Kikkan Randall has had to take a cautious step back from traditional workouts this spring in Bend, Ore. She's dealing with a recurring issue with her left Achilles and is taking proactive steps to heal it in order to return to full training in a few weeks. "All is good, just trying to be smarter this time around and not push through potential injuries to the point I did last summer," she says.
To say that Jennie Bender had an inconsistent season is a bit of an understatement. She won her first national championship and dropped out of her first race within the same week this January, and in April finished last in the 30 k National Championship. Now, as she recovers from a herniated disk in her back, she's moving on from her team of the past three years at Central Cross Country to the Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman, Mont.
Skiing is an upper-body sport. It doesn’t pay just to have a strong engine; if you want to win sprint finishes you’d better have a strong double-pole, too. CSU head coach Rob Bradlee takes us through one of his standby summer strength workouts — no gym required.
The U.S. and Canadian national teams currently in Bend, Ore., for their spring camps had an unstructured training session at Mt. Bachelor this weekend. Mt. Bachelor Ski Education Foundation nordic director and 3-time Olympian Dan Simoneau snapped photos of junior skiers and World Cup athletes alike ski laps around the trails.
After starting off last season with a bang — a win in West Yellowstone and a trip to the Canadian World Cups — Ryan Scott finished his 2012-2013 campaign feeling unsatisfied. To reinvigorate his training before the Olympic year, he's taking a trip to Norway this June to train with friends and compete in a few races.
Most of the U.S. Ski Team reunited this week in Bend, Ore., for their first spring training camp of the year. The group set to work on snow at Mt. Bachelor to get ready for next season, and anticipation for the Olympic Games in February is already building. "It's definitely a big motivator," says Andy Newell. "You want to make every interval session count."
The U.S. Ski Team's annual May training camp began in earnest this week in Bend, Ore. A few inches of fresh snow greeted skiers at Mt. Bachelor on Wednesday morning, just in time for the group's first interval session: a set of 6 x 4-6 minute L3 freestyle intervals with intermediate sprints.
The annual USSA Coaches Congress wrapped up this weekend in Park City, Utah, and the biggest decision to come out of the meetings was an overhaul of the U.S. SuperTour calendar so that it makes more athletic and developmental sense nationwide. Other changes include the addition of a mixed club relay at SuperTour Finals and renamed junior age groups.
With new athletes headed to Craftsbury, Sun Valley, Stratton and Alaska, it looks like the SuperTour can expect a sizable incoming class next season.
Noah Hoffman's recent shoulder surgery this has restricted most of his workouts to the gym this spring, but he says his training has been the opposite of held back. In fact, he's logged more hours than ever before, and in the coming months Hoffman plans to make use of the recovery process to improve his upper body strength.
Introducing FasterSkier's renewed training series: Wednesday Workout. This week, two-time NCAA Champion Miles Havlick takes us through one of his regular summer sessions, an extended L3 running interval.
The Bogus Basin Nordic Team (BBNT) in Boise, ID, seeks to hire a part-time head coach for its middle school Comp-Devo Team/Assistant Coach for the high school Comp Team.
The qualification criteria for the U.S. Ski Team's National Training Group now includes a top-three finish from NCAA Championships, signaling a change in the way the national team involves collegiate skiing in its development pipeline.
The Stratton Mountain School T2 Team announced on Monday that Simi Hamilton will join its ranks this June. After a season of untimely bouts with illness, Hamilton said a big part of his decision to move to Vermont was the opportunity it gives him to train with Andy Newell on a daily basis and work on his speed at low altitude before an Olympic year.
After she finishes final exams this spring, Middlebury College sophomore Annie Pokorny will be headed to Stratton, Vt., as one of the newest additions to the SMS T2 team. Though the timing of her move to professional skiing is unusual, it's a step she's enthusiastic about. "I’m excited to go for it and to take a chance. It’s exciting, it’s new — it’s going to be fun," she says.
Norwegian superstars Marit Bjørgen and Petter Northug, Jr., skied away with this year's top honors in the International category.
Matt Whitcomb led the women's U.S. Ski Team to new heights this winter on the World Cup and at World Championships, earning him FasterSkier's inaugural Coach of the Year award.
It’s May 1. Do you know where your heart rate monitor is? To help motivate you to get out and start working hard again, four skiers share how they’re mentally and physically gearing up for the new season.
Following the U.S. Ski Team's announcement of its 2013-2014 nominations, cross-country head coach Chris Grover discussed reasoning behind the major changes to the roster, which left off three men and for the first time in two years did not include a development tier. “This is a performance organization and at the end of the day the athletes have to be judged on their performances," Grover said.
For their unmatched performances on the domestic circuit this season, Torin Koos and Rosie Brennan are FasterSkier's 2013 Continental Skiers of the Year.