US Biathlon Trail-Running Intervals in Lake Placid (Video)
Alex KochonSeptember 25, 2012
LAKE PLACID, N.Y. — While the U.S. Nordic Ski Team trained on the mountainous,
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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Friday morning’s U.S. Ski Team workout at the Mt. Van Hoevenberg nordic trails wasn’t designed to be too hard. According to men’s coach Jason Cork, the idea was to run with poles and ski bound for 45 minutes at Level 3 – a sort of tempo pace. Once a couple dozen athletes between the U.S. Ski Team (USST) and National Elite Group (NEG) got going around the designated loop, most realized...
Bounding Up Whiteface: Video from USST Elite Camp (Updated with Quotes)
Alex KochonSeptember 13, 2012
WILMINGTON, N.Y. — The view from partially up Whiteface Mountain on Wednesday morning was about as picturesque as they get. From the trail, one could see that the leaves had started to turn shades of red and yellow — just in time for the U.S. Ski Team’s fall training camp in Lake Placid, N.Y. Way down below, a few small dots proceeded up the dirt access road: first to warm up, then to get after...
A National Team’s Question: How to Get to the Next Camp? Its Answer: Bike!
Chelsea LittleJuly 18, 2012
Like a lot of national teams, the U.S. biathlon squad has training camps at different facilities around the country throughout the year. And after a stint at the Camp Ethan Allen Training Site in Jericho, Vermont, this week, they needed to get home. Unlike most national teams, they solved the logistical challenge by biking there – all the way to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, New York. “It’s funny because it sounds kind...
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Home in Southern Vermont, Newell Hardly Relaxing
Alex KochonJuly 10, 2012
SHAFTSBURY, Vt. – Andy Newell had been home in southern Vermont for just about a week – and he hadn’t had a ton of free time between
From East to West, REG Camps a Success
Alex KochonJuly 6, 2012
The Western Regional Elite Group (REG) Camp kicked off in earnest at 6 a.m. Monday, June 25, with a trail-run time trial up Agony Hill. On the training schedule, instructions read: “Bring your ‘A’ game.” Dozens of teenage athletes raced uphill, ran and rollerskied last week. They worked on strength and agility, hill bounding and intervals, and attended presentations at night. Several U.S. Ski Team (USST) members from around the country made it to the camps...
In their first collective visit to Park City, Utah, several members of the Norwegian nordic combined team couldn’t get over the place. There was never a cloud in the sky, and even unseasonably cold days weren’t that bad. People were nice, the motorists were considerate, and the training possibilities were endless. Following a three-week camp with the U.S. nordic combined squad last month, Norwegian A-team member Mikko Kokslien wasn’t the only one considering buying a...
U.S., Canadian National Teams Mix It Up with Club Skiers in Relays (Photo Gallery)
Chelsea LittleMay 23, 2012
BEND, Ore. – It may have been spring at Mount Bachelor this weekend, but by the time Wednesday rolled around, it was more like winter. Snow had fallen overnight and stuck to the mountain’s flanks, and flurries continued to drift from the sky as the U.S. and Canadian national ski teams competed in relay races with several club teams. Canadian Olympian and current Alberta World Cup Academy coach George Grey skied the course before the...
U.S. Biathletes Leave Their Rifles At Home and Get Ski-Specific in Bend – With Photo Gallery
Chelsea LittleMay 22, 2012
BEND, Oregon – Even though the U.S. biathlon national team did not compete in the Pole Pedal Paddle on Saturday morning like their skiing counterparts, the athletes still didn’t get to sleep in for their weekend. After all, this is training camp. Instead, they headed up to Mount Bachelor to do intervals, and had to start early so that they could be off the race trails before the five-sport extravaganza began. “Early in the morning...
When Carolyn and Santi Ocariz clicked into their rollerskis slightly more than two months ago, neither really knew what they were in for. The Wisconsin couple heard plenty of stories about the places they’d travel through. They took to heart the warnings about crazy drivers, snakes and treacherous temperatures while crossing America’s heartland. It might not be hot when they left, but it could get brutal, and the elements could change 180 degrees by the...
That last ski of the season might not have set well this year. You weren’t exactly ready. Some places enjoyed sufficient snow dumpings this winter, but on the whole, it just wasn’t enough. It ended too soon. Certain parts of the country aren’t quite in summer mode yet. Snow has been known to make April appearances, and some ski towns recently saw a late-season blast of the white stuff. But in Hayward, Wis., home of...
Now in Green, Stuber and Cook Settling into Vermont
Alex KochonJanuary 30, 2012
BENNINGTON, Vt. – Inside an organic lunch spot in downtown Bennington, two Wisconsin natives glanced at an oversized chalkboard filled with sandwich options. A moment later, they turned to each other to confirm they had made up their minds. Maria Stuber and Bryan Cook hadn’t lived in the area long, yet they already figured out the basics. Bennington, southern Vermont’s largest city, wasn’t huge, but it had more going on than the hamlet of North...
Pro Workout: Gym Time with Andy Newell
Alex KochonDecember 31, 2011
Once again, we’re shaking up the Pro Workout series by giving busy skiers a chance to add some simple weight training (simple in principle, harder in practice) to their fitness regimens. This is the second “quick” workout in a series about gym exercises. We started with Canadian Senior World Cup team member
For this Pro Workout series, we went for something a little different, as previous installments pretty much have intervals and over-distance covered. This time, we asked Matt Gelso (Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation) to run us through his pre-race routine—as crucial a part of race day as the main event itself. When race morning rolls around, it is important to know what you need to do in order to maximize your effort on the...
Quick (Pro) Workout: Double-Pole Strength Training
Alex KochonDecember 1, 2011
Note: This is the first of a “quick workout” series, which will break down one ski-specific exercise at a time in a how-to format. We start with Canadian national team member Perianne Jones, who demonstrated a double-pole technique in her hometown fitness center.) *** If you woke up this morning hoping to see several inches of white stuff and instead met a blanket of balmy air, you’re not alone. Skiers around the world are scratching...
At this time of year, Noah Hoffman is focused on one thing; getting as ready as he possibly can for the first races of the season. FasterSkier caught up with the USST B-team member, who has been training in the ski tunnel in Torsby, Sweden in preparation for the start of the World Cup season on November 19th and 20th in Sjusjøen, Norway. Hoffman set up the time trial so he’d have to treat the entire day...
When it comes to skiing, there are generally two choices—the real deal on snow, and the simulation on roller-skis. But there is a third option that pops up every now and again, usually as a gimmick or diversion—skiing on sand. Bill Koch, the only American to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing, experimented wth sand skiing while living in Hawaii after his racing career ended. You may remeber the classic Rossignol poster of Koch,...
Working Out with Skyler Davis (with video)
Alex KochonNovember 1, 2011
Note: This is the third profile in a series about working out with high-performance athletes. The idea is to shed light on the daily routine of someone dedicated to training and share a regular Joe’s story of trying to keep up. LONDONDERRY, Vt. — As I pulled my vehicle up alongside Skyler Davis’ black Subaru in a grocery store parking lot, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had seen him once before at this year’s...
The Right Tool for the Job: Goal Setting for Juniors
FasterSkierOctober 19, 2011
Pete Phillips is currently the head coach of Burke Mountain Academy. Phillips has decades of experience coaching juniors at many of the top clubs in the country. In addition to his scholastic coaching duties, Philips leads annual spring trips to Norway and Sweden. Sensible goals are powerful motivating factors for any serious athlete. They are tools in the kit. To get the most use from goals they need to become a conscious part of training,...
For a long time, Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess has known he was fast. He won a junior national championship in the sprint, won carnival races while representing Dartmouth College, qualified for a World Cup in Canada, and then transitioned into being a full-time, post-collegiate racer. But it wasn’t until this past January that the Bend Endurance Academy racer had his breakthrough, finishing fifth in the freestyle sprint at U.S. Nationals in Rumford, Maine. While Blackhorse-von Jess...