A native of Fairbanks, Alaska, Reese Hanneman currently races for the Anchorage, Alaska-based APU Nordic Ski Club. The chromed-out hog fired right up, and it sounded mean. An old friend from my high-school swimming days straddled the bike, and twisted some life into the Harley. Or was it a Star? An Indian? Either way, it had some throat to it. I’m sure that among hardcore motorcycling circles, the thing was a piece. By which I...
With three World Cup sprint podiums last season, two of which were at the very top, Kikkan Randall is known for her speed. But even though her forte is in races under three minutes long, one of her favorite workouts to do in the fall is a 50 k rollerski double-pole session. In addition to being a solid level one effort, the U.S. Ski Team (USST) veteran also uses the workout as an opportunity to...
There is only one thing that I really know about Duncan. Duncan truly enjoys punishing himself through endurance activity more than any other human that I know. Training is his drug of choice and he is a serious addict. – Tim Burke Utter the name “Duncan Douglas” to anyone who knows anything about skiing, and you are guaranteed to elicit one of three responses: (1) dismissive incredulity, (2) respectful awe, or (3) idolizing hero-worship. If...
Note: This is the second profile in a new series about working out with high-performance athletes. While Alex Matthews was in Middlebury to observe and report, she focused on the kids who trained with U.S. Olympian Garrott Kuzzy at a summer camp. MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Leaning on the back of his Volkswagen station wagon, Garrott Kuzzy smiled as his training partners arrived at the Middlebury College parking lot. All seven poured out of two vehicles....
Canadian Stefan Kuhn has made a rapid transition from elite skiing to elite coaching. The former Canadian National Ski Team (CNST) member and Vancouver Olympian announced his retirement less than six months ago, and was immediately snapped up in a coaching capacity by the Alberta World Cup Academy (AWCA), one of Canada’s premiere training centers. During his career, Kuhn was primarily a sprinter – as is evidenced by his 15th place finish in Vancouver, the best...
The Men’s XC ski team is inviting athletes from all around the country to join them for a virtual training camp. Men, Women, and athletes of all ages are encouraged to join in on one of the US Ski Teams toughest training weeks of the year. Starting now everyone can go to the US Ski Team XC Men facebook page for constantly updated information. Athletes, Coaches, and clubs are encouraged to ‘like’ the page and show their...
Note: This is the first of a new 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. ALMONTE, Ontario — Upon my early arrival in Almonte, I decided to explore the hometown of Canadian Cross Country Ski Team member Perianne Jones. A few lefthand turns and I had completed the grand...
As both an elite team member and coach at Alaska Pacific University (APU), Holly Brooks knows that in today’s racing environments, the ability to ski well with the breakaway is essential. “You have to hang in the pack but also have some speed in your legs for when the pace picks up,” said the 2010 Olympian. To practice the high speed tactics of mass starts and sprints, Brooks and her teammates at APU will do...
For Central Cross Country’s Jennie Bender, summer is for both building strength and taking time out for unstructured workouts. The winner of the classic race at last year’s Birkie tries to balance the exact focus of specific strength training with free form over distance. By losing track of time on a long run or canoe paddle, she gets inspired to challenge herself with a grueling intensity session. Her go-to intervals, usually done on classic skis,...
It is mid July and do you know where your rollerskis are? If you are Team Homegrown’s Sylvan Ellefson, they will likely be found heading up the valley from the town of Vail, Colorado to the top of Vail pass, cranking out some long level three intervals. Ellefson, a graduate of Bates College, native of Vail, and one of the founding member’s of the Ski and Snowboard Club of Vail Team Homegrown, likes to put...
What happens when a famous Norwegian couch potato embarks on Petter Northug’s training program and basically follows Northug’s daily routine for eight weeks?
In the past, our “Pro Workout” series has featured a single training session from an elite North American skier, but this week CXC’s Caitlin Compton gives us a slightly different take. Instead of detailing a favorite workout, Compton addresses an oft-ignored aspect of race preparation – the ability to respond to challenging and unexpected circumstances. Over the past several years, major North American events have been disrupted by everything from volcanic eruptions to frigid temperatures...
It may sound trite, but in cross-country ski racing, you can never have too much speed. If you want proof, ask any of Emil Joensson’s opponents in recent World Cup sprints. The ability to accelerate quickly and reach high maximum speeds, be it in a sprint or during a surge in a mass start race, is critical to racing success. For Brian Gregg, a member of CXC’s elite team, his favorite workout focuses on just...
“It might have been good for me to fall down the drain a little,” Petter Northug said at the press conference in Davos Friday afternoon.
… And the job is right…. It’s a match made in heaven. That’s pretty much how Robin Brooks feels about being the head coach of the Glacier Nordic Team in Whitefish, Montana. Sometimes coincidences just seem to happen at the right time. Brooks was looking for a new home, Whitefish was looking for her.
Coming off Bryan Fletcher’s best ever World Cup result with an 18th place at the Kuusamo WC opener last weekend, the US Nordic Combined team is looking to keep building this weekend, and bring the rest of the crew up to standard.
If you’re wondering about your fitness heading into the new racing season, Reese Hanneman has a workout for you. The session—a long threshold interval peppered with 30-second all-out sprints—will give you a good idea of whether you’re ready to rock, or whether you’ve got some more work to do before pulling on a bib. “It’s a good one of those eye-opening workouts,” Hanneman said. Hanneman has only done this session once, in mid-October with the...
“This allows us to race more like a team,” said Joergen Aukland (NOR) of the private marathon project Team Xtra Personell after the launch of “2011 Ski Classics” marathon series Monday.
This week’s Pro Workout is a first-person affair, with guest writer/athlete Devon Kershaw of the Canadian National Ski Team. Kershaw wrote this just before leaving for Europe earlier in November. It’s getting close to the racing season – crazy close. My first race is on the 13th of November in Bruksvallarna, Sweden – a season opener/tune up race ahead of the World Cup opener a week later in Gallivare – way up there (latitude-wise) in...
