Olympians Victorious at the Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon

Bretton Woods, N.H. (March 13, 2010) – Olympians towered over their respective fields at the New England Ski Museum’s Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon at Omni Mount Washington Resort presented by CNL Lifestyle Properties, LLC, which took place on Saturday, March 13. Crossing the finish line of the 50-kilometer race only minutes after many of the racers passed the race’s half-way mark was 2006- Olympian-turned-educator Justin Freeman (New Hampton, N.H.) with a crushing time of 2 hours, 21 minutes and 18 seconds (2:21:18.8); the women’s 50-K race was won by 3-time Olympian (1988, 1992, 1994) Dorcas Denhartog-Wonsavage who finished in 3:02:52. In the 25-K race the UVM Catamounts dominated, with UVM racer Fritz Horst (Bennington, Vt.) taking first in the men’s race with a time of 1:13:22, Catamount racer, Mary Stewart (Ripton, Vt.) took first in the women’s race in a time of 1:24:43.

Rounding out the top three for the 50-K men’s race were Tim Whiton (Portland, Maine), a coach at Bowdoin College and Phil Lawson (Bethlehem, N.H.) Following Wonsavage in the women’s 50-K were Alison Crocker (Amherst, Mass.) and Joann Hanowski (Underhill Center, Vt.) Placing second and third in the Men’s 25-K race were St. Lawrence University racer Adam Terko (Shelburne, Vt.) and Charlie Gunn (Henniker, N.H.) who was that event’s first Master racer. Janey McClelland (Keene Valley, N.Y.) another UVM racer was second in the women’s 25-K race; she was followed by third place finisher, St. Lawrence University skier Leah Hart (Meredith, N.H.)

The New England Ski Museum conducts the Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon as a fund-raising event, and the event appeals to a wide variety of Nordic skiers, including serious Masters-age racers, a smattering of collegiate racers and a growing number of more casual citizen racers and recreational skiers. This year a total of 182 people signed up to compete or participate in either the 25-K or 50-K distance. There was an option to be a part of the event on an untimed basis, and a growing number of skiers elect to ski in that category and enjoy the challenge while socializing with friends.

The event enjoyed outstanding support by local, regional and national sponsors including Omni Mount Washington Resort, CNL Lifestyle Properties, SWIX, Northeast Delta Dental, Coca Cola/Powerade, World Cup Supply, Darn Tough and Chutter’s. Complete results for the event are posted on the website: www.brettonwoods.com, (follow links to Nordic skiing and racing.)

The New England Ski Museum is currently exhibiting artifacts from Nordic skiing’s origins in the mountains of Asia and displays that depict the sport’s development in the U.S. More information on the event and the New England Ski Museum, including membership applications and a link to the museum’s online store, is available at www.skimuseum.org.