Sponsored Content As Birkie Fever is fully here with the 2020 race starting in just eight days, Hayward’s Steve Morales brings us back to the early days of the race and the beginning of New Moon Ski and Bike Shop. Steve Morales – New Moon Bike and Ski Shop – Hayward, Wisconsin from New Moon Ski & Bike on Vimeo.
(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,...
The following was written by Katie Miller, a former University of New Hampshire (UNH) ski racer who recently completed her first American Birkebeiner and 50-kilometer ski marathon, after registering for the race last year. That race was canceled due to low snow, but Miller returned for
Press release) Little Bellas, a national organization dedicated to helping young women realize their potential through cycling, announces the Birkie Weekend Camp in Hayward, WI, Saturday, August 12th at the Highway 00 Trailhead. The Birkie Weekend Camp is an all-girls adventure program designed to get girls hooked on the sport of mountain biking. The one-day program will focus on improving skills and having fun. “We’re so excited to be bringing the Little Bellas program to...
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...
HAYWARD, Wis. (Feb. 9, 2017) – The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation is racing into the new year with a marketing campaign aimed at promoting its Kortelopet (Korte) cross-country ski race and the importance of a healthy, active lifestyle. With help from a $12,450 Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation looks to increase participation in the 29 kilometer race slated for Feb. 23, 2018. This year’s...
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 most important thing to pack on a racing trip is your positive attitude, says the U.S. Biathlon Development Team's Paul Schommer. "And when the season concludes, I always look forward to heading back to the Ski Haus for the Bjorn Bakken Ski Championships of America, the greatest backyard ski race on the planet."
USSA CEO Tiger Shaw had never done a cross-country ski race before. But he went to Hayward, Wisconsin, for the American Birkebeiner, where he raced from Wave 9. "You can see that it’s really part of people’s lives,” he said of the event. Shaw highlighted how USSA is trying to work with regional divisions and provide more services to the nordic world.
Caitlin Gregg didn't feel like herself when she started out the season on the World Cup, so after pushing through the Tour de Ski she came home. Now she's shooting to win the American Birkebeiner for the fourth time and set a new record as the all-time winningest athlete in race history.
There will be several things to keep an eye on during this year's 42nd American Birkebeiner, including top competitors, like two-time U.S. Olympian Holly Brooks, and a brand-new bridge just a few kilometers from the finish. Watch it live and follow our post-race coverage.
(Press release) HAYWARD, Wis. (Feb. 18, 2015) – Due to cold weather, the Junior Birkie races will start one hour later at 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m. as originally scheduled on Friday, Feb. 20. Start times have also been compressed. The Barnebirkie will go off as scheduled at 12:30 p.m. New Junior Birkie start times are listed below: 10:00 a.m. U12 & U14 Boys 3 km 10:05 a.m. U12 & U14 Girls 3...
CXC elite head coach Bill Pierce announced Thursday that he was leaving Wisconsin for Colorado, where he'll serve as nordic director at the Snow Mountain Ranch YMCA near Winter Park. "The hard part is leaving the relationships," he says.
The National Development Centre of Thunder Bay made its way south for its final dryland camp of the year. From Aug. 16 to 27, NDC Thunder Bay athletes could be found rolling along the roads near Hayward, Wis. "There was a nice variety of terrain so we could concentrate on exactly the technique and training aspect we were focusing on for any particular training session,” coach Timo Puiras explains.
With a new head coach at the helm and a couple new athletes, CXC is rebuilding while setting tangible goals for the season ahead. "I think at first, they were skeptical to listen to me because they've heard this before and results have ebbed and flowed," Bill Pierce says. "But I think they’re willing to give it a chance."
Tad Elliott's headed back to Wisconsin for another "Train Like A Birkie Champion" camp, this time with his mountain bike. Organizer Bill Pierce added a mountain-bike component to this year's three-day camp (Sept. 6-8) to appease Elliott and all the citizens/masters that train for more than just the Birkie. Pierce is also hoping to raise $4,000 for the Birkie Skier Development Fund.
For the first time in 15 years, the Worldloppet Annual General Meeting returned to where it was essentially born in northern Wisconsin. There, an estimated 45 delegates from 16 nations met to invite four more countries to the party, with Argentina, China, Iceland and New Zealand being granted associate status and their own Worldloppet marathons.
Those unfamiliar with the American Birkebeiner and cross-country ski culture in the Midwest might not get it. How does a point-to-point ski marathon in northern Wisconsin 120 truckloads to Main Street. There, they spread the pristine white stuff 6 inches to a foot deep for the ½-kilometer finish. The ABSF also made sure the Birkie trail was in tact, unloading 500 totes of snow – each weighing 300 pounds – on the course, and shoveling...
When the head of F.A.S.T. Performance Training in Hayward, Wis., Bill Pierce heard Tad Elliott pulled off a cross-Atlantic trip to win the American Birkebeiner last February, he knew he had to have him back in town. Matt Liebsch, one of the Midwest’s nordic heroes and 2009 Birkie champion, thought the same. In July, F.A.S.T. held its first “Train Like a Birkie Champion” “Live & Ski Like a Champion” Purpose: This camp designed for the...