Birkie Registration Has Hit 9,000 of the 10,000 Cap! Only 1,000 spots left, and Wave 4 Skate is now closed. (birkie@birkie.com or 715-634-5025 with any questions.
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Alex Kochon
Alex Kochon (alexkochon@gmail.com) is a former FasterSkier editor and roving reporter who never really lost touch with the nordic scene. A freelance writer, editor, and outdoor-loving mom of two, she lives in northeastern New York and enjoys adventuring in the Adirondacks. She shares her passion for sports and recreation as the co-founder of "Ride On! Mountain Bike Trail Guide" and a sales and content contributor at Curated.com. When she's not skiing or chasing her kids around, Alex assists authors as a production and marketing coordinator for iPub Global Connection.
Is it based on the number of km of trails, number of skiers, skiers per capita, or some other criteria? We at the National Nordic Foundation (NNF) believe it should be contributions to our status as a “Nordic Nation” We call on all citizens of America’s Nordic ski towns to participate in the NNF’s Nordic Town USA Challenge. The National Nordic Foundation exists to support tomorrow’s Nordic stars today and thereby grow our status as...
The U.S. Nordic Ski Team’s final dryland camp of the season starts in earnest on Monday, but many of its athletes are already getting after it in Park City, Utah. Liz Stephen, Noah Hoffman and Tad Elliott generally live in the high-altitude training mecca when they’re not traveling, and Jessie Diggins arrived almost a week ago. According to U.S. Ski Team (USST) head coach Chris Grover, the Alaska Pacific University (APU) athletes rolled into town...
It downpoured across much of the Northeast on Wednesday. Those at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center in northern Vermont hardly noticed. Owner Judy Geer called it “drizzle.” That morning, about 20 Craftsbury Green Racing Project (CGRP) athletes and coaches participated in the second annual Roll-Run-Row race, which pitted the some of the nation’s best nordic skiers against top-tier rowers. All belonged to the same program, but the idea was to have some competitive fun while pushing...
World Record Rollerskiing Event with Perianne Jones, National Team Member and Olympian (Note: This press release has been updated to reflect the correct date of the rollerski event.) Fresh Air Experience is once again hosting a rollerskiing event in Gatineau Park, Quebec, this time with guest star Perianne Jones, National Team member. Sunday, Oct. 14th at 8:00 a.m., parking at P9, alternate parking at P8 Put on your rollerskis and go to the middle parking lot between P9...
After nearly two weeks of dryland training in Park City, Utah, the Canadian women’s cross-country team will pack up and head to St. George on Saturday. Saint what? One of the fastest growing cities in the U.S., St. George is tucked in the southwest corner of the state about 300 miles (483 kilometers) from Park City. It requires about a five-hour drive south, and the group is going to the 75,000-population metropolis to train through...
The average adult makes somewhere around 35,000 decisions per day. Before setting out for a road ride on Sunday, three retired Olympians made a couple of casual ones. First, former Canadian national-team members Robin Clegg (biathlon), Jason Myslicki (nordic combined) and Sean Crooks (cross-country skiing) decided to ride between 80 to 100 kilometers just outside Calgary, Alberta. Second, they picked a quiet township road, which would lead them to a coffee shop in the suburb...
Press release) We’re now at 8,900 total skiers registered for the Birkie, Kortelopet, and Prince Haakon races combined, to be held February 23, 2013. Our total, combined cap for these three races is 10,000 skiers, so if you plan on being part of our 40th annual celebration, click here.
U.S. Paralympics Nordic Brings Numbers to Lake Placid
Alex KochonOctober 1, 2012
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — As they hammered out loops at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg biathlon center, several athletes on sit-ski mountain boards put their heads down. Everything they were doing — five or so laps lasting a few minutes each on pavement and grassy trails — required upper-body strength. At the end of each interval, they reentered the stadium for shooting practice, where the adaptive skiers rolled onto their stomachs and aimed at their targets....
Cross Country Canada Launches Unique Project Podium Initiative
Alex KochonSeptember 27, 2012
Ski to the Podium with Canada’s Cross-Country Ski Athletes —Cross Country Canada Launches unique Project Podium fundraising initiative— ( CANMORE, Alta.—Fresh off one of the most successful seasons in the history of the program, Cross Country Canada is giving fans the opportunity to ski with its athletes to the international podium, thanks to Project Podium. Widely recognized that high-performance athletes need financial backing to succeed at the international level, Project Podium takes fundraising to a...
U.S. Ski Team Elite Camp: Time-Trial Video
Alex KochonSeptember 27, 2012
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — Exactly a week ago, 40 elite skiers threw down some solid efforts at a U.S. Ski Team (USST) classic rollerski time trial, with the fastest men and women moving on to their respective quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. Sophie Caldwell and Andy Newell of the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team topped the women’s and men’s fields in the sprint workout. For more about the races,
American Birkebeiner Opens 2013 Warrior-Inga Contest
Alex KochonSeptember 27, 2012
(Press release) Enter for a Chance to Ski the Historic Re-Enactment of the Original Birkebeiner! This annual contest is now open for entries. The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) is searching for three cross country skiers to depict the two Birkebeiner Warriors and Inga, the mother of baby Prince Haakon, at this year’s 40th annual American Birkebeiner ski race. Each year a trio is selected to ski the 54 kilometer journey from Cable to Hayward,...
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — As seven US Biathlon Team members repeated loops around the stadium during trail-running intervals at Mt. Van Hoevenberg on Friday, each had their own things going on, their own focus. A-Team athlete Susan Dunklee, a Craftsbury Green Racing Project skier who tied the best U.S. women’s result of fifth at Biathlon World Championships last year, warmed up and cooled down on her mountain bike to remedy tendonitis in her knee. But for the...
SkiErg World Sprints Set for Nov. 9-11
Alex KochonSeptember 25, 2012
Mark your calendars: 4th Annual SkiErg World Sprints will be held November 9–11, 2012 This 1000-meter race allows you to compare your time against others worldwide in a one-weekend showdown of speed. See how you stack up before you strap on your skis for the season! How it works: Race 1000 meters on the Concept2 SkiErg at your club, school or home, November 9–11, 2012. Post your time to the Concept2 logbook by 5 p.m. Monday,...
Fischer Skis Announces 2012-2013 Athlete Signings, Led by World Cup Champion Kikkan Randall Eight of Thirteen U.S. Ski Team Cross-Country Racers Choose Fischer Skis AUBURN, N.H. — September 25, 2012 — Fischer Skis announced today that four of the six A Team athletes on the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team have committed to race on Fischer skis through the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia. Kikkan Randall (Anchorage, Ala.), Andrew Newell (Shaftsbury, Vt.), Kris Freeman (Andover,...
Podiumwear Unveils High-End Line of Custom Apparel
Alex KochonSeptember 25, 2012
Podiumwear Custom Sports Apparel Unveils New High-End Line of Custom Apparel: The Gold Collection for Nordic Skiing
US Biathlon Trail-Running Intervals in Lake Placid (Video)
Alex KochonSeptember 25, 2012
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — While the U.S. Nordic Ski Team trained on the mountainous,
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Friday morning’s U.S. Ski Team workout at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg nordic trails wasn’t designed to be too hard. According to men’s coach Jason Cork, the idea was to run with poles and ski bound for 45 minutes at Level 3 – a sort of tempo pace. Once a couple dozen athletes between the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and National Elite Group (NEG) got going around the designated loop, most realized...
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Flinging around a sharp corner about a ski length behind one another, Sophie Caldwell (Stratton Mountain School T2 Team), Ida Sargent (Craftsbury Green Racing Project), Caitlin Patterson (CGRP) and Jessie Diggins (SMS) each lowered into a tuck and prepared for a long, steep descent. Diggins called out to the others just ahead of her in the classic rollerski sprint at Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex. “That’s it,” the U.S. Ski Team...
In late May, weeks after Nina Silitch finished her last race of the season, loads of her ski-mountaineering equipment still occupied more than half the space in her bedroom. Her husband, Michael, couldn’t understand why, after six months on the World Cup and international circuit, she wasn’t ready put it away. At 39, Silitch was coming off a career-best season in most respects – she became the first American to earn World Cup gold in...