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Quarantine Uphill Challenge!

With the running season starting in earnest for many of us, it’s time to collectively rally toward a goal. We may not be able to gather in person, but Virtual Races

have become a way for athletes to stick to some familiar territory (the competitive side) regardless of the social distance between them.

For the ultimate in socially-distant masochism, look no further than the recently-completed Quarantine Backyard Ultra, won by Mike Wardian after running 262.5 miles worth of 4-mile loops in his neighborhood.

Our new challenge for Spring 2020 is not quite as epic in terms of length…but you WILL notice that the quarantine ultramarathon race came down to 2 competitors, one on a treadmill and the other (Wardian) running on a flat loop in Arlington, VA. What’s lacking here? That’s right, some UPHILL!

Our MNC training year often starts off with a grueling workout: the Bolton Uphill Run Test. We use this test to gauge fitness several times in the year…often once in the spring, twice in the summer, and once or twice in the fall. It’s not unheard of for the first test of the year (May) to involve scrambling over some un-melted snow, just as we’re equally likely to have snow falling on our heads during the final test of the year in October or November. We keep a long-running archive of tests to track fitness.

In this time of COVID-19, we are putting the challenge out there for New England skiers to run their own uphill test to kick-off May. Much like NENSA’s Club Cup and Zak Cup, this is a challenge for everyone! You’ll find the rules to be quite forgiving when it comes to the “uphill” requirements. Read more below:

What: MNC Quarantine Uphill Run Challenge

When: May 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (Fri/Sat/Sun)

Rules: Run your own uphill test, on foot, as fast as you can. The requirements for this test?

-Race must finish higher than it started: a net elevation gain. No minimum or maximum on the elevation gained…it can even finish just going up your driveway if that’s higher than the surrounding road!

-Race has to be on foot…no faster means of transportation like a bike, or even rollerskis..!

-Race cannot take place on closed trail systems such as the Long Trail or local MTB networks. Please respect the closures from our trail stewards, and focus on roads (paved or dirt).

-Use the form below to submit your race data, including (optional) Strava or other fitness-tracker details as well as photos. We will have awards for all sorts of catagories including most elevation gained, fastest 2-mile course, most creative route, and best race photo (can be staged).

Results Submission Form

Submissions due by Monday, May 4th. Time to start planning your ultimate uphill test!

Home Training Motivation

By Adam Terko on 2 April, 2020 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

We skiers are pretty lucky. In a training sense, this pandemic struck at just about the one key time of year when we are usually already taking a break from training and racing heavily. Really, if it was going to happen one month of the year and we had our choice of which month to sacrifice, it would definitely be April.

But it also brings about this double-edged sword, as being cooped-up in our homes makes many of us feel all the more anxious to get active. If you’re into Nordic skiing chances are you are a pretty fit, motivated person. What’s more, we aren’t supposed to be driving too far for our adventures for the sake of keeping any risk at a minimum. For some of us that’s easier said than done…I am lucky to live out in the boonies of West Bolton, where I can access both old and new sections of the Long Trail, 2 different forest preserves, and gateways into the V.A.S.T. snowmobile trail network less than a mile from home.

Yesterday I went for a run exploring and connecting some of the various trailheads and natural areas down the road. On numerous times I’ve gone on short adventures around here whether solo, with friends, or with the Juniors, but have never quite pieced together some of the possible loops. In all honesty, it’s kind of shameful that I haven’t explored so much of the possibilities right outside my door. Time for that to change, especially under the circumstances.

Given a lot of free time and some pleasant weather I set out and had a great little trip through the Wolf Run natural area, the Preston Pond/Libby’s Look area, and sections of the old Long Trail off Notch Road. Old cellar holes dot the landscape, and boundaries are marked with crumbling stone walls and gates. On Notch Road, I even ran by an old, defunct ski area (Oxbow Mountain) that is now just a regular backyard although the T-bar still stands and cuts a line through the trees, beckoning a full day of wandering around if the landowners would ever allow it…how many people knew that there was a reasonably-sized ski area on the OTHER side of the hill from Bolton Valley?

As nerdy as it sounds, I am definitely a local-history aficionado. Thinking about ski areas, farms, trails, and pioneering times in this still-rural part of Vermont got me firing up Google pretty much as soon as I came back inside. Sure enough, about an hour and a half later I had sifted through quite a bit of history in this area, from the flood of 1927 (which hit the “Bolton Flats”…known then as “Pinneo Flats” harder than anywhere else in VT given the geography), to the incredibly multi-stage story of the founding of Bolton Valley as a ski area, starting with a series of cabins constructed by Edward Bryant (sound familiar?) in the 1920s and leading all the way to the paved access road and a proposed interstate exit that never happened.

For those interested, this History of Bolton Vermont, written by Gardiner Lane (sounds familiar?) is pretty fascinating. In addition to Bolton Valley skiing and the flood of ’27, there’s also a lot of interesting history of the Camp Ethan Allen Training Center…who knew that:

There used to be TWO biathlon ranges/trail systems (a lower and upper one, for low snow conditions)…I have my guess as to where trail system #2 was located…
There was a period of time when non-live bombs were dropped from planes over parts of the base for testing
Huge caravans regularly used to travel up from Essex and Colchester (Camp Johnson) routinely, before the base was self-contained

But if you DON’T live in West Bolton, Vermont, which is probably most of the population reading this, what’s the point? My challenge to you is to go for a run or a bike ride right from your home, and try to scout out some local history. It could be something abandoned, some name of an outdoor preserved space, or even just a plaque or sign. When you get back from your workout, do a little digging to find out more, and you might be inspired to return and scope out some more history and locations the next time you lace up and head out…

Resources:

Bolton VT History pages

Friends of Bolton page (w/History tab)

Construction of Bolton Lodge back in the day…ski down far enough on Broadway and you’ll get here!

2020 Club Cup Champions!

By Adam Terko on 26 March, 2020 in Masters Blog

It’s official! With the final season-rankings now posted, MNC has won the 2020 NENSA Club Cup! This would not have been possible without our many Masters racers who lined up at the start this winter. Whether you raced for your 20th season in a row, or put on a bib for the first time in the 19/20 season, thanks for being a part of the success…remember, at a Club Cup race EVERYONE scores, so just signing up and competing in a race means you helped our club achieve a new benchmark for Masters racing.

Check out this article from NENSA where you’ll recognize lots of familiar MNC names of racers also earning honors in individual Zak Cup standings in addition to our strong group performance.

NENSA: Final Club Cup Rankings

A big thanks to Katie Hill and Karen Alence, whose tireless efforts to rally the troops and encourage participation played such a big role this year. It will certainly feel different heading into the 20/21 season as the “defenders” of the cup rather than the perennial chasers…but what more motivation do you need to get out there, train hard, and get excited for the upcoming season. We have a while to prepare yet, but it’s never too early to start thinking about what more our club can achieve.

Ski Travels

By Kort Longenbach on 23 March, 2020 in Masters Blog

Ski Travels
by R. Adamowicz

I always find that in March I feel at my best, yet the snow lies in patches and is thinning daily. I need a good final ski before putting the storage wax on my skis. That’s when it’s time to head north to Quebec, which is what I did on Friday. We started off in Burlington in the pouring rain, which lasted all the way up to Quebec City. In just 4 ½ hrs we were up in Stoneham, the perfect point for setting up “camp.” Stoneham has an array of lodging (Airbnb, hotel, chalets and condos to rent), a great micro-Brasserie called Le Souche, and a mouth-watering bakery called Pascal Le Boulanger.

On Saturday we then traveled just 20 minutes up the road to Camp Mercier. A ski center with 50 km of classic tracks, 20km of skate tracks – running separately or side by side through beautiful fir and spruce forests – and all for just 11 CAD. Due to large amounts of fresh powder and strong winds, only their green trails were groomed, but we still were able to ski a 14 km loop.

On Sunday, we drove a little further up the highway to the Foret Montmorency – known for its early season snow. This research forest offers skiing (16.50 CAD) of 41km classic trails, 16km skate trails and 22km off trail skiing. This area is so unique and so incredibly beautiful. The groomers had been busy after receiving 44 cm of fresh powder in just the last 48 hours…this on top of over 130 cm of snow pack! The skiing here is heavenly, along wide forest roads that are groomed beautifully for skate and classic – running through snow laden trees along a river or up onto a beautiful mountain with spectacular views.

I cannot adequately describe how beautiful these ski areas are. I just hope some of you may be able to go there as well and see for yourselves! I would be happy to share more photos or information!

The races ended…now what?

By Adam Terko on 15 March, 2020 in Junior Blog, Masters Blog

We currently find ourselves in a strange place…usually there are several “end-of-season” races to look forward to at the end of March, from the Spring Fling and the NE Club Relay Championship to the Junior events like Eastern HS Champs.

However, the Coronavirus has put a halt to pretty much all of that. While this abrupt end may get you down, it’s important to think about how to close out the season and prep for the coming one!

1) Reflect on the past season. Right now is when things are most fresh. What went well, and how will you keep that going? What do you need to work on, and how can you plan and execute the right changes going into 20/21?

2) Ski as much as you can even if it’s not perfect. With the end of March being the “true” end of season (most MNC training logs start with April 1 being the first week of the “new” year) you should be trying to ski as late as possible…stretch the shoulder-season out and it’ll mean less wait between snow skiing and rollerskiing…that means your technique gains and snow-feel will translate even more to the wheels. Just like we seek out early snow at Thanksgiving and even times before that week, you want to seek out late snow whenever possible.

3) Introduce running CAREFULLY especially if you are racing a season of track at school. For many, it has been quite some time since the last real running workout or intensity, let alone easy distance. It can’t be overstated how slow and progressive running needs to be in order to prevent injury. Start with 1-2 miles or 20-30 minutes at a time. This seems so small for some of us…but it’s what is needed. Increase by 5-10 minutes each time, and start by running every other day, not every day. Don’t start doing intensity or intervals until 2+ weeks of running.

Many years, Nordic athletes have almost zero break between the final races of the ski season and the first track practices of the year which inevitably seem to just involve hammering out intervals and repeats. Since we are ending the ski racing early, it means a more natural and healthy amount of time to rest and then build up into running shape.

4) Don’t hold back on strength since now there aren’t any races to taper or peak for. Strength is one of the first elements of training to “detrain”. More bluntly put: if you don’t do any physical activity, it is your strength that will be first to diminish (next is your high-end speed and race-type aerobic capacity, followed at the very end by your base fitness and “level 1” training ability). Great exercises to focus on in the spring are lower-body and stability exercises, which will help prevent injuries from running. Don’t forget your band/hip exercises!

Hot days of running and bounding will be here before we know it!

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