Sara Renner
Canadian Sara Renner is besides Beckie Scott the only North-American Cross-Country female skier that has made it into the prestigious World Cup Red group (seeded group) the past 20 years. This group consists of the top 30 ranked skiers in the World, based on World Cup points. Last season Sara had six top-15 results in World Cup or World Championship events, mostly from Sprint races, but also in 5km and 30-km competitions.
From the Canadian Team’s training camp in Fairbanks, making the most of 3 cm snow (Quote: “The skiing is surprisingly goodâ€), Sara also had time to tell us a bit about her training and goals for the season.
Editor’s note: The <Canadian and US Teams have now left Fairbanks due to better snow conditions in Calgary and Park City.
After now being comfortable in the World Cup Red Group for a while, what are your racing goals for this year? What is your best distance/race/technique?
I will be gunning for consistent top 15 results and a podium. My best chances are in the sprint but classic is my better technique. I don't usually like the longer races but I was 11th and actually enjoyed the 30 km in Val De Fiemme so I might do distance races too.
I am looking forward to getting back on the circuit in December. It's hard to watch the results on the Internet and not be there!
 back to back. I liked training this way because we got to do long runs in the mountains and it was always an adventure. I respond well to volume and it paid off in the intensity sessions. </p>
<p>I made good improvements in time trials and I think it is do to natural progression and the hard work paying off. I did interval sessions with the boys on my “equalizer” skis and that made me tougher.</p>
<p><B>What is your yearly training volume?</B><br />
650-700 hours</p>
<p><B>How long in the future do you plan to race? Does 2010 in Vancouver seem possible?</B><br />
I'll be racing in Torino 2006. I'll be 33 years old for Vancouver and I'll probably need a change by 2010.</p>
<p><B>Now that Team Sprint is getting more recognition and has become a World Championship and Olympic event, have you and Beckie done any specialization or specific training for this type of race? Do you think that the two of you fit well for this event – requiring both speed and endurance?</B></p>
<p>In the past, Beckie and I always get excited for sprint relay races and then bomb. Sprint relays are different from the regular sprint races and you have to be able to deal with heavy legs. We should be a strong team and hopefully we can work the bugs out for this season’s World Cups.</p>
<p><B>Do you think the recent efforts of Cross-Country Canada to bring back World Cup events to North-America will have any effects on interest, recruitment and results for CAN and US teams?</B> </p>
<p>Bringing the World Cup back to Canada for 2005 will be huge. It will have been ten years since we hosted a World Cup and there is excitement for cross country skiing right now.</p>
<p>I got inspired to race when I was ten years old while watching the Olympics in my hometown of Canmore. There is no question that by exposing youngsters to high level competitions will fosters growth in our sport.</p>
<p>It is also important that competitions are not held exclusively in Europe. Everyone should have to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to equal the playing field.</p>
<p><I>Fasterskier.com wish Sara good luck in the upcoming training and racing period</I></p>
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