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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
Bolshunov Pulls Away for a Solo Victory in the 15 k Classic; Cyr 21st

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. It’s the last hurrah, folks. Roughly a year after the COVID-19 virus achieved its global pandemic title, the World Cup finds itself at the end of a season that once...

Johaug Runs Away With Gold in the 30-kilometer Classic; Maubet Bjornsen 15th in Final Professional Race

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. A blanket of fresh snow lay on the ground while the frozen rocky peaks of the Bavarian Alps peaked through the clouds. Finally, Oberstdorf, Germany looked like a wintery...

Another Norwegian Sweep in the 15-Kilometer Skate: Holund, Krüger, and Amundsen

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Here we are in the back half of the 2021 World Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany. As athletes strive for their peak fitness, storylines from the World Cup season, pandemic,...

Sweden’s Sundling Edges Out Switzerland for Team Sprint Gold; USA 5th

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. And now for something completely different. The skate team sprint. Three roughly 1-kilometer loops each for 7.2 k total, relatively flat with just two brief upticks per lap, winding...

Bolshunov Victorious in the 30-Kilometer Skiathlon; Patterson 14th, Norris 17th

This World Championship coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. With swaths of bare ground peeking through the melting snow, skis rattling through tracks and swooshing across the lanes, and short-sleeved race tops, World Championship racing continued in a...

Cooking My Way Through Emma Coburn’s “The Runner’s Kitchen”

Starting with a quick disclaimer, I’ve been a fan of Emma Coburn, Olympic Bronze Medalist and World Champion steeplechaser, for most of her career. Spending this winter in her hometown of Crested Butte, Colorado has, if anything, amplified my appreciation for her as both an athlete and role model for other female runners. As such, I was very excited this fall when she announced the release of her cookbook, “The Runner’s Kitchen”, and immediately pre-ordered. I’m...

Self-Reported Observations Across Phases of the Menstrual Cycle Among Elite Cross Country Skiers with Guro Strøm Solli

This article is part of a series of interviews with professionals in sports nutrition and female physiology. To get started, you can find a primer on this topic here, and listen to this podcast on Nordic Nation discussing female athlete specific nutrition with registered dietician and professional runner Maddie Alm. Readers who have followed cross-country skiing for several decades may be familiar with the name Guro Strøm Solli. Now 37-years-old, Solli was a member of...

Svahn Strikes Again in Falun; Diggins 8th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.  If you had any question about the strength and depth of the Swedish sprint team, look no further than the qualification list from today’s classic sprint in Falun. Led...

Svahn Takes the Victory in a Tight Sprint Finish in Falun; Diggins 7th (Updated)

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com.  In case you missed it, yesterday’s 10-kilometer skate in Falun, Sweden was a standout day for the Americans, highlighted by a gutsy victory by Jessie Diggins. How deep into...

Nordic Nation: Diving Into Female Athlete Specific Fueling with Maddie Alm

This podcast is part of a series on female athlete specific physiology and sports nutrition. With the help of experts and novel research in this area, this series unpacks how the menstrual cycle might influence training adaptations and provides female athletes and coaches with the information to help optimize fueling and training schedules accordingly. You can find a primer on the menstrual cycle and training here. Based in Boulder, Colorado, Maddie Alm is the face...

Training, Performance, and the Menstrual Cycle: A Primer

This article provides an introduction to a series of interviews with professionals in sports nutrition and female physiology. Results from a survey regarding how elite US cross-country skiers and biathletes use insight into their cycles in their own training will also be analyzed and shared.  An arguably essential component of developing as an athlete is learning how to listen to the signals one’s body sends. Am I skiing easy enough on my recovery days to...

Norway Returns with Gusto, Sweeping the Women’s Podium in the 7.5/7.5 K Skiathlon; Diggins 5th

In case you missed the discussion on the Devon Kershaw podcast, the Norwegian team made its World Cup return today in Lahti, Finland after nearly two months of training and competing domestically. As predicted, neither their form nor racing gears have not been from this decision. The women in red went 1-2-3 in the 7.5/7.5-kilometer skiathlon, led by powerhouse Therese Johaug who notched her third consecutive win in the event and third career skiathlon win...

Diggins Becomes the First North American to Win the Tour de Ski

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Though Devon Kershaw might fairly say “It’s not really cross country skiing,” as a viewer, the grueling climb up the Alpe Cermis is the crown jewel of the Tour de...

Sweden’s Svahn and Two Finnish Athletes Cleared to Race Friday (Updated)

  Update: Expressen Sport, a Swedish daily, has reported Linn Svahn and two unnamed Finnish cross-country skiers are cleared to race in Friday’s mass start events after more sensitive Covid-19 PCR tests returned negative. Original Post: Earlier today, Swedish team doctor Per Andersson announced that Linn Svahn, who won the first two stages of the 2021 Tour de Ski in Val Müstair, has tested positive for COVID-19 on an antigen test. (The antigen test is...

Stupak and Andersson Overtake the Americans to Keep the TdS Tight; Diggins 3rd, Brennan 4th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. We have entered the back half of the 2021 Tour de Ski. With five of eight races complete, roughly 45 kilometers raced and a little under 25 remaining, fatigue has...

American Women Light Up Toblach With Another Diggins-Brennan 1-2 Performance

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Onward with the 2021 Tour de Ski! From the western edge of Switzerland, we’ve landed in the tiny and spectacular Italian village of Toblach. Nestled at just over 4,000...

The Pastimes App Builds Community in Outdoor Recreation with Ambassador Julia Kern

If you follow Julia Kern on social media or her blog, you have probably gotten the sense that outdoor recreation is more than just part of her job as a professional cross country skier. A quick scroll highlights a multitude of activities that extend far beyond rollerskiing and World Cup travel. Kern seems to do it all: open water swimming, backcountry skiing, paddle boarding, camping, trail running, rock climbing, and mountain biking. And always with...

Svahn Wins Back-to-Back in Val Müstair; Diggins 3rd, Brennan 6th (Updated)

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Light snow continued to fall in the quaint Swiss village nestled in Val Müstair as the athletes took to the tracks for the first distance stage of the 2021 Tour...

Pellegrino Provides Sunshine in Snowy Val Müstair As 2021 Tour de Ski Begins; Hamilton 13th

This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. A new year, new snow, and some welcome faces at the start of the 2021 Tour de Ski in Val Müstair, Switzerland. In this 15th edition of the TdS, the...

Tour De Ski Opens With Spills and Thrills in Val Müstair; Diggins 2nd, Brennan 4th

  This World Cup coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and their A Hall Mark of Excellence Award. To learn more about A Hall Mark of Excellence Award or to learn how you can support FasterSkier’s coverage please contact info@fasterskier.com. Out with 2020, in with 2021. Here in the world of multicolored lycra and skinny skis, we are kicking off the new year with the opening of the Tour...