US Nationals

Matias Saari writes for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.  This aritcle first appeared in Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks will get a chance to do something Mother Nature prevented in Anchorage earlier this month — stage a series of four national championship races. Not since Fairbanks hosted a World Cup in 1984 have there been races as important as what Birch Hill Recreation Area will show off in late March, said John...

Last week’s US National Championships were marked by the cancellation of two events and seemingly endless postponements. With temperatures barely reaching the legal limit for racing, it was all organizers could do to pull off one distance race and one sprint. This has led to discussion as to what, if anything, should be done to avoid similar situations. Proposals include moving the entire Championship to the spring, avoiding venues susceptible to such frigid weather, and...

Matt Liebsch, a member of the CXC Elite team, surprised everyone at Nationals with an incredible third-place finish in the 10k individual-start skate race, ahead of several Olympians and racers with World Cup experience. Here he answers a few questions for FasterSkier.com about his race, his recent training, and the upcoming World Cups in Vancouver, BC. Note:  Matt was left off the published list of skiers scheduled to compete at the Vancouver World Cups.  Matt...

If you missed the end-of-week awards at Nationals or weren’t in town to see it, or just need to see it again, now you can! Men’s and Women’s top finishers from both races as well as college champions are recognized. One more huge thanks to all the people who worked hard every day all week to make the 2009 Nationals the best they could be, despite challenging conditions. [google]-4366792775581061676[/google]

Video of the Men’s B- and A-Final heats at US Nationals. With the cold temps, our camera froze into a solid brick exactly when the women’s B- and A-Finals were going on. However, we did get a hold of some video from one of the women’s quarterfinals earlier on: Women’s Quarterfinal #4: [google]8646151482464269677[/google] Men’s B-Final: [google]-4727905333422345753[/google] Men’s A-Final: [google]6528201868141954099[/google] Stay tuned for a couple interviews with top finishers. If you have any footage from Nationals,...

In a non-violent demonstration against the cancellation of yet another race at US Nationals due to cold temperatures, on Wednesday a contingent of racers from California and a lone racer from Aspen, CO, skied the immaculately groomed 1.5km sprint course in approximately -10 degrees F wearing nothing but hats, gloves, and wind briefs. And in some cases sports bras… [google]-1171739721493547522[/google]

More cold temperatures in Anchorage have caused today’s race to be canceled. Today was close to the coldest day of the week, with temperatures not rising above -10F in the stadium area, and variably staying between -15F and -20F in the coldest areas. This is the second official loss for the National Championship, as tomorrow (Thursday) is the only remaining day on the schedule to hold a race. Coaches, Athletes, and Volunteers have been out...

Gordon Wetzel is a long time Anchorage resident and has been an active member and President of the Nordic Ski Association, the donation-based organization that is hosting the National Championships in Anchorage this week. Gordon is volunteering for the race committee here at Nationals, and took time out of the day’s work immediately after today’s race cancellation to do a little writing about the lesser-noticed beauty found in Kincaid Park. Enjoy Are you tired of...