RACE? WHO, ME????
by Katie Hill
“But I’m not fast enough to race. I don’t like the stress of competition, and I’m afraid I’ll finish last. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to parade around in public in a skin-tight unitard!”
Sound familiar? For masters who weren’t introduced to ski racing at the youth or junior level, it can be a big step to jump into a race for the first time as an adult. We’re so conditioned to thinking that racing is all about speed, competitiveness, results – it certainly seems that way reading about our talented MNC juniors (and even a few of our speedy masters). Fear not, the masters racing scene is a whole different ballgame than junior racing, one that is welcoming to skiers of ALL levels of fitness, skill, and competitiveness. That means – you too!
Why do masters race? Sure, there are a handful of masters skiers who are super-fit and show up to fight for the podium. But then there are the rest of us. With jobs, families, and other responsibilities that get in the way of training, most of us aren’t as fit as we used to be or would like to be. Injuries catch up with us, and with each passing year it’s a little bit harder to keep up the pace. For those learning to ski as adults, it can take years to develop the balance and technique that our kids seemed to master overnight.
With masters skiers having such vast differences in age, fitness, and experience, masters racing is less about competing against the others skiers and more about simply showing up at the starting line to compete with yourself. What is it you hope to accomplish today? Are you up for it?
Everyone’s reasons for racing are different, but I’ll share a few of mine:
- Planning for a specific race gives me something specific to work towards in practice. Right now I’m trying to work on my classic technique and improve my endurance, so this season I’ve been focusing on classic races of increasing distance.
- Races give me an excuse to travel to check out new ski areas. I just went to Bretton Woods for the first time a few weekends ago, for the Geschmossel Classic. It was a picture-perfect and sunny winter morning and I was blown away by the gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains and snowy woods as we raced. I will be back for sure.
- Races (and time trials at practice) are a great way to measure progress over time. I’ve been working hard over the past two years to rebuild my strength and endurance from scratch after a rough bout with illness and injury, and it’s been a frustratingly slow process. Finishing 29th out of 33 women at this year’s Bogburn Classic may not sound like much, but I was thrilled with my race because I felt SO much stronger and faster than at last year’s race (where I didn’t finish). What a difference a year of hard work made!
- Races give me an opportunity to push myself in ways I’m unlikely to do at practice or when skiing on my own. Turns out I can skate the entire length of a super hilly 10k course – the longest non-stop skate I’ve attempted since my high school days! Admittedly, I wasn’t moving very quickly, but the fearsome course scared off all the other 50-54 year old women so I won my age group and took home 10 Club Cup points for the team, too. For simply being willing to show up and give it a try.
As for finishing last: I did that twice last year. I can report firsthand that the world didn’t come to an end. In fact, I don’t think anybody other than me even noticed. Last place is still much better than not showing up at all. Since I’m routinely near the back-of-the-pack, I try to set one or two goals for each race and then measure the success of my race against those goals rather than by my finish place. Some days simply making it to the finish line is a noteworthy accomplishment! So fear of finishing last is something to just cross of your list of worries.
Finally, that bit about the spandex unitard? No worries, you can wear whatever you want when racing. That said, I’ve heard that a race uniform is like a cape, it gives you superpowers on race day. I can use all the extra help I can get, so look for me in my MNC uniform on race day.
I hope this has made it clear that you don’t need to be a speed demon to jump in a masters race and have a good time. We’d love to have you join us at the races!
