As always, we would love to hear about your local or regional event. Just send us a a write-up and a results link to info@fasterskier.com. You may not think that your event is nationally news-worthy, but you may be surprised. Skiers are interested in what is going on around the country on a local level.
New England
Bogburn
Dartmouth’s Patrick O’Brien narrowly took home the victory over Eli Enman with a time of 39:05 on the race course said to be one of the most fun in the country. Ben Koons was one minute of the pace in third place. In the women’s race Ida Sargent bested Sophie Caldwell by fourteen seconds to take the victory. Hannah Dreissigacker rounded out the top three.
Pineland Farms Maine Race
Bates College’s Sam Evans-Brown bested Colby’s Matt Briggs by nearly 30 seconds with a winning time of 32:47 in the 10k race. Tim Whiton of Bates finished third to round out the top three in the 52 racer men’s race. In the women’s race Colby’s Lucy Garrec won with a time of 36:59 over teammate Kathleen Maynard who finished with a time of 39:38. Bates College’s Sophie Leonard finished third out of the 24 racer field.
Jackson College Criterium
Jackson, N.H., January 12, 2009 — Jackson XC invited New England’s top collegiate racers to test-race the newly homologated competition trails in a first-of-its-kind criterium style race on Saturday, January 10. The Wave and surrounding trails now meet the current international standards required for world-class ski racing, and more than 70 men and women competed in a race that required them to ski multiple laps of the ‘sprint’ portion of the course which includes a steep climb and high speed descent as well as rolling terrain with great spectator access.
The race format, a criterium, was modeled on a style of bicycle racing that requires racers to start together and race on a looped course as a pack, without knowing how many laps they will have to ski. After a certain time has elapsed, a race official determines how many more laps the racers will ski, and the racers are informed. At that point they rigorously jockey for finish position. The Jackson College Criterium was the first of this kind of race to be held at this level of competition, and it was met with overwhelming approval by racers, coaches and fans.
Coming in first in the men’s division was U.N.H. racer Steve Bedard (Cheshire, Mass.) followed by Sam Evans-Brown of Bates College (Gilmanton Iron Works, N.H.) and Alex Taylor of Williams College (Truckee, Cal.) Winning the women’s race was Middlebury racer Robyn Anderson (Stowe, Vt.); placing second and third, respectively, were her team-mate Elise Moody-Roberts (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) and local Jackson skier Kirsten Gill competing for Bates College. Other top local racers include a trio of competitors at Williams College, Keith Kantack (7th), Caleb Lucy (11th) and Liz Kantack (19th).
In addition to the first-ever Collegiate Criterium, this weekend Jackson was the host resort for the Eastern Ski Writers Association, a group that was formed more than 40 years ago by local resident and ski marketer Jacquie Jones. The group met in Jackson over the weekend in order to experience community-based Nordic skiing and learn about new developments in racing and trail design. Writers were invited to experience racing first-hand in a unique 100 Meter Sprint competition. Ski writers along with college racers vied for the world record in the 100 M distance, however the 11.46 second record remained intact and most of the ski writers‚ logged times that exceeded the world record by a factor of three or four.
Pacific Northwest
USAT Winter Triathlon Championship
Bend, Ore. January 11, 2009:
The 2009 USAT Winter Triathlon Championship was held on Sunday under sunny skies at Mt. Bachelor with over 50 racers competing in the run, bike and ski event. Brian Smith from Gunnison, CO took the overall win in a time of 59 minutes and 3 seconds. Last year’s champion, Mike Kloser from Vail, CO was second with a time of 1:02:15. Bend local and professional bike racer Carl Decker took 3rd place in 1:03:24. Bend locals Erik Martin and Andrew Boone finished in the top-10, along with legendary mountain biker Ned Overend who came from Durango, CO for the chance to compete.
The Elite Women’s race was decided very early on with Nordic ski racer and Olympian Rebecca Dussault taking an early lead on the run and holding on to win with a time of 1:05:39. Emma Garrard from Truckee, CA finished 2nd in 1:15:20 and last year’s National Champion, Heather Best from Fairbanks, AK was close behind in 3rd at 1:15:43. Sarah Max was the top Bend finisher in 5th place.
Top finishers for men and women in the Elite category are supplied with a $1000 stipend and paid entry fee to the World Championships in Gaishorn, Austria coming up in February courtesy of USA Triathlon.
The Age Group, Pairs and Teams events had a great mix of local and national skiers and Bend added some more National Champions to it’s population. Everyone commented that the bike course was much better than last year, when the soft snow conditions forced almost everyone to walk for long sections. The unusually warm, clear weather provided a perfect day for an excellent race and there’s talk of bringing the World Championships to Bend for 2010. Thanks to our local supporters and volunteers that made the race go so well!
![Winners, Rebecca Dussault and Brian Smith. Photo courtesy of Jeff Dyrek, USAT](http://images.fasterskier.com/2009/01/winter-tri.jpg" "Winter Triathlon Winners")
Sterling Pursuit
