The Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club is pleased to announce the hiring of a new assistant coach, Marc Gilbertson. A resident of Vermont since childhood, Marc has been a teacher at Lamoille Union High School since he graduated from Colby College in 1991.
Marc enjoyed a long and illustrious career as a racer. At Colby, surprised D-I skiing by qualifying for NCAA’s out of a D-II program. He continued skiing after college, even while working full-time as a teacher, and became a marathon specialist, finishing 2nd in the 50k at Nationals a few years later. He took a year-long sabatical to train for the 2008 Olympics, which he qualified for by winning a 30K Gold Cup Race in Lake Placid. Other highlights of Marc’s career include being the top U.S. skier at the 2004 American Birkebeiner, just 10 seconds out of the win. He still competes in New England when he has time.
The Craftsbury club is excited to work with Marc, who besides having been a very fast skier, is an excellent coach. He will be helping out with the Bill Koch team, the junior racing team, and the Green Racing Project athletes. Head coach Pepa Miloucheva is excited to have such a capable coach to look after the younger skiers when she travels with the GRP and the high school athletes, as well as an extra pair of hands to help with waxing on race day.
So far, Marc has helped out with a few workouts, including riding his bike alongside GRP athletes during interval and threshold pieces. GRP member Ollie Burruss said after a few workouts with Marc, “His coaching style really complements Pepa’s, and his ability to give us real-time feedback is great.”
The feeling is mutual. Marc says, “It’s a real honor to work with Pepa, the GRP, and Craftsbury in general. I’ve known Pepa for a long time – she has a vast knowledge of physiology, coaching and most impressively, a genuine interest and caring all the athletes she works with. Her dedication to Craftsbury and those involved in the program is amazing.
“It has been a real pleasure to to work with the athletes in Craftsbury’s progams. From the youngest BKL skiers to the most gifted Green Teamer, they work hard and they are fascinating people. I look forward to contributing what I can to the programs and seeing the programs continue their success.”
Source: Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club
