FasterSkier contributor Seth Adams was on-scene with his camera at the 2015 Mount Marathon in Seward, Alaska to capture the racing and the antics.
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Dryland
Reports from dryland races such as roller-skiing, hill climbs, mountain running and other off-season competitions.
There are workouts where you finish battered and beaten, muscles packed with lactate. And then, there are days when you just go out and ride your bike. Unlike some of the more painful sessions one might do on foot or in the gym, former U.S. Ski Team member Tad Elliott calls this road ride a “free workout” — its psychological toll is minimal.
Rocky Mountain Racer (RMR) skier Maya MacIsaac-Jones recaps her team's two-week, high-performance camp in Park City, Utah. "Because of RMR’s cross-country/biathlon mix, Soldier Hollow was the perfect place for training," she writes. "Coaches were able to coordinate shooting practices for the biathletes with simultaneous rollerskiing sessions for the cross-country side of the team."
Billy Demong battled blustery conditions to finish the New York City Marathon with an impressive time of 2:33:05. While the 34 year old is in top running form, Demong said he is less prepared for the upcoming ski season than in years past. Still, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist hopes to bring his team back into medal contention at the 2015 World Championships.
When Brittany Webster’s name appeared atop a list of results this past weekend, it wasn’t for Canmore’s Frozen Thunder. Instead, Webster replaced snow with sand and finished as the first amateur female in the 2014 XTerra Off-Road World Championships on the north shores of Maui, Hawaii Oct. 26.
U.S. Biathlon, unlike some national teams, doesn't select its World Cup team each spring. Certain team members prequalify, but there were at least two spots up for grabs at the four-race rollerski trials held in August and October in Jericho, Vt. The final team was announced Tuesday, one month before the season starts in Sweden. (Updated)
Twice each fall, the University of Alaska Anchorage's nordic and alpine teams converge on their favorite sandbox for a sufferfest of sand-dune sprinting. "The family that plays together stays together and the ski team that suffers together can win together," Kastning explains of their larger NCAA goals.
Burke, Dunklee Edge Teammates in Whiteface Footrace (with Photo Gallery)
Alex KochonSeptember 18, 2014
“You know we do other workouts,” Tim Burke says with a laugh more than halfway up the 4,867-foot Whiteface Mountain. Minutes before, the U.S. biathlete completed Tuesday's big effort in 13 minutes, 21 seconds, finishing about 1,300 feet higher than he started for a new record in the hill climb named after him.
Wednesday Workout: Challenging the Pros
FasterSkierSeptember 17, 2014
Looking for some extra motivation, what author Francois Léger Dionne calls "a simple spark so many endurance athletes tend to lose along the rocky road to personal gratification"? How about racing against the pros on your schedule and with home-gym advantage?
From Learning to Shoot to Making the Team, Egan Reflects on Her Biathlon Rise
Alex KochonSeptember 15, 2014
In her second year of biathlon, Clare Egan is a member of U.S. Biathlon's development group and already seeing strides this season. In August, she placed third at North American Rollerski Championships for her best-ever biathlon result. "My skiing’s just going to keep getting better ... and with the shooting, I have to just put in the time," she says.
Gallery: 2014 Climb to the Castle
Lander KarathSeptember 7, 2014
Saturday's Climb to the Castle was a success for both organizers and participants. Despite strong winds, the weather held and skiers were able to ski a challenging 5-mile climb on roads that had been paved just the day before. Take a look at our photo gallery to see the race for yourself.
Liz Stephen is a force to reckon with - even when she’s off her game. Both she and Tim Burke repeated their 2013 performances in windy conditions at NYSEF's 2014 Climb to the Castle.
With the help of U.S. Ski Team head coach Chris Grover and Canadian National Team Head Coach Justin Wadsworth, Tor-Arne Hetland and the Canadian World Cup Team ended up in Vermont last month. "Andy Newell can train here for many years … That’s the reason we are here," Hetland explained.
VIDEO: Canada/SMST2 Combo Workout
Alex KochonSeptember 4, 2014
FasterSkier tagged along with the Canadian World Cup Team and Stratton Mountain School T2 squad for a morning over-distance rollerski on Aug. 15 in Stratton, Vt.
Kristin Størmer Steira's in the game for another season, but she's not so sure what the next four years hold -- definitely some school and not another Olympics. "I learned from my earlier mistakes saying this is my last year, but I don’t think longer than Falun ... we’ll see," she says in an exclusive interview.
Lowell Bailey went 2 for 2 on the weekend in Jericho, and two different U.S. women edged Canada's Rosanna Crawford for victories at the North American Rollerski Championships at the Ethan Allen Firing Range.
Following the final week of training in Finland and three days of rollerski races at the coveted Blink Festival in Norway, U.S. Biathlon coach Jonne Kähkönen gives an across-the-pond update from his native Finland.
Holly Brooks understands the hazards of the acclaimed Mount Marathon. Having previously run the race six times the Olympian knew winning her second title wouldn’t be easy. Despite a brutal course, high temperatures, and challenging field of women Brooks was able to claim the 2014 Mount Marathon victory with a time of 52:49.
We practice what we preach! FasterSkier's François Léger Dionne gives us a taste of one of the variety workouts he used in preparation for the Mount Washington Road Race last weekend. "Summer is the best season to add plenty of variety to your training before the upcoming and more ski-oriented fall," he says. "I used to do this workout every week."
With Alana Thomas, Zoë Roy, Chandra Crawford and team founder Amanda Ammar all bowing out of competitive-nordic racing this year, Team Ninja only existed for a season, but what a season it was. We spoke with Thomas, Ammar and Roy about their experience training and racing independently and what each of them intend to do as they turn the page.