Feature – FasterSkier.com

Julia Kern on Drinking Coffee, Building Community, and Finding the Balance

Marika Massey-BiermanNovember 18, 2024

Just two weeks before leaving for Europe for the 2024/2025 season, U.S. Ski Team member Julia Kern, 27, chatted with FasterSkier to talk about her last few months and winter ahead. The Waltham, Mass. native didn’t skip a beat when asked a barrage of questions, including her favorite food (pizza), go-to coffee order (cappuccino), favorite ski technique (classic), and preference between M&M’s and Skittles. “M&M’s,” she said with a laugh. “Definitely chocolate.” Despite her cheery...

Feature News Strength Training Workouts

Smooth Transitions: Moving Wisely From Pavement To Snow

Ned DowlingNovember 15, 2024

Our bodies are very good at adapting to change, as long as it comes slowly enough. That first frosty day in autumn always feels brutally cold. Take the same temperature in March and we’re in shorts and short sleeves. Our response to exercise load is no different. Taken as a slow and progressive build up, our bodies will respond with increased strength and capacity to stay on the right side of the load vs tolerance...

Feature Juniors News World Cup

National Nordic Foundation: Bridging the Funding Gap

Ken RothNovember 12, 2024

There’s a great scene in the 1983 classic movie epic The Right Stuff, where the test pilots are hanging out in their dank watering hole discussing the future of supersonic flight and bemoaning what they see as misplaced priorities. The press liaison throwing back a beer with Chuck Yeager and Jack Ridley seems to innocently ask, “you know what makes your rocket planes fly?” The aeronautical engineer puts down his beer and responds by beginning...

Collegiate Feature World Cup

Juggling the Four S’s: An Interview with John Steel Hagenbuch

Luke DykowskiNovember 11, 2024

The 2023-2024 season was undeniably strong for Dartmouth College’s John Steel Hagenbuch (’25, U.S. B-Team). In December, his was the fastest leg time in the Men’s 4×7.5 k Relay in Gällivare. One week later, he secured his first top-15 finish on the World Cup circuit, taking 13th place in the Östersund 10 k Freestyle. In February, he surprised himself with a bronze medal in the U23 World Championship Sprint in Planica. Domestically, the wins came...

Feature News

Loppet Foundation Announces New Director

Ken RothNovember 8, 2024

The Minneapolis Loppet Foundation announced today, November 8th, that it has hired a new Director. Meghan Cosgrove will take the reins of the organization beginning November 18th. She takes over from Claire Wilson who resigned from the Director’s position in September for family reasons. Wilson had been at the helm of the Loppet Foundation for four years. Cosgrove’s most recent leadership post was as Executive Director at YMCA of the North for Camp Menogyn, where...

Feature News Racing World Cup

Making the Grade: A, B, and D Teams. What’s the Difference?

Ken RothOctober 29, 2024

Every fall the U.S. cross-country ski team announces its new roster. But there are teams within the team which makes it a little complicated to figure out exactly who belongs where. With designations of A, B, and D teams. The method for how members are selected to these teams is well documented, and it’s all contained in a public document on the U.S. team’s website. But as you’ll see, that process is going to change...

Feature News Nutrition Resources

Four of My Favorite Quick and Nutritious Meals

Julia KernOctober 23, 2024

Grain bowl Green Curry Flatbread with chickpea tomato pistachio – NYT Stir fry Food can be fun, tasty, nutritious and easy to make! I love to cook elaborate meals when I have time, but often the simple and quick recipes end up being my favorite. Whether it is a recovery day or a 5 hour training day, eating a well-balanced meal is important for staying strong, healthy, and happy! When I can, I...

Feature Interviews News World Cup

Laukli’s Summer of Ups and Downs Ends With a Surprise. Part II

Ken RothOctober 21, 2024

In Part I of our interview with Sophia Laukli, FasterSkier caught up with her before she had returned to the Golden Trail Series Tour, and discussed the ups and downs of the difficult summer she had. We’ll continue our discussion with Laukli about the upcoming race season but first, we need to bring readers up to date with how she fared in the Golden Trail Series finals, and how she is feeling after her summer...

Feature News Racing World Cup

Laukli’s Summer of Ups and Downs Ends With a Surprise. Part I

Ken RothOctober 18, 2024

Last year was a breakout season for Sophia Laukli. She reached the top of the podium in a World Cup race and had a solid skiing season. In her non-skiing job, she also won the Golden Trail Series championship, being crowned the best international trail runner, all while making it look fairly easy. She dominated the race circuit and gave the best professional trail runners fits as she casually strolled to the race starts fresh...

Feature Resources Strength Training Workouts

5 Activation Exercises To Get You Ready for Any Workout

Julia KernOctober 15, 2024

From a young age, my track coach insisted that we did a thorough dynamic warm-up before starting any training session to activate the right muscles and avoid injury. I have my track coach to thank for teaching me this at a young age. Especially as I get older, my daily activation exercises are crucial in keeping injuries at bay and getting my body warmed up before the “warm up”. For me, the challenge is...

Feature General News Racing World Cup

Are You Ready to Watch Racing This Winter?

Ken RothOctober 9, 2024

It’s hard to believe, but the first World Cup cross-country race is just around the corner. November 29th marks the cross-country racing season kickoff, in Ruka, Finland. For fans who want to watch the races, there are a couple of easy options. Once again, Ski and Snowboard Live will be the United States’ streaming service for viewing cross-country events held outside of the country, and this season, that means every race. Their coverage will include...

Feature News Resources Waxing

Is it Time to Throw Away Your Waxing Iron?

FasterSkierOctober 7, 2024

The last several years have seen tumultuous changes in the ski waxing world. After the fluoro ban went into effect, manufacturers have been scrambling to bridge the performance gap between now prohibited fluorinated wax and non-fluoros. But it’s not just wax manufacturers who have been busy trying to figure out how to build a better mousetrap now that the most powerful weapon ever developed in the waxing arsenal has been sidelined. Wax technicians have also...

Feature Juniors News Racing

Bend’s Neve Gerard Embarks on Her Next Chapter

Alex KochonSeptember 19, 2024

As a sixth grader growing up in Bend, Ore., Neve Gerard was paying attention when Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins won U.S. cross-country skiing’s first Olympic gold medal. She wasn’t a full-on skier back then—she was more into running and mountain biking—but she remembers thinking how cool it was. Nearly six years later, she found herself warming up on the same Olympic course where the duo won the team sprint in PyeongChang, South Korea. Gerard,...

Feature News Racing World Cup

Rosie Brennan, Grinding On, But Not Forever. Part II

Ken RothSeptember 17, 2024

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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 Part I of FasterSkier’s interview with Rosie Brennan, she discussed her illness during the second half of the season, her pride in being an all around skier, and the challenges and emotions...

Feature News Racing World Cup

Rosie Brennan: Grinding On, But Not Forever. Part I

Ken RothSeptember 12, 2024

This coverage is made possible through the generous support of Marty and Kathy Hall and 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. Rosie Brennan has been a mainstay of the U.S. ski team for years and is routinely one of its top performers. The APU (Alaska Pacific University) skier has earned the status and acclaim...

Feature News Training

The Old Man and the Lake: A Skier Swims Across the Mackinac Straits. Part II

Ken RothSeptember 9, 2024

In Part one of The Old Man and the Lake, our reporter shared his story about dealing with the sudden onset of chronic illness; how time, persistence, and swimming helped him regain his athletic life, and the odyssey of swimming across the Mackinac Straits. In part two, the story continues with his ongoing swimming saga post bridge swim, and the lessons learned about goal setting and the reality of dealing with disappointing outcomes. Next up...

Feature Interviews Olympics Racing

T-Minus Ten Years: Soldier Hollow’s Preparations for Salt Lake City 2034

Luke DykowskiSeptember 4, 2024

As the pageantry and athletic performances of Paris 2024 captivated audiences across the United States, a team of organizers had their eyes fixed on a target far beyond the shores of the Seine. Ten years beyond, in fact. The International Olympic Committee announced on July 24th that Salt Lake City, Utah will host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the Cross-Country and Biathlon events returning to the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, site of the...

Feature General News

The Old Man and the Lake: A Skier’s Swim Across the Mackinac Straits. Part I

Ken RothSeptember 1, 2024

Bobbing around in the middle of Lakes Huron and Michigan like a cork in a bathtub while staring up at the intimidating mass of the Mackinac Bridge tends to put things into a different perspective. My perspective was one of incredible insignificance. Everything around me was huge: the lake, the bridge, the distance, the current, and especially the stomach churning, energy sapping swells. I felt incredibly small. How does a guy end up in this...

Feature News

Shane MacDowell: Filling Some Very Large Shoes. Part II

Ken RothAugust 27, 2024

Last May, FasterSkier wrote about the retirement of University of New Hampshire’s (UNH) legendary ski coach Cory Schwartz, who had been with the University for 42 years. This summer, UNH named Shane MacDowell— the team’s former assistant coach— as Schwartz’s replacement. In Part one of our interview with MacDowell we discussed the lessons learned from his mentors, and the challenges of following in the footsteps of a beloved legend. In Part II we discuss meeting...

Canadian National Ski Team Feature News World Cup

A Story of Resilience and Hard Work: Coming Back from a Season-Ending Injury with Graham Ritchie

Kennedy LangeAugust 21, 2024

Speaking with FasterSkier from Torsby, Sweden, Graham Ritchie is together with three teammates from the Canadian National Development Team completing a three-week long training camp in the Torsby Ski Tunnels – an experience he describes as “unique.” Working with his coach, this camp will provide Ritchie with some valuable hours on snow after an injury that caused him to sit out last season entirely. A 25-year-old Canadian nordic skier, Ritchie made a late debut into...

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