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Rachel Perkins

Rachel is an endurance sport enthusiast based in the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado. You can find her cruising around on skinny skis, running in the mountains with her pup, or chasing her toddler (born Oct. 2018). Instagram: @bachrunner4646
Kikkan Randall Joins the Sub Three Hour Marathon Club One Year Post Chemotherapy
CommunityInterviews

Kikkan Randall Joins the Sub Three Hour Marathon Club One Year Post Chemotherapy

Rachel PerkinsNovember 4, 2019

Statistically speaking, only 2% of people who enter a marathon will finish under three hours. The 2019 TCS New York City Marathon was a bit above average, with nearly 3% (1,563 of  53,508 runners) breaking the elusive three hour barrier. Yesterday, four familiar cross country skiers joined the speedy club of athletes who have achieved this result.  Brian Gregg was first across the line, stopping the clock at 2:44:30 (6:17 per mile average). Next came...

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NutritionResources

Trick or Treat: Candy Fueled Workouts

Rachel PerkinsOctober 30, 2019

Trick or Treat! ‘Tis the season of hyperglycemia.  Before balking at the amount of candy that may be lingering in your house over the next few weeks, it might be worth considering mixing it into your stash of bars and gels to be consumed during a long ride, run, or ski. After all, your body relies primarily on carbohydrates for energy during exercise and candy is loaded with simple sugars.  Favorites of the FasterSkier team...

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Non-Traditional Summer Training with Dan Cnossen
InterviewsPara Nordic

Non-Traditional Summer Training with Dan Cnossen

Rachel PerkinsOctober 28, 2019

Dan Cnossen is a badass. There. We said it. In the realm of para nordic sport, the 39-year-old medaled in each of the six biathlon and cross country events in which he competed during the 2018 Paralympic Games. At the 2019 World Championships, he Cnossen earned a silver medal in both the cross country sprint and middle distance races after a slew of podium finishes in World Cup events during the season. Prior to his...

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The Life of an Elite Multisport Para Athlete With Kendall Gretsch
InterviewsPara Nordic

The Life of an Elite Multisport Para Athlete With Kendall Gretsch

Rachel PerkinsOctober 23, 2019

27-year-old Kendall Gretsch is a well-decorated athlete.  A glance at the Illinois native’s bio shows three consecutive ITU Paratriathlon World Championship titles (2014 – 2016) plus a silver medal at this year’s event on September 1st in Lausanne, Switzerland. She is a five-time USA Paratriathlon national champion, four-time gold medalist at the PATCO/CAMTRI American Championships, and has four medals from ITU Paratriathlon World Cup events, two each of gold and silver. And that is just...

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CommunityGeneral

The Importance of Women in Coaching with Dr. Nicole LaVoi

Rachel PerkinsOctober 21, 2019

On the last weekend of September, U.S. Ski & Snowboard held the annual National Cross Country Coaches Symposium in Park City, UT. This year’s event included a keynote presentation from Nicole LaVoi Ph.D., co-director of the Tucker Center at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Dr. LaVoi is a professor of sport psychology and sociology at UMN and leads research in “the structural and personal barriers experienced by female coaches, relational qualities of the coach-athlete...

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Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process: A Look Into Post Graduate Gap Year Programs with Paul Smith of SVSEF
CollegiateCommunityInterviewsResources

Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process: A Look Into Post Graduate Gap Year Programs with Paul Smith of SVSEF

Rachel PerkinsOctober 14, 2019

Deciding how to handle the “college conflict”, as aptly phrased by Alayna Sonnesyn, is a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect, particularly for athletes and families who are unfamiliar with the process. How does a junior athlete know that they are cut out for a collegiate program? NCAA or USCSA? What about a gap year? In this series, FasterSkier spoke with collegiate and junior coaches and athletes who have chosen different pathways to create a resource...

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The Women Ski Coaches Association Launches a Grassroots Mission Toward Gender Equity in Sport
CommunityGeneralNews

The Women Ski Coaches Association Launches a Grassroots Mission Toward Gender Equity in Sport

Rachel PerkinsOctober 10, 2019

In August, the Women Ski Coaches Association (WSCA) set forth to balance the scales of gender equity in coaching. With Maria Stuber, head coach at the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) and former member of the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, at the helm, the WSCA strives to be “the voice and future of women in coaching.”  According to surveys conducted by the Tucker Center for Research on Women and Girls in Sport, since Title IV...

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CommunityResources

Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process: Preparing for the Campus Visit with Dartmouth’s Cami Thompson-Graves

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 24, 2019

Deciding how to handle the “college conflict”, as aptly phrased by Alayna Sonnesyn, is a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect, particularly for athletes and families who are unfamiliar with the process. How does a junior athlete know that they are cut out for a collegiate program? NCAA or USCSA? What about a gap year? In this series, FasterSkier spoke with collegiate and junior coaches and athletes who have chosen different pathways to create a resource...

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CommunityResources

Unraveling the College Athlete Admission Process with Anna Schulz

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 19, 2019

Deciding how to handle the “college conflict”, as aptly phrased by Alayna Sonnesyn, is a daunting and somewhat mysterious prospect, particularly for athletes and families who are unfamiliar with the process. How does a junior athlete know that they are cut out for a collegiate program? NCAA or USCSA? What about a gap year? In this series, FasterSkier spoke with collegiate and junior coaches and athletes who have chosen different pathways to create a resource...

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Jessie Diggins’ Lifelong Journey Toward the “Gold Medal Goal” of Eating Disorder Recovery
InterviewsLifestyleNews

Jessie Diggins’ Lifelong Journey Toward the “Gold Medal Goal” of Eating Disorder Recovery

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 12, 2019

After appearing in ESPN’s Body Issue in June 2018, Jessie Diggins Diggins recommends utilizing resources from the “What to Say Initiative” launched by the WithAll Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on advancing eating disorder support and prevention. She explained that though a coach cannot cause an eating disorder in an athlete, research suggests that the language used by prominent adults in a young person’s life can greatly influence that persons’ body image, self-esteem, and likelihood...

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HealthLifestyleNutritionResources

Optimizing Fueling to Reap the Benefits of High Volume Summer Training with Stephanie Howe Violett Ph.D.

Rachel PerkinsAugust 28, 2019

Here we are in late August, halfway between the start of the training year in early May and the beginning of the competition season in late November. Volume is the name of the game during the summer and at this time of year, it is not uncommon for top athletes to train 20 to 30 hours per week. Typically, the training logs prescribe athletes to head out on long runs, rides, and rollerskis at a...

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What Do Biathlon and Wedding Cakes Have in Common? Emily Dreissigacker.
CommunityInterviews

What Do Biathlon and Wedding Cakes Have in Common? Emily Dreissigacker.

Rachel PerkinsAugust 27, 2019

A glance at Emily Dreissigacker’s bio shows a slew of career highlights, including a 10th place finish in the sprint, a 9th place in the pursuit, and a 15th place in the mixed team relay at the 2019 Open European Championships in Minsk-Raubichi, Belarus. There is also a bit of Dreissigacker’s backstory — how both of her parents were Olympic rowers and how she also had outstanding results as a junior in rowing before shifting...

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LifestyleOtherRacingResourcesTrainingWorkouts

Wednesday Workout: Mitigating Risks in Mountain Running Races with David Norris and Jessica Yeaton

Rachel PerkinsAugust 21, 2019

Before we begin, if you have not heard of the course record holder. In 2016 he bested the time of world renowned mountain athlete Killian Jornet. Norris chose to sit out this year’s event due to the smoke-induced poor air quality. Norris also won the Cirque Series Alyeska race in 2017 and 2019 and took third in between. In 2018, Yeaton won the Cirque Series race and both members of the duo won Mount Marathon —...

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First Tracks as a New Parent: Caitlin Gregg (Part Two)
CommunityGeneralInterviewsLifestyleResources

First Tracks as a New Parent: Caitlin Gregg (Part Two)

Rachel PerkinsAugust 19, 2019

The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of being...

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First Tracks as a New Parent: Caitlin Gregg [Part 1]
CommunityGeneralInterviewsLifestyleResources

First Tracks as a New Parent: Caitlin Gregg [Part 1]

Rachel PerkinsAugust 13, 2019

The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of being...

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Recover Smarter, Not Harder: A Review of “Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery” and Interview With Author Christie Aschwanden
GeneralInterviewsLifestyleResourcesReviewsTraining

Recover Smarter, Not Harder: A Review of “Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn From the Strange Science of Recovery” and Interview With Author Christie Aschwanden

Rachel PerkinsJuly 30, 2019

If you’ve ever set a lofty athletic goal, one that required full commitment, going all in and pulling out all of the stops to optimize your training, you may have searched for strategies to similarly optimize your recovery between sessions, getting you back on the ski trails feeling strong as quickly as possible. In this process, you may have found yourself perusing a seemingly endless array of devices, foods, and drinks, each promising to improve...

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First Tracks as a New Parent: Holly Brooks [Part 2]
CommunityLifestyleResources

First Tracks as a New Parent: Holly Brooks [Part 2]

Rachel PerkinsJuly 22, 2019

The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of being...

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First Tracks as a New Parent: Holly Brooks [Part 1]
CommunityLifestyleResources

First Tracks as a New Parent: Holly Brooks [Part 1]

Rachel PerkinsJuly 18, 2019

The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of being...

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USCSA: The “Hidden Gem” Pathway for Non-NCAA Collegiate Skiers
CollegiateCommunity

USCSA: The “Hidden Gem” Pathway for Non-NCAA Collegiate Skiers

Rachel PerkinsJuly 16, 20191

Last year, 174 athletes in the male and female U18 categories competed at Junior Nationals in Anchorage, AK. This number represents a small fraction of the cross country skiers throughout the country in that age category. As there are only about 30 NCAA programs nationwide that offer Division I or Division II cross country skiing, the opportunity for high-level training and racing narrows significantly after a skier graduates from high school.  However, the door to...

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Proskida Seeks to Revolutionize Ski Training with Power Meter
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Proskida Seeks to Revolutionize Ski Training with Power Meter

Rachel PerkinsJuly 3, 2019

Endurance junkies can be data nerds. The market for smart watches and wearable fitness devices has boomed, trending toward a $29 billion dollar market with 243 million units sold by 2022 according to an industry analyst’s estimates. In the world of endurance sport, professional athletes and weekend warriors alike are recording their workouts and analyzing the results using platforms like Strava, Polar Global, or Garmin Connect in search of optimal training to achieve personal bests. ...

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