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Sam Hendry

The Devon Kershaw Show: Winding down 2024 in Norway, with guest Sam Hendry

Long distance in Oslo, city sprints in Drammen. The World Cup takes its late-season swing through Norway and Devon and Nat have a full breakdown, with special guest Sam Hendry, a Canadian athlete who’s had some standout results late this season. We’re sprinting to the finish of the 2024 podcast season. Send your long-shot requests for off-season content to devon@fasterskier.com and nat@fasterskier.com. We’ll be back in a few days.  

Running Roundup: Skiers Find Success at the Golden Trail World Series

The sport of trail running is growing. With more specialization, sponsorships, and media attention, the scale of competition changes. The Golden Trail World Series, which launched in 2018, is helping guide this growth. With a world series circuit, national series, and a championship, the Golden Trail World Series (GTWS) “exists to celebrate and evolve trail running as a sport.” Given that trail races can be roughly anywhere from 5 k to 330 k and with...

Skiers Take on Mount Marathon, and other Running Race Roundups (Updated)

Occurring annually on the 4th of July, and touted as the toughest 5 k on the planet, the 94th edition of the Mount Marathon race took place this past Monday in Seward, AK. Needless to say, the race is a storied tradition, beginning with its first “official” running in 1915. Over the years, participation has increased to such an extent that these days there are a number of complex ways for race entrants to register,...

Martin and Kern Stride to the Top on Day Two in Whistler

Carrying the momentum from the first day of racing into a second distance event, athletes lined up once more at the Whistler Olympic Park for a 10 / 15-kilometer interval start classic. Over 130 men and 90 women participated in the open categories, representing clubs across Canada and the United States.  Adding a springtime layer of complexity to remind us that we are officially past the equinox, temperatures in Whistler hovered above freezing while a...

Brennan and Hagenbuch Skate Away with Wins in Sun Valley SuperTour 5/10k Interval Start Free

By Rachel Bachman Perkins and Ben Theyerl  The final weekend of SuperTour racing in Period II, and the final weekend within the Olympic qualification window, kicked off Saturday at the Lake Creek Nordic Center in Ketchum, Idaho. Part of the 2022 Sun Valley Nordic Invitational, the SuperTour races were held in conjunction with a Montana State University RMISA event and an Intermountain XC junior national qualifier.  Highlighting the size of the event, there were 157...

A 2021 Overview of Developments for Nordiq Canada

Last season, Canada held no races, posted no domestic results, and, in general, vanished into the pandemic fog. Travel restrictions meant that many Canadian skiers didn’t see any skiers from other regions. Which skiers made progress and which regressed over the last 20 months? We finally have hints after the first races last weekend. What is new? Lots. What happens next? Keep reading.  Athlete Progress Following the opening FIS races, part of the Western Canada...

David Norris Wins Third Mt. Marathon, Canada’s Sam Hendry Second; Rosie Frankowski Fourth

Men’s race Most athletes pay their dues as they work their way up the results list for Mount Marathon, the grueling 5-kilometer, 3,000-foot-gain out-and-back race in Seward, Alaska, that dates to 1915. There is no substitute for experience on the technical course, and most people need to get their rookie run out of the way before they can even think of challenging for the overall victory in subsequent times on the mountain. David Norris is...

NCAA Cross-Country Championships in Bozeman: One and Done

BOZEMAN, Montana – Thirty minutes after the conclusion of today’s nordic podium ceremonies, the NCAA announced that all winter and spring championship events were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, effective immediately.  An incredible day of racing suddenly turned sour as the news reverberated throughout Bozeman. There would be no slalom at Bridger Bowl tomorrow, no mass start cross-country races at Crosscut on Saturday, and no ceremony to crown the overall team champions. In a...

U23 World’s 15 k / 30 k Mass Start Rundown

U23 Women’s 15 k Mass Start Sweden-Sweden-Sweden: Ebba Andersson, Moa Lundgren, and Emma Ribom went 1-2-3 for the all Sweden podium. If one thing is certain from our race coverage this season, we know Sweden is ready for World Cup podiums now. The U23 sweep in Oberwiesenthal, Germany at these U23 World Championships likely means more to come. Andersson crossed the finish line alone in 35:44.4. Lundgren came across 37.1 seconds back, Ribom 45.2 seconds...

U23 World’s U23 10 k / 15 k Classic Rundown

Doubling up in this U23 World’s 10 kilometer and 15 k interval start classic rundown. U23 Women’s 10 k Classic Yes, Sweden’s Ebba Andersson remains a U23 despite her clutch fourth overall in the SkiTour 2020. The force that is Andersson took her talents to Oberwiesenthal, Germany where she tapped out the 10 k classic win in 28:28.7 minutes. This was a race, beyond the likes of Andersson, where some shifting occurred after the race’s...

MSA Trials Wrap-up: Tactics, Selections, Photos, and Videos

Mont Sainte-Anne brought great ski conditions on a weekend where the best in Canada fought to qualify for four different race trips: U20/U23 World Championships in Oberwiesenthal, Germany; Falun and the Scando Tour; the sprint tour of Québec and Minnesota; and World Cup finals in Canmore. Combine this with the usual NorAm action and COC leader competition and you have all the ingredients for a great weekend. Over 400 athletes raced in five age groups...

Rebuilding Canada: Less Europe, More North America

  Canada is moving into a new era in skiing. An era with less World Cup podiums and more emphasis on developing future podium athletes. “Train at what you want to be good at. If its climbing, climb. If it is chess, play chess. Ski training has many elements of course, but in the end the best training to race fast is to race.” — Erik Bråten, National Team Head Coach In the near future,...

United States Overall in Nations Cup Last Year: 5th Women’s Ranking 2018/2019: 4th Men’s Ranking 2018/2019: 11th Americans to Watch: Seven men and nine women will be lining up in stars and stripes for the World Cup’s opening: Finland’s Ruka Triple. Three race series features a classic sprint followed by a two-day distance pursuit. At the top of the ranks, Jessie Diggins (USST/SMS T2) finished the 2019 season 6th in distance and 7th in sprint....

Nordiq Thunder 2019: Notes, Quotes, and Photos

The unofficial kickoff to the western Canadian racing season was held on November 13th and 14th. The traditional King’s Court sprint and interval start distance races are now called Nordiq Thunder — a re-brand from Frozen Thunder – but the relaxed feel and clockwork organization remain the same. With no trip selections on the line, the 93 sprinters and 105 distance racers were there to test their fitness and tune up for the races that...

Canadian Western Championship: Weekend Wrap-up

KELOWNA, B.C — One week after Easterns, it was time for Westerns, and the Polar Vortex made the trip for both weekends. At Easterns, the air was cold enough to keep the organizing committee on edge at the start of the weekend, and freezing rain complicated driving  plans. At Westerns, the cold weather held off to Sunday, but falling snow on dry, salted roads created a sheet ice for Friday’s commute. Both championships had less athletes...

Sunday Rundown from Lahti and Canada (Canmore Biathlon Sprints Cancelled)

FIS World Cup Lahti, Finland Classic Team Sprint Sunday in Lahti, Finland the women raced a 6 x 1.4-kilometer classic team sprint. U.S. fans saw their hopes for a podium snuffed out in the two semi-finals that determined the 10 teams advancing to the finals. In the first team sprint semi, the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Ida Sargent and Sophie Caldwell  placed sixth overall and did not advance. Sargent and Caldwell, constituting team USA I,...

Saturday Race Rundown; Caldwell Second in Lahti; Canadian Westerns

FIS World Cup Lahti, Finland 1.4 k/ 1.6 k Freestyle Sprint In the women’s skate sprint qualifier in Lahti, Finland Slovenia’s Eva Urevc laid down the fastest time in 2:40.67 minutes. Swiss skier Nadine Faehndrich was the second fastest qualifier, 4.21 seconds back, with the U.S. Ski Team’s (USST) Sophie Caldwell third (+4.36). Canada’s Dahria Beatty qualified 25th (+10.21). Also making the heats for the U.S. were Ida Sargent (USST) in 26th (+10.36), and Kelsey Phinney...

Saturday Race Rundown: U.S. U20 Men Win Relay, U20 Women 4th at World Juniors (Updated)

2019 U23 World Ski Championships in Lahti, Finland 4 x 3 k and 4x 5 k relay Full U20 Men’s Race Report In a historic first for the U.S., the U20 men’s team won the 4 x 5-kilometer relay today in Lahti, Finland at the 2019 World Junior Ski Championships. Luke Jager skied the first classic leg for the U.S., Ben Ogden skied the second classic, Johnny Hagenbuch skied the first initial skate leg and...

Canmore NorAm: Notes, Quotes, and Selections

Canmore hosted the second NorAm of the 2018/2019 season on December 13th, 15th, and 16th. The event also served as U23 and Junior World trials. By the end of the weekend, starts at the U23/Junior World Championships and the World Cup’s Tour de Ski would be earned. This event was originally scheduled for Whistler Olympic Park but had to be moved as a result of heavy rain and inclement weather forecasted into the immediate future. The...

A Sovereign Lake NorAm/SuperTour Weekend Rundown

For the third consecutive year, the SuperTour and NorAm series met up at Sovereign Lake near Vernon, BC, for a combined race weekend of skate sprints and classic interval starts. Over 450 athletes competed each day in four age groups. According to many attendees, combining the two Continental Cup series was an unqualified success. While many of the skiers expressed their pleasure in interviews, one quote stood out. “The SuperNoram is the best idea ever.”...