By on 8 April, 2025 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

There are a lot of “final” events in the season (see last week’s blog post, even) but it seems we can finally put the 2024/2025 season to bed with this year’s edition of Cochrans Nordic Cross. The fact that there was just barely enough snow to complete a course, and we were scraping snow back over the grass of each slalom gate before the second round really meant we carried out the season to the bitter end!

On Saturday a few MNC skiers braved the cold and rain to scope things out and help lay out a potential race route. The conditions were very soft, and Jimmy Cochran was going to have to wait until the day of the race to actually move the majority of the snowpack where it was needed. Creative measures like sneaking under the rope tow line and utilizing all of the left- and right-side slopes were critical. But the all-important “usual” features like the drain-swirl start, the massive bumps, the pond jump, and the “dead-bug-roll” over hay bales were not left out!

For race day, it was a celebration of the best parts of the New England ski community. World Cup and Olympic athletes like Ben Ogden and Julia Kern were present, wearing outrageous outfits and crashing just like the rest of us. The kids race was full of young shredders on everything from waxless fishscales, to skate skis, to alpine skis! It felt like a full 1/4 of the EISA collegiate field was in attendance, as well as most of the familiar Masters names from across the region. MNC had BKL, Junior, and Masters racers all competing.

In heats of 5, athletes took off from the top of the mountain. Pennie Rand had fun with the start list, putting together lots of friends and skiers of similar age and ability. The top 8 men and top 8 women each got to race a second time in the “finals” which meant another trip UP the mountain as well as down!

While this race takes a lot of skill, and does require some serious capacity (this year featured even more uphill than usual), everyone is at very different points in their season. Some Juniors are taking advantage of their best fitness ever, while others have begun track or soccer practice. Some college skiers have gotten a good night’s sleep, and others have…spent the night prior celebrating the end of the season, you could say. Masters are coming from long tours in the mountains, or even the Craftsbury Mud n’ Ice Quadrathlon the day prior.

After the first round shook out, it was up to Astrid, Acadia and I to head back up for the finals. Those two girls did MNC proud finishing in 5th and 6th, and they rocked some sweet coordinated tracksuits along with Mia. For the U16 podium they were joined by Ford Sayre’s Ollie Hanna.

As you can see, snow was minimal but the excitement was high!

Link to results

 

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