Masters

St. Paul, Minnesota Per K. Johnsen South Colby, Washington Kongsberger Ski Club Team TorbjœrnSport An unusual winter with little snow added a great deal of uncertainty and worry for the organizers of the 2005 National Masters Cross Country ski races. The original venue of Battle Creek looked for a while to have good conditions for the races, but a couple of warm days ruined those plans. But with optimism, good cheer, and skill the committee...

Masters Nationals starts January 30. You can still enter. Here is the latest press release and event schedule. AXCS National Masters 2005 Contact Information: Brent Oja 612-386-4412

Saturday ended a week of great skiing at the 2004 Masters' World Cup in Lillehammer Norway. The long distance races (30 for women and 45 for men) concluded a hard week of racing. Friday's classical long distance races saw few US participants, but Allison Bradley continued her medal streak by winning silver in the women's 50 – 54 year class. Today's (Saturday's) long distance skate races however had larger US participation, and with great results....

The third racing day at the 2004 World Masters ended up being a long day. All age group classes skied both classical and free 10 km races, with the classical races starting at 9AM, and the skate races at about 1 PM – all on the same 10 km course. A warm wind met the first skiers in the morning at the 1994 Olympic venue – the Birkebeiner Ski Stadium. The snow was still dry,...

Where were you when Oddvar Braa broke his pole? Oddvar Braa’s famous battle against Aleksadr Savjalov on the last leg of the infamous 4 x 10 kilometer relay in the 1982 World Championship is one of the most remembered and talked about events in Norwegian sport history. Every leg was incredibly dramatic and it ended up with Oddvar Bra breaking his pole 1 k from the finish line when Savjalov tried to pass, getting a...

The Masters World Cup got under way in Lillehammer, Norway on Sunday with the 30/15 kilometer classic races. The competition continues with the 30 and 15 kilometer skate races on Monday. 10 k classic and 10 k skate will be held on Tuesday, relays on Thursday and classic and skate again on Friday and Saturday. Norway dominated day one of the competition and captured the gold’s in eight of the eleven age categories in the...

Masters World Cup 2004: Day 2 The weather warmed up for today's skate races at World Masters in Lillehammer, Norway. Yesterdays's temperatures just before start were close to -20 Celsius (below zero F), so today's (Monday's) 30 degrees felt balmy. The format for the World Masters competitions is a bit unique. For each distance, the participants must choose which technique to race in. For example, in the men's youngest age groups, about 50% of the...

World Masters will be held in Lillehammer, Norway from February 28 to March 6.

Race Support Crew How many should I take? Ooops, one too many! Crossing the finish line No problem Enjoying the result list

American Cross Country Skiers (AXCS) has announced their 2004 Masters Ski Team based on results at last week's National Masters. The U.S. Masters Team is an honorary designation given to the top overall skier in each age category at the conclusion of each Subaru National Masters Championship. This year's event was a great success on the Upper Penninsula of Michigan, make sure you are at next year's event in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Men M1: Pete Moran...

Team TorbjornSport/SOLDA (TBS) edged out the infamous Michigan team, The Outback Bandits to capture first place in the team competition at the Subaru 2004 US Masters Nationals in Marquette, Michigan. Team TBS captured 10 Gold’s and 20 total medals. Four members made the overall Masters Team. Dave Bong TBS National Champions: Open Team — TorbjornSport (Torbjorn Karlsen, Dick Hunt, Dan Karig, Dan Packman, Dave Bong, Dave Zink, Chris Ransom)…32 points (Champion on first tie-breaker, total...

The 10 and 15 kilometer classic races at the 2004 US Masters Nationals in Marquette, Michigan were held on Thursday. The start of the race was postponed about 30 minutes since the temperature close to race time was still -4 F and the windshield factor was around negative 20 to 25. The jury decided however to hold the race as a Championship race when it “warmed up” to 3F (who was breathing on the thermometer?),...

The weather forecast for Thursday’s classic race at Masters Nationals in Marquette, Michigan called for 2-3 inches of snow, a low of —6 Fahrenheit and a high of 4F. The windshield factor was supposed to be negative 20-30 Fahrenheit with wind gusts of 20-30 miles per hour. The humidity is relatively high. Here are some suggestions for how to deal with this type of racing based upon how I prepared for this event. I usually...

Here are a few words about my final two days of preparations for the Continuous Pursuit race at the US Master Championship in Marquette, Michigan.

Note:

The US Masters Nationals got under way in Marquette, Michigan on Saturday January 17. The expectations was for cold squeaky snow, but 3 inches of new snow and temperatures in the mid to high twenties made it a pleasant day of racing. Today’s events were 20 kilometer skating for women up to age 59, and 15 k for age 60 -100. The race length for men was 30 k up to age 59, and 20...

Nationals Masters kicked off today with the 30K, 20K & 15K freestyle events. Women's age group winners: Age 20-24: Abi Larson (fastest time of the day in the 20K) 25-29: Rima Carlson 30-34: Diane Trembley 35-39: Kristen Rodeheaver 40-44: Joan Rundman 45-49: Jeanne Wadsworth 50-54: Carolyn Tiernan 55-59: Kati Campbell 60-64: Linda Cook 65-69:Beth Caldwell 70-74: Charlotte Hall Men's age group winners: Age 20-24: Levi Hensel 25-29: Steve Kuhl 30-34: Brian Carlson 35-39: Dan Packman...

The following information was taken from the Schedule: Saturday, January 17 — 30/20/15km FS…Venue: Blueberry Ridge, Marquette Sunday, January 18 — Sprint Relay & Subaru NM2004 Expo…Venue: Al Quaal, Ishpeming      Relay Races: 10am – 12:45pm……Expo: 10am – 3pm……Expo open to the public!      7:30pm AXCS Annual Meeting at the Nordic Bay Lodge, Marquette      Open to all AXCS members and interested masters. Tuesday, January 20 — Duathlon (5km CL/7.5km FS)…Venue: Al Quaal, Ishpeming Thursday, January 22 —...

January 17 – 30/20/15 Km free technique The longest race of the week. Make sure that your nutrition and fluid intake is good the day before and at breakfast on race day. Don’t stuff yourself the day before so you can’t sleep, but eat well-balanced meals. If you have time to ski the racecourse the day before the race, do so, but go easy. Stretch a little extra in the evening to loosen up any...

The final touches are being put on the 2004 Subaru National Masters set to hit the snowy trails of Marquette/Ishpeming, Michigan January 17-22. Hundreds of skiers from throughout the United States are expected to take part in North America's largest citizen skier championship event. The National Masters is just part of an amazing week of XC events in the Marquette/Ishpeming area including the Subaru NM2004, the National Ski Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies and capped...