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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.
Freeman Retools Mass-Start Strategy, Considers CamelBak

Tell Kris Freeman something he doesn’t know about racing with diabetes. Better yet, give him hope that he can ski faster. That’s exactly how Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen piqued Freeman’s interest two months ago in Norway. Without having seen him race, Stray-Gundersen got right to the point in Oslo. Forget about what happened in the past; let’s look to the future. How do you feel about racing with a CamelBak? For Freeman and his personal coach...

Inside the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation center on Tuesday, Morgan Arritola made her usual rounds, visiting longtime friends and coaches and introducing them to her new addition – a puppy. A staple of the team for nearly a decade, the 25-year-old Olympian affectionately known as “Mo” wasn’t stopping in for training plans. She hadn’t just finished a workout and she wasn’t preparing to start one, either. Arritola was on a lunch break from her...

At the highest level of nordic ski racing in the U.S., athletes know making the national team isn’t so much of a black-and-white decision; coaches mostly see red. Based on U.S. Ski Team criteria, any skier that ends the season in the red group by finishing in the top 30 of the World Cup or FIS distance or sprint lists is essentially guaranteed a spot on the A-team. Those who finish outside those standards can...

Birkie Puts Trailhead Proposal on Hold, Works with Telemark (Updated)

(Note: On April 25, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced it issued a formulated a plan to build about five acres of trails and a new trailhead on 120 acres south of Cable. Telemark joined the conversation and released a proposal of its own in late March. In a bullet-point letter, Telemark Resort outlined several possible solutions for keeping the race there, which included guaranteed easements to Telemark trails for Birkie events, free year-round access...

Team Strong Heart’s Matt Liebsch Thanks Supporters

April 20, 2012 Dear Team Strong Heart Supporters, friends and families, Thank you for your support this past season. I was able to have my best season to date and took another step closer to my Olympic dream while representing Team Strong Heart in its charity mission for Camp Odyain, an organization for kids with heart diseases. This upcoming year is important as the World Cup (the highest level of competitive skiing) makes its way back to North...

Fast and Female Meets Road Biking in Gatineau

Fast and Female Partners with Canadian Cycling Association, Fédération Québécoise des Sports Cyclistes & Grand Prix Cycliste Gatineau to Inspire Girls on Bikes CLICK HERE TO REGISTER GATINEAU, QC (April 20, 2012) — Fast and Female is branching out to run the first-ever road cycling event on May 20, 2012. In exactly one month, girls ages 9-19 who are interested in road racing and cycling in general will join Fast and Female ambassadors for a...

Press release ROSSLAND, British Columbia — Red Mountain Academies started a Nordic Academy this year with the help and support of David Wood and Black Jack Ski Club. Four students attended the program in its first year, three from Rossland and one visiting from New York State. The program was a huge success with all four student athletes achieving great results both academically and athletically. The four athletes will all graduate together this year from Rossland Secondary School, and each...

2012 Birkie DVD Available for Purchase

Whether you raced, watched or weren’t able to attend the 2012 American Birkebeiner from Cable to Hayward, Wis., the Birkie DVD has all of the excitement on tape for a “super-skier friendly” price of $14.95. According to the DVD description on Click here to view/buy the item at the Birkie Store Cost: $14.95 Includes: Great Birkie week highlights – Barnebirkie, Giant Ski, Barkie Birkie, etc. Highlights with commentary from the Skate race The FULL uncut Skate...

Ski and Tea Women Jump Into Spring, Offer Training Tips

That last ski of the season might not have set well this year. You weren’t exactly ready. Some places enjoyed sufficient snow dumpings this winter, but on the whole, it just wasn’t enough. It ended too soon. Certain parts of the country aren’t quite in summer mode yet. Snow has been known to make April appearances, and some ski towns recently saw a late-season blast of the white stuff. But in Hayward, Wis., home of...

Best of Canadian Nationals in Photos

MONT SAINTE ANNE, Québec — Already missing the warm weather and spring racing that took place at Canadian Ski Nationals in Québec from March 17-24? FasterSkier took plenty of photos and pared them down to some of the best from each of the senior/open races. Take a look on our All Canadian Nationals photos 5/10k Classic Freestyle sprints 30 k classic For results and start lists, visit

The Veteran Sprinter, Randall Defends 30 k Title at Distance Nationals

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. – Shaking out the legs, clicking into their skis and moving their bodies just before the Friday’s 30-kilometer mass start at U.S. Distance Nationals, about 50 women looked straight ahead, all likely thinking the same thing. This is it. One more and we’re done. Some prepared for 20 times around a 1.5 k loop thinking each was a victory lap. Afterward, they’d be finished for the season. Four to five months of racing...

Diggins First to Top; Stephen Fastest in SuperTour Finals Hill Climb

JAY, Vt. – Every uphill has to end at some point. But what if it’s a mountain, and what if you can’t see the top? Nearly 70 women and 90 men probably thought something along those lines as they ascended a 1.8-kilometer freestyle hill climb at the Jay Peak alpine resort on Wednesday. As part of the SuperTour Finals, the event was a pursuit with the mini-tour leader starting first and the rest of the...

South of the Border at SuperTour Finals, Canada’s Crawford Wins Sprint

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. – In shades of red, blue, green and white, six highly competitive women stood at the start line at the SuperTour Finals on Tuesday waiting for their signal to get after the 1.6-kilometer classic loop one more time. On one end of the A-final lineup stood World Cup sprint champion Kikkan Randall, who flew in from Europe on Sunday. On the other, her World Cup teammate and distance specialist, Liz Stephen soaked up...

Foreigners Add to Canadian Nationals, Reflect on Week

MONT SAINTE-ANNE, Québec — It all started with a little buzz about Québec hosting a World Cup. After the province’s native Alex Harvey and Devon Kershaw struck gold in the team sprint at the 2011 World Championships in Olso, Norway, Cross Country Canada and the International Ski Federation got to talking. The World Cup should feature a few races in Canada, and why not consider bringing it to the eastern part of the country? Once...

Buddies to the End, Kershaw & Harvey Tie at Canadian Nationals

MONT SAINT-ANNE, Québec – To say that Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey are close would be a massive understatement. When Kershaw decided to pack it in for the season, Harvey and some of his other teammates on the Canadian National Ski Team convinced him to reconsider. They found Kershaw on the start line Saturday as fired up as ever for the 50-kilometer classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals. After skiing together with a lead...

Crawford Meets Goal, Wins 30 k Classic Mass Start at Nationals

MONT SAINT-ANNE, Québec – If there was a date circled on Chandra Crawford’s calendar, this was it. Well, it may have been one of many, but she at least took a mental note and had plenty of ambitions for Saturday’s 30-kilometer classic mass start at Canadian Ski Nationals. A Canadian National Team member and 2006 Olympic gold medalist in the skate sprint, Crawford had been thinking about the 30 k since last June. Third in...

A day after flying into Finland, Brian McKeever and Erik Carleton of Canada nabbed gold in the first race of the IPC World Cup finals in Vuokatti on Thursday, the 1.2 k visually impaired sprint. On Tuesday, McKeever and Carleton drove straight to the airport after competing in the 15 k freestyle event at the Canadian Ski Championships. Carleton placed second on Monday in the 10 k classic and eighth on Tuesday. McKeever was 15th...