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Interviews with racers, coaches and other relevant individuals within the Nordic ski world.
Nationals Notes and Quotes: Wrapping Up in Rumford

RUMFORD, Maine — Since the 2012 U.S. Nationals kicked off Tuesday, there was plenty of action and comments to go around throughout the weeklong event, which ended Sunday. Here’s a look at what didn’t make it in print: On the week (which included freestyle sprints, 10/15 k freestyle individual starts, 20/30 k mass starts and classic sprints): “I’m just really thrilled, it was kind of unexpected so I’m just really happy with it.” —  Jessie Diggins...

Notes and Quotes from Nationals: 10/15 k Freestyle

RUMFORD, Maine – On the second day of competition at the 2012 U.S. Cross Country Championships, a longer course and a massive hill made for some spent athletes in the women’s 10 k and men’s 15 k freestyle individual starts at Black Mountain on Thursday. Here are a few quotes that didn’t make the recaps: On the course: “It was a really fast course so it was really hard, too, not a lot of recovery.”...

The Rumford Mixed Zone: Post-Sprint Interviews (Video)

RUMFORD, Maine — There was no shortage of excitement at Black Mountain on Tuesday, where U.S. Cross Country Championships kicked off with a freestyle sprint. We checked in with the day’s winners Torin Koos (BSF/Rossignol) and Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST), as well as Caitlin Gregg (CXC), Jennie Bender (CXC), Ida Sargent (CGRP/USST), Corey Stock (CSU), Colin Rodgers (SVSEF), Karl Nygren (CXC), Joanne Reid (CU), Eliska Hajkova (CU), Bryan Cook (CGRP) and Nils Koons (CGRP). Sprint Brackets...

The Adventures of Sam Tarling: One Long Road Trip

Note: This article has been updated. Peering up at a sign inside a pizza joint in Colville, Wash., Sam Tarling saw an opportunity. Like so many other spontaneous offers 21-year-old Dartmouth College racer seized to get out West, Tarling jumped at the chance to eat for money. With an evening to kill and a stomach of steel, Tarling reasoned he couldn’t lose. The defending NCAA 10-k champion trumped similar challenges in the past. Three quarters...

Snow-wise, the 2011-2012 season hasn’t gotten off to the best start. Just four weeks into the World Cup, low snow has caused nearly every European host to scramble to put together a man-made course, shorten (at least initially) its distance races, or give up and move to another venue entirely. Domestically, competitors for the approaching U.S. Nationals are looking at a week of racing on a man-made loop in Rumford, ME for the second year...

McMurtry, Greer ‘Fine’ After Car Accident

Brent McMurtry of the Pierre-Harvey National Training Centre and Foothills Nordic Ski Club said he and teammate David Greer were unhurt after his car slid off the road while driving from Silver Star to Rossland, British Columbia. The accident happened near the town of Midway, slightly more than halfway into the 370-kilometer (230-mile) trip. Several cross-country skiers and teams traveled the same route to prepare for the second set of NorAm races in Rossland this...

With the first two NorAm races of the season over and done, here are a few tidbits that didn’t make it into the recaps of the classic sprints and distance races from Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre in British Columbia: On coming back to Canada after racing overseas in the World Cup: “Jet lag seemed to take a big grip on me for the first couple (days),” said Kevin Sandau, who returned about two weeks ago....

Paralympian Bob Balk Looking Forward to Innsbruck

Driving his uncooperative truck about 30 miles per hour on a highway shoulder, Bob Balk kept his spirits up. Sure, he had just spent about $900 to fix the vehicle, only to have the mechanics return it scratching their heads. Maybe it was bad gas; they couldn’t tell. But the seven-time Paralympian was used to challenges, so driving three hours roundtrip from his hometown in Moravia, N.Y., to Rochester didn’t phase him. Balk could empty...

Quick (Pro) Workout: Double-Pole Strength Training

Note: This is the first of  a “quick workout” series, which will break down one ski-specific exercise at a time in a how-to format. We start with Canadian national team member Perianne Jones, who demonstrated a double-pole technique in her hometown fitness center.) *** If you woke up this morning hoping to see several inches of white stuff and instead met a blanket of balmy air, you’re not alone. Skiers around the world are scratching...

After her first World Cup in Drammen, Norway last winter, which immediately preceded World Championships, Jessie Diggins came to a realization about professional ski racing. “I get it now — why people work so hard, train for so many years, push themselves right to the edge in races,” she wrote. From the tone of her writing, Diggins is clearly having a blast being a professional skier. Her enthusiasm for the sport is palpable; it’s as...

Heather Mooney has been turning heads for years, but in the last few she’s brought a whole new meaning to the word “fast”. In 2010, the Stratton Mountain School made the A-Final of the SuperTour Finals sprint as a J2. Last season, in her first year as a J1, she racked up top-20 finishes in each of the three senior races at U.S. Nationals, including eighth place in the classic sprint. Then she flew to...

Boulder Nordic Sport (BNS) took us through their West Yellowstone prep on Saturday afternoon, the day before they began the 800+ mile drive to Montana. With a 40-pair test fleet, drawers full of wax gear and about 150 pairs of freshly-ground skis to deliver back to customers, they’ve got a full trailer. Wheels went up on Sunday at 8:00 am, and after spending the night in Bozeman, MT, the crew should arrive in Yellowstone on...

Where Are They Now: Mike Gallagher (with Audio)

This article is the third profile in the ‘Where Are They Now’ series, made possible through the generous support of Fischer Sports. Learn more about their products at www.fischersports.com. here) PITTSFIELD, Vt. — The “XC1” license plate on the Subaru wagon should have been a dead giveaway. Instead, it took a minute to be sure the man walking across the general-store parking lot was Mike Gallagher, one of the pivotal players who put U.S. nordic...

After Surprise Win in Muonio, Einarsson Switches Focus to World Cup – For Now

  Many European skiers arrive in the U.S for college and are exhausted from year of trying to “make it” at the international level. While they find success in NCAA skiing, for some it is the last hurrah of a career that’s already lasted twenty years. Snorri Einarsson was not one of those skiers. For one thing, when the Norwegian arrived at the University of Utah, he was just 20 years old. For another, he...

NoCo Athletes Jump on “Drive for 25”

When Cliff Field met his parents for dinner in Steamboat Springs, Colo., last weekend, the family of three knew the discussion wouldn’t be easy. A few days earlier, Field had stumbled on his mother’s quotes in a Drive for 25,” urging skiers to donate $25 to the sport on Nov. 15, the NNF was happy to create a similar donation link online for nordic combined. A few weeks after U.S. Nordic Combined launched NNF website...

Youth Olympic Games Presents: Aidan Millar

Canmore’s Aidan Millar might be the only Canadian biathlete headed to the Youth Olympic Games who doesn’t have international racing experience, but that doesn’t mean that he’s unprepared for the world stage. For one thing, training in Canmore has meant that he can keep an eye on the competition: Canadian teammates Danielle Vrielink and Stuart Harden are also members of different clubs based out of the 1988 Olympic venue. The plethora of talented youngsters makes...

Where Are They Now: Carl Swenson

This article is the second installment of the ‘Where Are They Now’ series, made possible through the generous support of Fischer Sports.  Learn more about their products at  Swenson after winning the first Kismet Cliff Run, a five-mile trail race in North Conway, N.H., in September 2009. Photo courtesy of Kismet Rock Foundation. Driving home from work to his apartment in downtown Portsmouth, the 41-year-old Swenson spoke on the phone about how he ended up...

At the age of 34, Lukas Bauer of has already done pretty much everything a skier can hope for. At the 2006 Olympics in Torino, he won silver in the 15 k classic. In Vancouver four years later, Bauer took home bronze in both the 15 k skate and the relay. He owns a silver medal from 2009 World Championships in the 15 k classic, and he has twice won the Tour de Ski; in...