Editor's Note: The National Elite Group (NEG) provides an opportunity for some of the best developing skiers from around the country to get together in a training camp environment. Hosted by NENSA and Maine Winter Sports Center, this camp will be hosted each summer by a different USSA region. This year, you will notice a very strong group of guest athletes from the western United States featuring World Junior and USSA J1 Trip qualifiers from 2005 and 2006. For more reports and photos from the NEG camp, go to www.nensa.net .
Caribou, ME — The 5th day of the NEG/NENSA Intensity Camp brought athletes to the base of Mars Hill for a crack at the record books. The brutally steep early pitches of the 2.5km course lead racers to the top of the chair lift, then 400m of flat test their lactate tolerance before the final steep pitch to the summit. 1019 feet of climbing in all.
Noah Hoffman, of Aspen, CO, came to camp with a streak of record breaking performances from hill climbs around the West, and he certainly lived up to the hype today. Hoffman’s time of 12:11 left him a full minute ahead of the former junior record (held by Olympian Brian Olsen) and sitting in 2nd overall on the all-time list. The only athlete who has ever climbed the course faster is Swedish World Cup skier Jerry Ahrlen, second in the Vasaloppett last season! MWSC Team member Tom Keefe led Hoffman to the half-way point before withering under the pace set by the eventual winner up the chairlift pitch. Keefe hung on for 2nd place with a time of 12:53. Rounding out the top 3 was MWSC/Atomic skier David Chamberlain, recovering from a bout with the flu, in 14:15.
In the women’s race, Megan McClelland, of New York, grabbed onto the back of the men’s field and followed them all the way in to a new junior record of 16:08. Again, McClelland’s time leaves her in 2nd overall on the all-time list, with World Cup biathlete Denise Teela holding top spot. Sun Valley’s Alexa Turzian nearly nipped the former junior record as well and sprinted to the finish with a stellar 16:39 clocking. The women’s podium was rounded out by Turzian’s teammate Mali Noyes in 17:04. The women’s field proved to be the fastest ever up this course, with 6 of the top 12 all-time performances coming today.
