There is green grass in our front yard in Minneapolis and although it was great to be home for 4 days we set off this weekend to find natural snow in Hayward, Wisconsin and race the Seeley Classic. Six years ago I moved to Hayward and Cresthill Resort and started my professional ski career. It means a lot for me to race in the Hayward/Cable Community and it was fun to get back for one of the big Midwest marathons.
The storybook weekend started friday evening with a fantastic family ski on the Seeley Trails. Groomed by volunteers and the funds raised through the Seeley Classic ski race the dog friendly trails are a real treat. It was the first time the Caitlin and I had skied on natural snow in 2 weeks. Lahti did what he does best and ran ridiculously fast as we attempted to race him on the downhills. We finished our ski refreshed from the drive and ready for the big race.
The Seeley Classic is a 42km classic marathon race on the Birkie trail with about 500 participants. Unofficially called the classic citizen championships of the Midwest the race rose to a new level this year with the addition of a $1,000 purse for the top male and female. The award was in memory of the late Garry Pennman one of the founders of the town of Seeley and the Seeley classic ski race. Cailtin and I were very happy to both earn the win and the cash purse. Results.
Enjoying the natural snow in Hayward, Wisconsin
The CXC Team is spread around a bit this weekend and congratulations to the entire crew for a great weekend of racing. Jessie Diggins finished 2nd in today’s World Cup Team Sprint, Santiago Ocariz won the Sissu Ski Fest Classical race, and my good friend Matt Liebsch won the Sissu Ski Fest Skate race. Great work.
