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2010 January

Morgan Arritola, Ketchum, ID,23 SWIX Holly Brooks, Anchorage, AK, 27, SWIX Caitlin Compton, Minneapolis, MN 29, SWIX Kris Freeman, Andover, NH, 29, SWIX Torin Koos, Leavenworth, WA, 29, EXEL Garrott Kuzzy, Minneapolis, MN, 27, SWIX Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, VT, 25, SWIX Kikkan Randall, Anchorage, AK, 27, SWIX James Southam, Anchorage, AK, 31, SWIX Liz Stephen, Montpelier, VT, 22, ONEWAY Swix is a proud supporter of the US Ski Team. Swix Star CT1 poles have garnered...

This week, Super Tour racing action continued in Minnesota, a venue that was unfamiliar to me before this week. Traveling to a new location, I was excited for a chance to check out Minneapolis’ skiing hotspots and generally see what the Midwestern city had to offer for the active-minded. As a true New Englander, I could not completely break free from the idea of “fly-over” state which lingered somewhere in the back of my mind...

A big rainstorm on Monday took a toll on snow in New England.  Here is the latest from Craftsbury, site of this week’s National Masters and Craftsbury Marathon. Here at Craftsbury, the rain has passed and there’s even some thin sunshine this morning. Temps are still higher than seasonal norms, in the 40s. While less than ideal in some ways, it means that we can still easily move snow around. All available hands are shoveling,...

Patterson Leads American Juniors with 17th in Hinterzarten; Norway’s Golberg Wins

They’re not the Northug family yet, but give them some time. After Caitlin Patterson skied to a 17th place showing in this morning’s women’s 5k classic at the World Junior Championships, Scott Patterson wouldn’t be shown up, matching his older sister’s position in the men’s 10k in the afternoon. According to Matt Whitcomb, the head coach of the American juniors here, Scott had told his sister that he would beat her placing in his own...

I have been following the qualification for the US Team for the Winter Olympic Games. I also have the good fortune to know some of these athletes. Some I don't know, but hope to meet at some future date. Having known a few for many years and watching t...

Today was a good day to take off seeing as it was -23 degrees Celsius. We had a nice long breakfast and lounged around in the dining room for an hour and a half. Will, Logan, and Jessica then cut Mike's hair and gave him an awesome Euro haircut, it is ...

a href="http://web.me.com/brorabaugh/iWeb/Becca%27s%20site/Blog/845D144F-27AB-40E2-964A-9EB25C8D946C_files/IMG_3256_1.jpg"img src="http://web.me.com/brorabaugh/iWeb/Becca%27s%20site/Blog/Images/IMG_3256.jpg" style="float:left; padding-right:10px; padding-bottom:10px; width:130px; height:130px;"//aWell the first race is done for me. Simi was amazing in the qualifier, and was felled by an equipment malfunction in his quarter. Ida kicked some serious butt, getting fourth overall, and the rest o

So tomorrow is the start of a month of living out of a suitcase again. I am spending the entire month of February working in a clinic in Hibbing, MN - spending the weeks drilling, filling, and pulling, and every weekend driving to a different ski race. I hope to still be able to spend one night a weekend in my own bed in Red Wing, but really I am trying to pack as if I will be gone for a month. This also means that tomorrow will be my last Wednesday night Vakava practice of the racing season. That will probably be the hardest part of being gone for the month - the training on my own. It is so nice to know that I will be getting at least one good hard workout with other skiers a week. At least I will see most of the team at the races!br /br /Well, off to pack. Wish me luck.div class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1572647974447867713-8082872415711120290?l=vakavaraceteam.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Canmore.  And after that, Vancouver!  Pretty fired up right now.  Nice to find out a little earlier than anticipated.  Not much to say, except a big “Thanks!” to everyone who’s helped along the way. . .my family, teammates, coaches, friends, sponsors, and fans.  Your generous support and positive influence has helped make my Olympic dream [...]

div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S1_gJrKGEUI/AAAAAAAAAbM/eyw4ThwQczI/s1600-h/SecretOlympicRings.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S1_gJrKGEUI/AAAAAAAAAbM/eyw4ThwQczI/s320/SecretOlympicRings.png" //abr //divbr /First of all, THANK YOU everyone for your support through the tough times and the good - today was one of those good days - really, really good! nbsp;I missed a phone call around 8am this morning while I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. nbsp;When I viewed the missed call I saw that it was "435", the Park City area code. nbsp; It was either going to be a really good call, or a really bad call. It was good! nbsp;Pete (Head US Ski Team coach) told me to pack my bags! br /divbr //divdivFrom there it's been a whirl-wind day of calling and texting family and friends, talking to the media, doing my JOB! nbsp;I was great to attend both my Noon Masters session and a practice with my junior athletes to share the news with them! br //divdivbr //divdivErica came to practice with a Go Holly! Headband and foam hand... a couple of the juniors boys lost "the bet" and have to die their hair a color of my chosing. nbsp;I got a phone message from Lisa Murkowski personally congratulating me! nbsp;When I pulled into my driveway this sign was on my front window:br //divdivbr //divdiv class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S1_AlLbViEI/AAAAAAAAAbE/lAsvrS3oa60/s1600-h/P1260017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Wl4EmOZ6xTM/S1_AlLbViEI/AAAAAAAAAbE/lAsvrS3oa60/s320/P1260017.JPG" //abr //divdivbr //divdivI'm not sure who made it but I have my suspicions! nbsp;(Thanks!)br //divdivbr //divdivI wish I had time to relax, to return phone calls, to get a long night of sleep but that's all far from the truth! I fly out tomorrow morning at 7:30am which means I have to be at the airport at 5:45, up at 4:45, etc, etc. Kikkan, James, Erik and I are headed to Canmore early for an altitude camp prior to the pre-Olympic World Cup in Canmore. nbsp;Most people don't have their first International racing experience a couple days before competing in the Olympics. nbsp;It's not ideal but I'll take it! br //divdivbr //divdivThanks Everyone!br //divdivLove,br //divdivHollybr //divdiv class="blogger-post-footer"img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6401505974719455979-4450595609960926140?l=hollyskis.blogspot.com' alt='' //div

Russian Alena Sidko Tests Positive for EPO

2006 Olympic Bronze Medalist in the sprint, Alena Sidko (RUS) has tested positive for EPO and has been banned by the Russian Ski Federation for two years. The positive test was taken following a Russian FIS in Krasnogorsk on the 26th of December. Sidko has been “Red-flagged” by the FIS, meaning she is ineligible to start.  The FIS declined to comment, responding to FasterSkier’s request for comment: “With regard to your request, we have to...

Do You Want Universal Sports on DirecTV?

If you saw any of last year’s Universal Sports coverage of the nordic world cup races then you know how great it was to see more than just a 30-second highlight.  Though their online content has greatly diminished this year, Universal Sports TV channel would like to be offered on DirecTV. If you have DirecTV and you do want to watch Kikkan Randall,  Tim Burke, or Bill Demong win that coveted Olympic medal, send an email...

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