Marathons Archives - FasterSkier.com

Why Skiing and How I Survived the Summer: Part IV

In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of...

Beatty Caps Season with 160 k Arctic Circle Race Victory

Canada’s Dahria Beatty closed out her World Cup season with the rest of her international-racing peers on March 18 in Falun, Sweden. After three straight days of races, the 24-year-old Whitehorse, Yukon, native finished...

2018 Birkie: A Newbie’s Tale

The following was written by Katie Miller, a former University of New Hampshire (UNH) ski racer who recently completed her first American Birkebeiner and 50-kilometer ski marathon, after registering for the race last...

Novak, Rudd Take Tour of Anchorage Wins

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hannah Rudd had never raced a 50 k before. Jack Novak was doing his second one in as many weekends. They took different paths to get there, but both ended up in the same place on Sunday afternoon:...

Caitlin Gregg on Her Record-Setting Fifth Birkie Title: ‘I’m trying to set the bar pretty high’

Caitlin Gregg has raced the American Birkebeiner enough times — and won it more than anyone else — that she’s got the course down pat. Powerline, Big Bertha, High Point, Heckler’s, OO, Gravel Pit, Mosquito Brook,...

Birkie Rundown: Caitlin Gregg, Anders Gløersen Win 2018 Birkie Skate

2018 American Birkebeiner (Hayward, Wisconsin): 50 k freestyle Blog post (with start videos) The 44th annual American Birkebeiner took place Saturday on the world-famous course from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin, with...

Why Skiing (and Am I in the Right Birkie Wave?): Part III

How Skiing Saved My Life: Part II

In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott "Bjorn" Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of...

Americans Dominate 2017 Merino Muster and Half Marathon

Visibility was thin and temperatures were below freezing last Saturday at the Snow Farm. Opaque white clouds of fog swept over the landscape near Wanaka, New Zealand, showcasing a skyline that seemed to play on the...

Havlick Wins 2017 Australian Hoppet; Rose Repeats in Second

When Australian Phillip Bellingham lunged for the finish line in the men’s 2017 Kangaroo Hoppet a week ago on Saturday, Aug. 26, in Falls Creek, Victoria, it wasn’t his fellow national team member Callum Watson he had...

2017 American Birkie: An Experience I’ll Never Forget

The following firsthand account was written by FasterSkier intern Ian Tovell, who attended this year's American Birkebeiner in February, which was canceled due to lack of snow. Instead, the 2017 BirkieFest was held on...

O’Harra, Frankowski Claim Solo Victories in Tour of Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — There are several strategies for winning the Tour of Anchorage, the annual 50-kilometer freestyle marathon from one side of town to the other that is the unofficial citizens’ race championship for...

Birkie Canceled; ‘BirkieStock 2017’ Offered as an Alternative

(Press release) Hayward, WI (February 24, 2017) – After days of unseasonable weather, rain, and a predicted snow storm front missing the Hayward and Cable areas, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation regretfully...

Birkie Announces Weather-Related Course Change

On Monday, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) announced via a press release it will be adjusting the race course for Birkie events, set to take place this week in Hayward, Wis., due to "recent above average...

Wednesday Workout: Double-Pole Endurance Training

Double poling is an increasingly important part of cross-country skiing and it pays to be good at it. If watching World Cup stars double pole short races on television doesn’t have you convinced, take a look at the...

Sunday Rundown: Falun, Duszniki-Zdrój, & The Marcialonga (Updated x4)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Falun, Sweden): 15 / 30 k classic mass start Women's report | Men's report In the women's 15-kilometer classic mass start on Sunday, Norway swept the podium with Marit Bjørgen taking...

Globetrotting Fritz & Kovacs Take Titles, Cash in Snowy Qaniq Challenge

Qaniq Challenge 2017 by the numbers: Two days, 35 kilometers, three feet of fresh snow. 33 racers. $10,000 purse. Why the country's second-richest cross-country ski race is in Valdez, Alaska, in mid-January.

Saturday Rundown: Hamilton Second in Toblach Skate Sprint (Updated)

FIS Cross-Country World Cup (Toblach, Italy): Freestyle sprints Race report Simi Hamilton is back on the World Cup podium and was three-hundredths of a second away from the win on Saturday in the men's 1.3-kilometer...

As Birkie Outgrows Its Britches, New Developments for America’s Biggest Ski Race

It has been an exciting 2016 for the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF). After a successful completion of the Phase 1 fundraising program in 2015, the ABSF secured a land purchase that will give North America's...

Alsgaard on the Advent of Double Poling and FIS’s ‘Stupid Rule’

Thomas Alsgaard is fired up. Having challenged the International Ski Federation (FIS) regarding rules he considers arbitrary and insensitive to other venues for nordic skiing besides the World Cup, a potential divide...