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Nathaniel Herz

Nat Herz is an Alaska-based journalist who moonlights for FasterSkier as an occasional reporter and podcast host. He was FasterSkier's full-time reporter in 2010 and 2011.
Olympic Medalists and Rookies Rub Shoulders in Canmore

CANMORE, ALBERTA — Abbey Zimmer and Natalie Meinert peered over a railing out onto the course at the cross-country ski center here Thursday, where dozens of the world’s best athletes were amidst their pre-race routines. The 14-year-olds had driven seven hours to Canmore with their parents from icy Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They were there to ski on some snowy trails and for a weekend of watching racers that they normally only see on highlight reels. “We...

The Devon Kershaw Show: A James Clinton Canmore bonus with JC Schoonmaker

Coming in hot from Canmore, Alberta, where the World Cup circuit makes its North American return after five years away. We’ve got a preview here of sorts, featuring an interview with JC Schoonmaker, the California-raised U.S. Ski Team member who made his first World Cup podium earlier this season. We cover his rude awakening to the demands of elite-level training, his affection for his adopted home of Alaska and get some fun details about his...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Go big and go Goms

Goms! These races, in Switzerland, were unambiguously awesome. Wipeouts, sun, fondue, North American podiums and breakout performances. And an Alaskan guest who watched the races firsthand. We really went above and beyond the call of duty this week — we’ve got sounds from the side of the trail and even a profanity-laced tirade from Devon if you stick it out to the end of the show. We’ll be on scene at the next round of...

The Devon Kershaw Show: A French Canadian-inflected, 90-minute recap from Oberhof

Prince of Quebec Alex Harvey and his protege on the Canadian team, Tony Cyr, check in with us after a three-day weekend of racing in Germany. We went kinda long. Also: We have a first-of-its-kind waxing and service report from U.S. Ski Team technician Eli Brown. Let us know what you think: We’re at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back after another weekend of racing in Switzerland before the World Cup circuit heads to North...

The Devon Kershaw Show: It’s time for the yearly bag ‘o mail, and it’s a good bag

Did Devon Kershaw once jump over a cattle guard, on rollerskis, at 40 miles an hour? Is a seven-and-a-half hour classic ski a wise choice in the middle of the racing season? Where are Tiril Udnes Weng and Simone Mocellini? These are among the many questions Devon and Nat fielded during the 2024 edition of the show’s yearly mailbag episode. We had fun with your submissions; we hope you enjoy our answers. Email us more...

The Devon Kershaw Show: What do Jessie Diggins and Ron DeSantis have in common?

The Iowa caucuses were this week, and on this edition of The Daily, we have a recap of the results with our political correspondent, Reid Epstein. Wait, sorry, we got confused. This is still a cross-country skiing podcast. But this is, in fact, the crossover xc-politics content you’ve been waiting for. Epstein, a friend of the pod who is really a political correspondent for the New York Times, interviewed Jessie Diggins a few days ago...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Laukli, Diggins crown a historic Tour de Ski finish for USA

They’ve reached the summit — the athletes, have, anyway. Devon certainly has not, thanks to frozen pipes in his Oslo apartment. He and Nat persevere to bring you the recap of this year’s final Tour de Ski stages, which featured some spicy and sloppy racing in Italy. Stay tuned til the end for an ode to Le Gruyère cheese. Next week, during the break from the World Cup, we’ll have a mailbag episode. Send us...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Davos delivers flamethrowers, snow squalls and U.S. podiums

We’re in deep to the Tour de Ski now, after a couple of legitimately rad days of racing in Davos, Switzerland. Mikael Gunnulfsen of Norway joins us to talk about the stunning performance of Henrik Doennestad, and of course we catch you up on the latest successes of Americans Jessie Diggins and Rosie Brennan and, oh yeah, Gus Schumacher. Get at us at nat@fasterskier.com and devon@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back once the athletes hit the top...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Recapping a soggy, fluoro-free weekend in Trondheim

Eli Brown, a member of the U.S. Ski Team’s waxing and ski service staff, joins us this week to talk about his job and the new enforcement of the rules banning fluorocarbons on the World Cup circuit. We recap another strong weekend for American athletes, along with all the hijinks that happened in Trondheim, Norway at the test event for next season’s World Championships. The World Cup takes a break next weekend before the Tour...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Stars are born in Ostersund, with guest Luke Jager

Multiple U.S. podiums. Near-misses. Coaches barging into the classic track. This past weekend was pretty fun. We get up-and-coming Alaska star Luke Jager to join us for a recap and go through it all. Reach us with your questions, comments and feedback at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back next week after Trondheim.

The Devon Kershaw Show: She’s second in the world right now. Rosie Brennan joins us.

American skier Rosie Brennan is second in the World Cup standings right now, after a double podium in the season’s first weekend of racing. She’s a veteran with numerous podiums to her name and top-fives at championship events. Brennan joins us from Sweden to talk about her hot start to the season. Check out our past coverage of Brennan’s career here. Reach us at devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back after this weekend’s races.

Want to Ski, Shoot, and Hang Out with Anchorage Olympians? Try Biathlon.

A tale of how I skied faster than Kikkan Randall for exactly five minutes and 39 seconds until I got tired and she hit more rifle targets than I did. Once upon a time, I was a serious, though definitively not successful, cross-country skier. I raced for my college team in Maine, then kept at it afterward and one time finished 17th (I think, I can’t find the results any more) at the Tour of...

The Devon Kershaw Show: U.S. rocks Ruka as 2024 season kicks off

Damn. What a weekend for the U.S. Ski Team, with three podiums in three days of racing at the World Cup opener in Finland. Erik Bråten, a Norwegian who coaches the Swiss ski team, joins Devon and Nat to recap and share his experiences across a range of international ski cultures. Send us questions, feedback and anti-vax screeds to: devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com — we’ve already got some questions stacking up for a mailbag episode in...

The Devon Kershaw Show: cross-country skiing’s most famous international couple

A couple of years ago, Swedish Olympic medalist cross-country skier Maja Dahlqvist matched with U.S. sprinter Kevin Bolger on Tinder. They’ve since become one of their sport’s highest-profile couples. The two of them, during an altitude camp in Utah last month, joined Nat for a joint interview. We’ll be back as the World Cup season kicks off in a few weeks. Send your questions, comments and hate mail to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com.

Klæbo was dogged by a leg injury. Then he met a Utah physical therapist with NBA cred.

PARK CITY, UTAH — Megan Rowlands Stowe was mostly retired from her career as a physical therapist when Johannes Høsflot Klæbo came to her Utah home for dinner last year. Klæbo, 26, is from Norway — where, as a seven-time Olympic medalist in cross-country skiing, he’s a superstar. But for weeks, he’d been training in Utah, where a lingering hamstring injury was bothering him when he arrived at Stowe’s house. Stowe, 57, has her own...

The Devon Kershaw Show: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo has a lot to say. We listened.

A few weeks ago, Nat got a Facebook message from one Haakon Klæbo — father of Johannes Klæbo, also known as one of the greatest skiers of all time. What followed was a visit by Nat to Klæbo’s training camp in Park City, Utah, where he and Johannes taped this episode of the Devon Kershaw Show. Join us to hear an interview with the five-time Olympic champion from Norway about his time in the U.S.,...