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Jason Albert

Jason lives in Bend, Ore., and can often be seen chasing his two boys around town. He’s a self-proclaimed audio geek. That all started back in the early 1990s when he convinced a naive public radio editor he should report a story from Alaska’s, Ruth Gorge. Now, Jason’s common companion is his field-recording gear.
Jordan Fields and his FKT of the Presidential Traverse
DrylandGeneralNews

Jordan Fields and his FKT of the Presidential Traverse

Jason AlbertOctober 15, 2019

For those growing up in the East and worshiping high peaks, one stretch of ridge line is the most storied: the Presidential Range in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. On September 6th, former Williams College skier Jordan Fields established a new fastest known time (FKT) of the Presidential Traverse in 3:42:38 hours.  Here’s the stunner: the previous FKT established in 2018 was 4:04:30 by Lee Berube. On the FKT website documenting all things FKT, the Presidential...

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A Possible New Anti-Doping Tool: Dried-Blood-Spot Testing
DopingNews

A Possible New Anti-Doping Tool: Dried-Blood-Spot Testing

Jason AlbertOctober 8, 2019

  Last week WADA sent out a press release with this catchy title: WADA leads exciting collaboration on dried-blood-spot testing.  Here’s what this means: WADA signed a memorandum of understanding with seven anti-doping agencies, including the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) to further explore the viability of DBS (dried-blood-spot) testing as part of its global anti-doping tool kit. WADA claimed, “A further objective of the project is to develop guidelines for the collection, transport, analysis and...

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Mia Zutter and Kristina Trygstad-Saari: Interdependent on the Ski Tracks
InterviewsNewsPara NordicRacing

Mia Zutter and Kristina Trygstad-Saari: Interdependent on the Ski Tracks

Jason AlbertOctober 5, 2019

One skier is twenty years old, the other thirty four. Mia Zutter, the younger of the duo, and Kristina Trygstad-Saari, the eldest, exemplify interdependence on the ski tracks. One guides for the other. They met in Canmore in 2018 at a Para World Cup that served as a qualifier for the PyeongChang Paralympics.  Zutter is a visually impaired skier. At the age of 12, having been a lifelong athlete immersed in gymnastics and figure skating,...

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Open Letters from RUSADA Director Yuriy Ganus
DopingNews

Open Letters from RUSADA Director Yuriy Ganus

Jason AlbertOctober 4, 2019

Following the thread of doping allegations, WADA statements and actions, and RUSADA responses have been dizzying. This much is true: as much as we may be steaming ahead towards a final judgment and consequence for Russian sport (WADA recently gave Russia three weeks to explain discrepancies in the Moscow lab’s data handed over to investigators), there appears to be some internal strife within Russia’s sporting bodies.  The domestic hand wringing came before the IAAF Track...

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US Biathletes Enlist: Prep for Life and Racing
BiathlonNewsUS Biathlon

US Biathletes Enlist: Prep for Life and Racing

Jason AlbertOctober 1, 2019

Career arcs have a beginning, an apogee, and an eventual end. So far, US Biathlon’s Sean Doherty has been on an ascendant path. He’s the most decorated career IBU Youth/Junior Worlds medalist with 10 total. With two Olympics to his name, and a 25th overall ranking on the World Cup last season, year by year Doherty’s training has yielded race improvements.  Why shake it up? At 24-years-old, and two full winters before the 2022 Olympics,...

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Erika Flowers Balances Life and Wins
InterviewsNews

Erika Flowers Balances Life and Wins

Jason AlbertSeptember 23, 2019

Just shy of thirty-years-old, Bozeman’s Erika Flowers stills revs her aerobic engine up and over the big hills. The news that she had won the 50-kilometer The Rut mountain running race at Big Sky Resort outside Bozeman, Montana was a surprise to some — primarily to Flowers herself. She pulled away from full-time ski training last winter, but the 9,951 feet of climbing during The Rut proved she’s a multi-sport talent. Even with her reduced...

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After 31 Years, Bob and Nancy Gregg End their Run
GeneralMastersNews

After 31 Years, Bob and Nancy Gregg End their Run

Jason AlbertSeptember 18, 2019

  The Master Skier and The Master Skier Annual Ski Journal was for 31 years an anticipated read. However, it’s grassroots origin story begets the polished journal it became when Bob Gregg at 77 years old and Nancy Gregg, 73, announced in August their publication was no more.  Having lived in Michigan for many years, Bob Gregg was racing at the 1986 North American Vasaloppet in Traverse City. The storied Tom Kelly, the U.S. Ski Association press...

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Ski Clubs and the Urban Hurdle Part 2: Cambridge Sports Union in and Around Boston
GeneralNews

Ski Clubs and the Urban Hurdle Part 2: Cambridge Sports Union in and Around Boston

Jason AlbertSeptember 10, 2019

This is part two of a series featuring urban based cross-country clubs and how they make it work in the concrete jungle. You can read part one here.  On the homepage of the Cambridge Sports Union (CSU) is an apt quote from tennis champion Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.” The quote from Ashe came about as he described how to deal with challenges. And it’s the...

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Visioning with NENSA’s Justin Beckwith
GeneralNews

Visioning with NENSA’s Justin Beckwith

Jason AlbertSeptember 3, 2019

Pull the curtain back, and the wizardry is revealed. Not always perfect, with growing pains like any other popular athletic event, NENSA is trailbreaking when it comes to first class rollerski racing. In revealing the organizational fundamentals of NENSA’s rollerski series, we learned that leading the way is simple: it requires a can do attitude. This is no The Wizard of Oz chicanery – where the old man fumbles with a sci-fi device in creating...

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American Birkebeiner Becomes a Visma Ski Classics Challenger Race
NewsRacingRegional / Local

American Birkebeiner Becomes a Visma Ski Classics Challenger Race

Jason AlbertAugust 29, 2019

Back in June, the Worldloppet International Ski Federation announced the cessation of the FIS Worldloppet Cup. In short, that race series was a collaboration with the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the Worldloppet marrying elite level and popular marathon ski racing. The American Birkenbeiner was intermittently a stop on the FIS Worldloppet Cup. “It was just not getting traction attracting the elite athletes and tying those elite athletes to popular skiing,” said Ben Popp, the...

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2019-20 SUPERTOUR SERIES ANNOUNCED (Press Release)
Continental CupNewsOther NewsRacing

2019-20 SUPERTOUR SERIES ANNOUNCED (Press Release)

Jason AlbertAugust 28, 2019

Press release Top U.S. cross country athletes will join their Canadian counterparts at seven stops for the 2019-20 SuperTour. The tour is a series of International Ski Federation (FIS) sanctioned cross country events across North America produced by U.S. Ski & Snowboard together with its divisions and clubs. “The SuperTour is one of U.S. Ski & Snowboard’s longest-running event series, and we’ve seen quite a number of U.S. National Champions, World and Olympic champions compete...

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InterviewsNews

Although its Hard to Do, Catching up with Kendall Kramer

Jason AlbertAugust 22, 2019

As the title suggests, catching up with Kendall Kramer is no small task. The 17-year-old (as of late June) caught the attention of the cross-country world this past winter with stunning and consistent performances at Lahti, Finland’s Junior World Ski Championships. Although we’re about to rattle off some 2018-2019 results, to be clear this is no athlete who defines themselves solely by the metric of finish rank. That will come across in the interview below. ...

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Academics and Skiing in Canada: Kate Mason Spreads the Word
GeneralNewsResources

Academics and Skiing in Canada: Kate Mason Spreads the Word

Jason AlbertAugust 20, 2019

Seventeen-year-old Nakkertok skier Kate Mason exemplifies a “get it done” attitude. The athlete is part of Nakkertok’s ENRG training program. Like many junior skiers, Mason found herself wanting when it came to accessing information regarding post-secondary ski opportunities in Canada. In particular, Mason was interested in combining academics with her training and racing.  In the recent past, Canada presented an unclear path for athletes who wanted to compete and continue their education. The pathway for...

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Hamilton on New Boards and U.S. Team Ramps up for Toppidrettsveka
GeneralNews

Hamilton on New Boards and U.S. Team Ramps up for Toppidrettsveka

Jason AlbertAugust 15, 2019

By the time you read this piece, some skiers from the U.S. Ski Team (USST) will be settling in Trondheim, Norway for a two and a half week training camp. In total, five are making the journey from the U.S. The sixth skier, Kevin Bolger, no stranger to training in the region, has been in Trondheim for nearly a month. Bolger’s experience in Trondheim goes deep. He has trained there in the off season for...

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Wednesday Workout: Depletion
ResourcesTrainingWorkouts

Wednesday Workout: Depletion

Jason AlbertAugust 14, 2019

To be depleted can take on many forms. In endurance sport, depletion often refers to an athlete’s fueling state. Are they stocked up on muscle glycogen, have they properly fueled with a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, and “good” fats or are they trending towards empty? Carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel source, particularly during exercise, however, fat molecules are a caloric gold mine when it comes to available energy. The caveat is that fat...

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News Roundup for 8/12/19
DopingGeneralNews

News Roundup for 8/12/19

Jason AlbertAugust 12, 2019

New IBU Secretary General Named On August 6th, the International Biathlon Union (IBU) announced Sweden’s Niklas Carlsson as its new Secretary General. At 44-years-old, Carlsson comes to the position with considerable experience in the world of alpine ski racing. According to the IBU press release, Carlsson served as the Secretary-General of the Swedish Ski Federation from 2011-2014. He has also worked for the International Ski Federation (FIS), and served on the Boards of two Swedish...

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From Half to Full with Kris Freeman
NewsOtherRacing

From Half to Full with Kris Freeman

Jason AlbertAugust 8, 2019

This is the third story following Kris Freeman as he prepped for his first Ironman triathlon. You can read part 1 here, and part two here. *** The half is now full. In an often over-corporatized scene blazed with the Ironman logo, thirty-eight-year-old Kris Freeman added a deeply human element as a finisher in the 2019 Lake Placid Ironman. Among the 2042 finishers of the July 28 Lake Placid event, there are 2042 unique stories....

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MultimediaNordic NationPodcasts

Nordic Nation: Troy Taylor and the Science of Sport at US Ski & Snowboard

Jason AlbertAugust 6, 2019

As the Northern Hemisphere slowly tilts towards shorter days and colder temps … and hopefully snow… we spoke with Troy Taylor at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Taylor’s official title is that of High Performace Director. What that means is he helps coordinate the multiple moving parts involving sport science for the portfolio of teams at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Taylor has been in this role with U.S. Ski & Snowboard since 2015. He first worked for U.S....

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