Marshall Greene

Marshall Greene was born in Bend, Oregon in 1981 and began skiing as cross-training for running in his freshman year of high school. Although Greene competed in JOs three times, he didn’t believe he could be competitive at the national level until he began racing for Middlebury College. “It says something about the strength of that team that all of us [Middlebury teammates Garrot Kuzzy and Colin Rogers] are still racing now at the national level,” Greene says.

After his college ski career, Greene moved back to Bend and skied his way to several Supertour podiums, one Supertour win, and qualified for the 2008 Canmore World Cup. Although Greene has been a successful sprinter in the past, this year he is trying to focus on mid-distance (10K and 15K) skate or classic interval start races. Greene credits his dad more than anyone else as having shaped his ski career and helping him “love the life that skiing has allowed [him] to have: getting outdoors everyday, being fit, getting to travel all over the world….” When Greene is not skiing, he enjoys playing golf in his hotels using nerf balls.

Birthdate: 11/03/1981
Hometown: Spokane, WA
Current Residence: Bend, OR
Ski Club: XC Oregon
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 173
Best Results: 1 Super Tour Win, Several Super Tour Podiums, 1st: 2008 Great Race, 3rd: 2007 Boulder Mt Tour, 2008 Canmore World Cup qualifier

Full Interview

When did you start ski racing, and what were some highlights of your young skiing career?
Started skiing as cross-training for running my freshman year of high school and ending up liking skiing more.  I went to JO’s three times and I don’t think I ever finished better than 15th.  It wasn’t until my senior
year at Middlebury when racing at NCAA’s that I felt like I might be able to be competitive on the national level.

Who has been the most influential person for you, whether as a skier or a person?
Probably my dad — he is an ultra runner and as long as I can remember he’d leave each morning for workouts.  At some point I started joining him on runs and that’s how I ended up an endurance athlete.

Where is your favorite place to ski, where is your favorite place to race, what is your favorite part of the season, what are your favorite ski conditions?
The skiing at Craftsbury, VT is pretty hard to beat for training. As for racing, I mostly just like it hard and fast.

What drives you to succeed at the highest possible level, and what are your long-term goals as a skier?
Really, I think that I love the life that skiing has allowed me to have: getting outdoors everyday, being fit, getting to travel all over the world.  That is motivation 95% of the time.  The other 5% is just plain-old competitiveness.

What are your favorite race formats/distances, and do you try to specialize for these events?
I like mid-distance (10km, 15km), interval start races in either technique. In the past I haven’t really tried to specialize and actually have had my best results in sprints, but this year I am trying to focus a
little more on mid-distance races.

What are your overall goals for this season?
I’m hoping to qualify for the World Cup in Vancouver and ski consistently in the top 5 in Super Tours. Last year, I had some back problems that really affected the 2nd half of my season, so my other goal is to stay
healthy thru the entire season.

Do you have any consistent training partners? Do you prefer training alone or with others?
I train most frequently with Brayton and Zach, teammates in Bend.  I enjoy training with others, but I still end up training alone probably 50% of the time.

What is your favorite on snow workout and favorite dryland workout?
Can’t really say.  I love the variety of ski racing and training.

What do you enjoy doing besides skiing?
Reading, sleeping, wasting time on the internet.

In terms of employment, are you a 100% full-time athlete, or do you have another job besides training/racing? If so, what do you do?
I work about 20 hours a week when I’m in Bend at a high end bike and Nordic shop, Bend Bike N Sport.

How long do you think you will ski at the elite level? What do you see yourself doing after you finish your ski career?
I’ve committed myself until the 2010 Olympics for ski racing.  After that, maybe grad. school.

Do you or did you ever attend college? How did you make that decision?
I graduated from Middlebury in 2004.  It wasn’t that tough of a decision because I wasn’t even close to fast enough in high school to think about just racing immediately.

Do you enjoy racing/competing in other sports during the offseason? Did you play other sports as a kid? What are some of your favorite non-skiing competitions?
I love running races still.  Growing up I played catcher on the baseball team, played basketball a couple of years, did gymnastics for four years when I was much younger.  Pretty much I love any sport.

What do you do with any spare time at training camps or on race trips?
Lots of reading, TV watching.  This year we’ve been playing a fair amount of golf using nerf golf balls –around town and even in the hotels, once or twice.

What does your diet consist of? Do you have a favorite pre-race dinner and breakfast?
I try to eat fairly heathy but I certainly wouldn’t say my diet is anything to write about.  I don’t even have pre-race meals.

What’s one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I’m actually pretty boring. Maybe that wouldn’t surprise many people…

How do you spend your weeks off?
Laying on the couch reading.

What is the best race or workout you have ever done?
I was on the winning Middlebury relay team for the Bates Carnival my senior year, which was awesome.  The team was Garrot Kuzzy, myself, and Colin Rogers in that order.  It came down to a sprint and Colin managed to edge UVM at the line.  It was definitely awesome and it says something about the strength of that team that all of us are still racing now at the national level.

What race events are in your plan for this season, and which race are you are looking forward to the most?
Super Tours early season, Nationals, hopefully the Vancouver World Cup, and then we’re hoping for a Europe trip in February/March.