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Coverage of smaller regional and local events.
Starting out on the St. Croix: What High School Skiing Taught Jessie Diggins

It was, “a race people still talk about,” said long-time Stillwater Area High School Coach Bill Simpson when FasterSkier interviewed him in February. Distinctive red and white letterman jackets looked on from the stadium, medals clanging from the giant “S” insignias in the cold Iron Range wind. Giant’s Ridge, just outside of Biwabik, looked like the Hoosiers Field House if the janitor had forgotten to turn the heat on. A pairing of two future stars...

Join Team Birkie in 2023-24

Team Birkie is made up of individuals who are committed to reaching their potential as cross-country skiers. The goal of the program is to support each athlete’s pursuit of domestic and international excellence by providing necessary infrastructure for success in the sport. This infrastructure includes a full-time coaching staff and individualized year-round training program, experienced race service, equipment sponsors and suppliers, physical therapy, access to training facilities, sports performance testing and a rollerski treadmill, a...

Free Fall 2022 Race Recap

  SEPTEMBER 21, 2022 BY NENSA photo Paul Bierman   This past weekend 114 hearty humans braved the wet weather at the Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, VT and competed in Sunday’s Free Fall Rollerski Race! The FreeFall has become a staple of NENSA’s roller series and always draws a competitive and fun crowd. Open racers were slated for a 15km and juniors a 5km — both utilizing the same full 5km race loop which includes...

In Bozeman, Jim Bridger Rollerski Races Look to Bring Summer Competition to the West

Logan Diekmann, Nina Seeman win on the streets of Bozeman, and BSF’s Rollerski races look to harness the momentum of summer training out West. Featuring Results and Video Highlights. BOZEMAN – Jim Bridger was a mountain man. One of those figures born firmly entrenched in the old ways back East, before he split for the Mountain West for something new. A character to chart a theme pervasive through the American vision of the West –...

NENSA Summer Series Kicks Off with Lost Nation Roll and Some On-Snow Action

The 2022 NENSA Summer Series hosted its first rollerski race of the season at the beginning of July. The Lost Nation Roll took place at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center on July 3rd, and by all accounts, was a huge success. Both men and women raced 10 k in an interval start format on the Outdoor Center’s paved rollerski loop.  Coinciding with the Eastern Regional Elite Group (REG) camp, around 40 top Eastern juniors boosted the...

Cross Country With a Twist: NordicX Event Lights Up Anchorage 

What comes to mind when you think of a cross country ski race? Depending on your location and how you choose to interact with the sport, there are likely a variety of answers to the question, but it’s likely that there are some common themes.  “Cross country events are pretty much all the same when you boil them down, you know?” said retired US Ski Team member and 2018 Olympian Reese Hanneman. “It’s a test...

Letters to My Younger Self: Murray Banks on Embracing Opportunity and Living Life to the Fullest

Editor’s note: This is the third essay in our series, “Letters to my younger self.” Lauren Fleshman provided the modern locus classicus for this genre, while John Wood and Adam Verrier kick-started the series on FasterSkier.  When the private school at which my husband teaches offered him a sabbatical for the 2020-21 school year, we quickly began to fantasize about the ski town(s) in which we’d spend the following winter. A February 2020 trip to...

The mountainFLOW Eco Wax team takes on the Birkie: Part 2

Just over a month ago, the American cross country ski community descended upon the small town of Hayward, Wisconsin. Skies were clear, the snow was cold and firm, and lycra was everywhere. But one set of race suits stood out, both because of the noteworthy athletes wearing them and for their bold neon colors. It was the MountainFLOW Eco Wax race team of Simi and Sophie Hamilton, Sylvan Ellefson, Sadie Maubet Bjornsen, Erik Bjornsen, Matt...

(Press Release) NordicX Festival at Hilltop Ski Area in Anchorage on April 2nd

  Nordic-cross is coming to Anchorage! Come watch Olympic and World Cup skiers battle it out in an action-packed event with big air, wipeouts, high speeds, and good times! The spring sun will be out, the festival at the bottom will have fire-pits and gourmet food and drink, and the atmosphere will be fun for the whole family.  What: Nordic-cross event (extremely unique; cross-country skiing meets jumps and big air) When: April 2nd, 2022  Where:...

Sonnesyn and Agnellet Win Close Races at the 2022 Slumberland American Birkebeiner

FasterSkier’s American Birkebeiner coverage is made possible through the generous support of New Moon Ski & Bike in Hayward, Wisconsin. While you are at the Birkie be sure to visit New Moon Ski & Bike for all your local expertise. Among the final major races in the ski world in 2020, the Slumberland American Birkebeiner pulled off an event with all the festivities for which the storied event is known. It was pure Birkie fever,...

Fresh Snow and World Class Grooming Set the Stage for a Weekend SuperTour Distance Pursuit in Craftsbury

By Ian Tovell and Rachel Bachman Perkins Find FasterSkier’s coverage of Friday’s freestyle sprints here.  Saturday: 10 k Interval Start Classic After another 4+ inches of snow fell throughout the day on Friday, NENSA described the conditions for today’s 10-kilometer interval start race as a “banner day for classic skiing” on the two-lap course at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. The weekend of racing, titled the Henchey Memorial Carnival, included athletes of all levels, was described...

It’s Ogden and Ketterson Again in the Craftsbury SuperTour Freestyle Sprint

SuperTour racing continued on Friday in Craftsbury, Vermont, as part of the Henchey Memorial Carnival, which also included Eastern Cup and collegiate racing. The three-day event is presented by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, NENSA, U.S. Ski & Snowboard, and the University of Vermont (UVM), the EISA carnival host school. Racers were faced with snowy conditions for the opening 1.4-kilometer freestyle sprint as a winter storm made its way across the Northeast. Friday morning’s grooming report...

2022 Tour of Meissner – Community, Friends and Fun

By Karen Jenkins On Saturday, January 29, 2022, a field of 77 classic skiers toed the line to stride and glide 30km in the annual Tour of Meissner just outside Bend, OR. While Bend is known as host to the US Ski Team spring training camp on the Mt. Bachelor Nordic Center ski trails there are other groomed Nordic ski trails in the greater Bend area. The Meissner Nordic Community Ski Trails are located entirely...

Sonnesyn and Hagenbuch Top the Podium in Frigid 10k Mass Start Free

Find coverage of Saturday’s classic sprint, day one of racing in the Lake Placid SuperTour weekend, here.  As a Nor’easter made its way up the eastern seaboard, the Adirondack Park in northeastern New York saw a biting cold snap, with overnight lows well below zero and highs barely increasing beyond the single digits. A sunrise Instagram story posted by Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS T2) showed a temperature of -18 Fahrenheit, only two hours before the start...

Race Rundown: Lake Placid SuperTour Continues with 10k Mass Start Free

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour 10-kilometer mass start freestyle race in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes.  Racing continued at Mt. Van Hoevenberg this morning in what Weather.com called “bitterly cold” conditions. Near-zero temperatures and skate skiing can be a challenging combination for a distance race on a World Cup–level course, but racers nonetheless put together strong performances on the three-lap 10-kilometer course.   In the...

Ketterson and Ogden Take Classic Sprint Win on New Tracks at Mt Van Hoevenberg

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl After a brief break, the SuperTour picked up in Lake Placid this weekend, with a fluoro-free Period III kicking off with a 1.5-kilometer classic sprint. The frigid forecast called for overnight lows of -5 Fahrenheit, with a wind chill as low as -23F. Highs during the day were only predicted to climb into the low single digits. Qualifiers were scheduled for 10/10:45 am, with quarterfinals for the open...

Race Rundown: Ketterson and Ogden Win SuperTour Classic Sprint in Lake Placid

Here’s a quick results recap from today’s SuperTour classic sprint in Lake Placid, NY. Stay tuned tomorrow for detailed coverage including comments from athletes.  Period III of SuperTour racing kicked off in Lake Placid this morning with a frigid classic sprint. Recent improvements at Mt Hoevenberg included a new 5-kilometer World Cup and 1.5k sprint course, where athletes faced off today. On the men’s race, Zak Ketterson (Team Birkie) skied the fastest time in the...

Norris and Brennan Lead a Strong Showing for APU with Wins at the SuperTour 15k Mass Start Classic

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ella Hall The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued Sunday with 10/15-kilometer mass start classic races, featuring SuperTour, RMISA collegiate, and Intermountain junior national qualifier divisions. With overnight temperatures in the low teens which rose to roughly 20 degrees Fahrenheit by start time, tracks looked ideal for kicking and gliding on the meticulously groomed trails at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, ID.  Today’s races featured four laps each,...

Sun Valley SuperTour Rundown: Brennan and Norris Lead the 10/15k Mass Start Classic

Quick Recap: We’ll have a full race report up tomorrow, including athlete comments and photos, but here is a quick recap of the action in the men’s 15k and women’s 10k mass start classic, which took place this morning in Ketchum, Idaho.   The 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational continued this morning with 10/15-kilometer classic races at the Lake Creek Ski Center in Ketchum, Idaho. While temperatures were warmer than at the start of yesterday’s...

Brennan and Hagenbuch Skate Away with Wins in Sun Valley SuperTour 5/10k Interval Start Free

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl  The final weekend of SuperTour racing in Period II, and the final weekend within the Olympic qualification window, kicked off Saturday at the Lake Creek Nordic Center in Ketchum, Idaho. Part of the 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational, the SuperTour races were held in conjunction with a Montana State University RMISA event and an Intermountain XC junior national qualifier.  Highlighting the size of the event, there were 157...