Tony Wise could see 10,000 years at once. The last ice age had sent a glacier down over Wisconsin, and then tore it back. In the process, the landscape and lilt of a place emerged. Deep-pocketed kettles, ridges, gentle and subtle rolling hills, all draped in the needly green of the pines. Gaze at it, and time didn’t seem like something that moved forward, but instead danced within the bounds of a whole epoch. A...
In case you missed it, here’s part 1 and part 2 of this series, in which industry representatives and expert ski technicians discuss ski performance theory and what impact a single-wax policy may have on competitive skiing. What goes on inside the wax cabins and trucks at high-level competitions from the SuperTour to the World Cup seems, in equal parts, expertise, artistry, and alchemy. And, for those looking to understand to which conditions their pair...
A look at what’s ahead for the Birkebeiner, and its former home at the Telemark Lodge. When I reached out to American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) Executive Director Ben Popp before Christmas to set-up an interview discussing the Birkie’s plans for the now-defunct Telemark Lodge property, he was already putting plans into action. An interview would have to wait until after the holidays, because that weekend ,the Birkie was hosting a SuperTour race which would...
Part one of this series covered regional racing in Alaska and parts of the Lower 48. It surveyed multiple sources suggesting that the true health risk involved with ski racing is not what happens on the race course, perhaps especially in an interval-start competition, but rather what happens outside of it, in the process of traveling to the race, or eating or drinking or sleeping while doing so, or returning to a home community after...
Last week, FasterSkier connected with Ben Popp, Executive Director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) based in Hayward, Wisconsin. It’s mid-July and needless to say, some of our readers are already thinking about the 2021 Birkie. Amongst the topics we discussed were the possible modifications for that marquee race and how the organization is preparing for several possible scenarios. We also touch upon the ABSF’s agreement to purchase and develop Telemark Lodge. FasterSkier:...
Back in June, the Worldloppet International Ski Federation announced the cessation of the FIS Worldloppet Cup. In short, that race series was a collaboration with the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the Worldloppet marrying elite level and popular marathon ski racing. The American Birkenbeiner was intermittently a stop on the FIS Worldloppet Cup. “It was just not getting traction attracting the elite athletes and tying those elite athletes to popular skiing,” said Ben Popp, the...
On June 17th, an update was posted on the Worldloppet International Ski Federation website following the annual general meeting in Isafjordur, Iceland to announce the end of the FIS Worldloppet Cup series. While skiers will still be able to earn FIS points in each of the individual marathon races across the globe, the series will no longer be sanctioned by FIS, meaning cumulative points earned by the winners will no longer be totaled and there...
(Press release) 2500 Donors from 37 states & Canada Help ABSF to Reach Capital Campaign Goals Hayward, WI (May 25, 2018) — The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) has been enhancing the quality of lives for nearly half a century. For generations, ABSF events and the award-winning Birkie Trail system have been motivating adventurous spirits to embrace an active, outdoor lifestyle. In support of providing the infrastructure, spaces, and places to keep that spirit alive,...
(May 1 press release) Who: American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation What: Registration opened for the 2019 American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation slate of events. When: As of noon today, well over 1000 registrations have already been received for the Slumberland American Birkebeiner race alone. Event Dates: Friday, February 22, 2019 Prince Haakon 15K Ski Race Saturday, February 23, 2019 45NRTH Fat Bike Birkie 47K and 21K The Fat Bike Birkie is the world’s largest fat bike race...
In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), titled “Part II” update in September. Here’s his latest Birkie leadup piece. *** The annual benchmark nordic ski race is here. The American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin, for nordic skiers is like the Hajj in Mecca for Muslims. Everyone who is physically and...
The following firsthand account was written by FasterSkier intern Ian Tovell, who attended this year’s American Birkebeiner in February, which was estimated 10,000 people coming out for a casual ski on a 5-kilometer loop, on-snow demos, live music, food and a beer garden. Photos from Ian, FasterSkier contributor Vince Rosetta, and the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. *** The 2017 American Birkebeiner will be a race that no one will ever forget. It will be remembered for a tremendous...
(www.Birkie.com at 1:00pm today.
It has been an exciting 2016 for the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF). After a successful completion of the Tony Wise Museum in Hayward, Wis. Just like in previous years, the ABSF has been busy in the offseason, making improvements to the American Birkebeiner (including the 50-kilometer skate and 55 k classic marathons, set for Feb. 25, 2017) and its trail system. In mid-December, FasterSkier checked in with Ben Popp, ABSF executive director, on the phone to...
The American Birkebeiner will not be part of the FIS Marathon Cup, now re-named the FIS Worldloppet Cup, in 2016. But organizers are trying other plans to draw more international racers, and will be back on the Cup schedule in 2017.
(www.birkie.com. contact the Birkie office at
The Birkie is adding to its team. Now accepting applications for a full-time Media/PR/Communications Director.
Dr. Paul Anderson and World Cup sprint champ Kikkan Randall chat with us about a new study of American Birkebeiner participants. Using 24,000 skiers who have competed in the Wisconsin marathon over the years, they hope to gain valuable insight into what gets people to exercise - and then apply it in a public health perspective.
Press release) HAYWARD, Wisconsin (November 11, 2014) – The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF) is proud to www.BirkieStore.com. The same great Birkie apparel and much more will then be available at the 2015 Birkie Expo and in downtown Hayward during Birkie Week, February 19-22. The company has also come on board as a Gold Level sponsor of the ABSF, to develop and produce new signage for the Birkie race course and finish-line festival areas, host...
It's final. Holly Brooks is tackling the FIS Marathon Cup/Worldloppet series this season, with seven of nine races on her schedule and a goal of an overall top three. "I’m ready for new challenges,” she says. “I’m a competitor and I want to be in races where I’m in contention for a podium." As the Birkie's first elite-athlete representative, she's hoping that will simplify some of the international logistics.
(CLICK HERE For Details and to Register Online (Register by Nov. 30 and Save $10) See All 141 Photos from the 2013 Event on Birkie Facebook Everything’s a go for the American Birkebeiner’s second annual FAT BIKE BIRKIE, presented by Freewheel Bike on March 8, 2014. Register by the next early fee deadline on November 30 to save $10 on your entry. The Birkie’s first-ever fat bike event last March was a huge success with...