Rachel Perkins – Page 6

FS Gear Reviews: The North Face Flight VECTIV Carbon-Plated Trail Shoe

Rachel PerkinsOctober 30, 2021

If you follow road running, the buzz around carbon-plated shoes is not new to you. Nike led the way with its Alphafly and Next% series, which sparked rapid innovation throughout the industry to quickly ensure their top racing shoes could compete. In 2021, “super shoes” have quickly transitioned from controversial to nearly ubiquitous, permeating the elite and recreational fields alike. But what about off-road? Is there a place for the carbon-plate in trail and ultra...

Feature Health Resources Training

Wildfires, Smoke, and Air Quality: A Survey of Programmatic Response in the West

Rachel PerkinsOctober 20, 2021

Spinning past the autumnal equinox into fall, the West looks back on a summer marred by wildfire smoke. Here in Colorado, the Aspens have dropped their golden leaves, snow encrusts the high peaks, and I’m struck by the beauty of my backyard, which spent the majority of June, July, and August muted by smoke that — thankfully — blew in from elsewhere. Over the last six weeks, checking AirNow before training has been phased out...

General Interviews Lifestyle News

Randall, Sargent, and Stephen Take on the 2021 Boston Marathon

Rachel PerkinsOctober 12, 2021

While no one would wish for the circumstances, a fall running of the Boston Marathon is perhaps a skier’s dream. The iconic foot race is on many a bucket list; however, the third Monday in April is early for those who spend the winter strapped to skinny skis rather than pounding pavement. After cancelling the April, 2020, running in light of the descending COVID-19 pandemic, and deciding against an April date for the 2021 event,...

Feature Olympics Para Nordic Racing

Kendall Gretsch Makes History With Gold Medal in Paratriathlon

Rachel PerkinsOctober 7, 2021

If you didn’t catch the ending of the triathlon during the Tokyo Paralympics, prepare for the chills. Spoiler alert: in an all out, last gas effort in the final meters, dual-season athlete Kendall Gretsch edged out Australia’s Lauren Parker by one second for a Gold Medal victory. This is Gretsch’s third Olympic gold, alongside the two she earned during the 2018 PyeongChang Paralympic Games, first in the 6-kilometer biathlon sitting sprint and again in the...

Feature News Racing US Ski Team

Keys to the Castle and Free Fall Rollerski Races Light Up the Northeast

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 30, 2021

As summer turned to fall, skiers from the Stratton Mountain School T2 team (SMS T2), the Sun Valley Gold Team (SVSEF), and the Bridger Ski Foundation Pro Team (BSF) met in Lake Placid, NY for a collaborative training camp, capped off with two stages of rollerski racing. The weekend featured a freestyle sprint event — The Keys to the Castle — on the rollerski track at Mt Van Hoevenberg, followed by a distance stage dubbed...

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Moms Matter Now with Holly Brooks and Calisa Kastning

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 27, 2021

In this episode, we discuss the topic of maternal mental health with Holly Brooks and Calisa Kastning. On Mother’s Day, the partners announced the launch of their passion project, Moms Matter Now with the aim of supporting and empowering women as they transition into motherhood. For those unfamiliar with these names, Brooks is a two-time Olympian and U.S. Ski Team alumna who became a licensed professional counselor after retiring from professional skiing in 2016....

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: A Type-1 Diabetic’s Take on Continuous Glucose Monitoring for Athletes, Featuring Kris Freeman

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 20, 2021

In this episode, we bring Kris Freeman back to Nordic Nation. For those unfamiliar with Freeman, he skied in four Olympics from 2002 to 2014, placed fourth on two occasions at the World Championships in the 15 k classic, and stayed at the sharp end of American distance skiing until retiring in 2018. After leaving the ski realm, Freeman — now 40-years old — switched his focus to long distance triathlon and has now completed...

Dryland Feature Racing Regional / Local US Ski Team

NENSA Rollerski Series Gains Momentum: An Interview with Justin Beckwith

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 16, 2021

On the heels of our coverage of the Martin Fourcade Nordic Festival and the Alliansloppet Action Week, we turn our attention to the Northeast where the burgeoning New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) rollerski race series is well underway. The next round of racing will take place this upcoming weekend, starting with a freestyle sprint event dubbed “The Keys to the Castle” on September 18th at Mt. Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, NY, followed by...

News Racing US Ski Team

Craftsbury Green Racing Project Races to the Top of Vermont

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 10, 2021

Under gray skies, runners and bikers lined up on Sunday, August 29th in Stowe, VT, to “Race to the Top of Vermont.” The 4.3 mile race climbs over 2,500 vertical feet up the Mt. Mansfield Toll Road at roughly an 11% average grade, this year finishing inside a cloud with wind whipping the finish line flagging. The event drew in nearly 300 participants with 215 runners taking on the focal challenge of making their way...

Feature Health Nutrition Resources Training

Dialing in Performance Fueling: Gus Schumacher Explores Continuous Glucose Monitoring

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 8, 2021

Over the last six months, an increasing number of athletes have posted photos and videos from their training sessions that include a small circular pod attached to the back of their arms, near the triceps. As it turns out, the pod is a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), specifically the Abbott Libre Sense Glucose Sport Biosensor which partnered with a new company, Supersapiens, to design an interface that allows athletes to monitor and optimize their blood...

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Caitlin Gregg — Athlete, Mother, and Team Birkie Head Coach

Rachel PerkinsSeptember 1, 2021

In early July, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced the launch of the Team Birkie professional racing team. The elite post-graduate training group would pull from the three primary midwestern clubs, the Loppet Foundation, Central Cross Country Skiing (or CXC), and the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. While the midwest has a strong culture of cross country skiing with a breadth of strong youth and masters racing teams, it has been nearly a decade since the...

Feature Racing US Ski Team

Scott Patterson Snags Storied Course Record at Crow Pass Crossing

Rachel PerkinsAugust 26, 2021

On July 24th, Scott Patterson toed the line outside of Girdwood, Alaska, for his eighth run of the Crow Pass Crossing, a roughly 22 mile race with nearly 3,000 feet of vertical gain through the rugged Alaskan backcountry. Two hours fifty minutes and five seconds later, he crossed the finish line at the Eagle River Nature Center, shattering the 11-year-old course record set by ultrarunning legend Geoff Roes at the peak of his career by...

Biathlon News Racing US Biathlon

Egan Sweeps USBA Rollerski National Championships; Doherty and Schommer Lead Men’s Field

Rachel PerkinsAugust 11, 2021

This post will be updated with men’s comments as available. The 2021 U.S. Biathlon National Rollerski Championships were held this past weekend in Jericho, VT, hosted by the Ethan Allen Biathlon Club. As the annual event was held in a virtual format in August 2020 due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, the weekend marks a welcome return to public national level biathlon competition. Participants from clubs throughout the U.S. made their way to Northern Vermont to...

Community Feature News

Full Circle: Kikkan Randall Returns to Anchorage as the Executive Director of NSAA

Rachel PerkinsAugust 9, 2021

On July 28th, the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage (NSAA) announced the hiring of Kikkan Randall as its new executive director. If you’ve found your way to this publication, we assume that Randall needs no introduction, but Olympic Gold Medalist, three-time World Cup Sprint Champion, mother to Breck, the example of success at the international level needed to propel the American women’s team into their current powerhouse status, and cancer survivor are just a few...

Community News

Borah Epic Donated to American Birkebeiner (Press Release)

Rachel PerkinsAugust 5, 2021

After nine years, the Borah Foundation is passing ownership of the Borah Epic to the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Hayward, Wi. – August 5, 2021 – The Borah Epic was founded in 2013 with the intent of hosting an unforgettable mountain bike race on the pristine singletrack trails between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin. Since its start in 2013 with less than 200 participants to its most recent 2021 event with close to 1,000 riders, the Borah Epic has...

Book Review Community

Book Review: Going the Distance: Piecing Together a Life of Adventure by Elspeth Ronnander

Rachel PerkinsMay 4, 2021

For those immersed in the ski marathon racing scene, particularly in the Midwest, you’ve likely shared tracks with Elspeth Ronnander. A member of the Vakava Racing Team, a competitive masters group based in the Twin Cities, 36-year-old Ronnander has racked up over 50 marathon finishes in the last 18 years, sometimes within weeks of one another. Outside her rigorous training schedule and full time job as a nurse practitioner, Ronnander is a passionate writer who...

Feature Health Resources Strength

Making a Healthy Transition to Running as the Seasons Change with Jessica Yeaton

Rachel PerkinsApril 30, 2021

Last year at this time, I was primarily gym-ridden. After roughly five months on snow, my fitness was high but my tolerance for the impact and specific demands of running were low. Throwing better judgement to the wind, I gave in to the allure of warm days, rapidly drying trails, and beloved road loops around town, and paid the price. Despite running between zero and ten miles total between December and the end of February,...

Community Lifestyle

Recharging the Batteries: The World Cup Squad Does April

Rachel PerkinsApril 20, 2021

For most serious ski racers, the training calendar begins anew somewhere around the first of May. As such, the weeks between the final World Cup races (or Spring Series in a typical year) and the beginning of May is regarded as “off-season”. The primary goal is not necessarily to remain sedentary, rather to fill up your cup. To enjoy the activities that a full training and racing load might prohibit, to (safely) spend time with...

Multimedia Nordic Nation Podcasts

Nordic Nation: Intentional Versatility in the Masters Athlete Lifestyle with Elite Ski Mountaineering Athlete Cam Smith

Rachel PerkinsMarch 29, 2021

If you have the good fortune to spend time in the Gunnison Valley of Colorado, perhaps on Crested Butte Nordic’s extensive trail system, exploring the Elk Mountain backcountry on mountain bike or skis, or taking laps on Mount Crested Butte, you may cross paths with a friendly red-haired resident who is likely moving faster and breathing easier than you are. Known locally as an aerobic machine, 25-year-old Cam Smith embraces all mountain sports as training...

Feature Health Research Resources Training

Training and the Menstrual Cycle: Anonymous Survey Results from Elite American XC Skiers and Biathletes

Rachel PerkinsMarch 25, 2021

This article is part of a series regarding female athlete specific physiology and nutrition. To get started, you can find a primer on the menstrual cycle here and listen to this podcast on Nordic Nation discussing female athlete specific nutrition with registered dietician and professional runner Maddie Alm. The survey analyzed here is an extension of the conversation with Guro Strøm Solli on her research on female athlete specific physiology and effects that the menstrual cycle has on training...

Newer Posts

Older Posts