Ski North Ultra

I was carpooling to the start of the Black River Trail Classic in 2023 when Allie Rykken first told me about a ski race she was working on organizing on the North Shore. She was working on making connections with the various groups who would need to be involved and there were a few other details to be worked out, such as connector trails that hadn't existed or been groomed for 30+ years, but she sounded pretty optimistic that she could make a go of it. Fast forward a year and the event was not only on the schedule, but was the final race of the Tour De Finn race series that I was planning to target for the season. I took only a few days to deliberate before signing up.

My strategy to train for ski season the past few years is to pile on as many summer and fall miles as possible and slowly bleed away that fitness throughout ski season, since coaching the high school ski team in Northfield takes up quite a lot of my training time and energy during the winter. I was worried this strategy might be inadequate to get me ready for a 100k race in March, so I didn't have any ambitions for the race beyond just finishing. I did the BCFK on classic skis in January and the Birkie Classic in February, so I at least got a couple of long classic efforts in before race day.

After a winter of great snow along the North Shore there was a meltdown in early March and conditions were looking iffy on parts of the race course, and there were a lot of unknowns about the event still with a week to go. The organizers recommended using B skis and did a great job of setting expectations for potential course conditions. I dropped off 2 pairs of skis for Finn Sisu to wax, but then later decided to wax and bring my good race skis as well. Eva and I stopped at the North Country Ski Trails near Silver Bay to ski Friday on our way up, and it was a great reminder of what single track classic skiing is like. The snow there was mostly good, soft but starting to refreeze and get fast. I've had very limited time on natural snow over the past 2 years, so it took a little bit to get used to the flow of the trail. After our ski we headed to bib pickup and then on to the Cascade Lodge where we were staying. Talking to people there who had previewed the race course they warned that it was very icy near the start/finish area.

Skiing the North Country Trails

When I got to the race start the next morning those reports were confirmed. Due to warm preceding week the snow was thin and very icy. I had on Rex N41 covered with Rode B17 for kick and it wasn't doing much in the start area, but my skis felt fast on the ice. There was a spot open on the start line so I took it, even though I didn't really want to be near the front with conditions being what they were. The temp at the start was a chilly 10°F, so I went with a thin base layer under my suit on top and bottom, and lobster mitts to keep my hands warm. The predicted high for the day was in the 30's, so I figured I could drop layers and switch to thinner gloves later in the day.

As the race started I tried to stay as relaxed as I could while also staying out of trouble. There were just over 70 starters, but the trail narrowed quickly and cornering took a lot of room due to the slippery conditions. As we started up the long connector climb to the Bally Creek trails I settled in to the back of a group around in about 10th place, and I was pretty nervous about how the return trip back down would be. It's about 10k of icy narrow trail with no classic tracks, so I was picturing a harrowing descent, and kind of wondering if the Bally Creek trails would be worth traversing these sketchy conditions for.

I started to feel better about things when we got up to the Bally Creek trails and in to some groomed classic tracks. I was with a really fun group including Adam Mahar, Thomas Kendrick, Tyler Gilbert, Louis Sirota, Zach Handler, and a couple others. It was fun to chat and click off a few easy km in a group. Then it started to snow. It was really gorgeous snowglobe style snow that made everything look really wonderful and wintery. The snow started to slow things down, and my skis seemed to be running slightly slower than the guys around me, so I dropped off the back of the pack a bit to keep my effort in check, and so I had a bit of space around me on downhills I still wasn't feeling 100% confident about.

There were a couple of short sections on this part of the trail where you turned off of the groomed trail and just bumped along through the woods on some really rough trails that seemed like they had been only skied in by the skiers ahead. That's where the arrow pointed though, so that's where we went. To me this section best captured the spirit of the event, a healthy mix of gorgeous trails, adventure, and just being out in woods. The snow continued to fall pretty steadily, and now others skis were slowing too, so I caught back in with the group ahead of me for the downhill back towards the start. 

I was efficient at the road crossing, pausing only to take off my skis and shove a cardamom roll in my mouth that I would slowly nibble on for the next down hill. An excellent aid station food, and a certain departure from normal ski race fare. The descent was no totally fine with the new snow reducing speed and adding a lot more control, so I took pretty much everything full speed except a couple of bumpy "mogul" sections. I pulled away from the group and before I knew it I was back to the state park trails and the skis off bridge crossing. The plan was for Eva to meet me there with skis and fuel, so I could just swap things around at a spot when I needed to take my skis of anyway. Since the next section was not very hilly and included some potentially rough state park trails I switched to some old skis with no kick wax and asked Eva to put some fresh kick wax on my other skis and give them back to me at 60k.

Almost 1/3 done, and everything was feeling pretty good. I saw Louis just up ahead so I ran up to catch him and we put our skis on and started out together. The new skis felt decently fast, so I took the lead as we weaved through the park. We hit one intersection with a bunch of arrows and I quickly decided we had to head right to find the connector across the valley before heading out towards the North Shore Mountains Trail. We kept climbing and climbing though, so I stopped at the next intersection that seemed to keep going up and to the North, which seemed wrong. Louis said he suspected we had made a wrong turn, and I agreed. We bombed back down the hill and out onto the two way section of trail. When we reached the 40k marker at 41.4k it gave us an idea of how much we had added on. We caught sight of a group ahead of us and caught and passed them. Then Louis pulled away from me as the terrain was going gradually uphill towards Caribou Road.

As I neared the road crossing I saw Karl Holub on his way back with nobody else in sight. I cheered him on and he called out that the turnaround was poorly marked as we crossed paths. I got to the road crossing a few minutes later, still not having seen any other skiers on their way back. I spotted Zach crossing the road as I was coming up to it. Based on this I assumed I needed to keep going. There were no blue arrows, only 2 red ones, one pointing forward on the trail and the other pointing back, and no volunteers at the road crossing. I ran across the road and up out of the ditch on the other side. My watch was telling me to turn around, and I quickly reached an intersection with no markings in any direction. At this point I went back down the hill ran into a few other skiers who were just arriving at the turnaround. We spent a couple of minutes deliberating if this was the turnaround point, and generally agreed that it was. Then out of nowhere Abe Peterson, who was not in the race, arrived and was able to look up the map on his phone. This confirmed we were supposed to turn around. Abe offered me a bratwurst, but I was feeling antsy, already having spent 7 minutes or so milling around deliberating the course, so I declined and headed back up the trail. 

I pushed the pace a bit on my way back since I felt like I had wasted quite a bit of time deliberating at the turnaround, and quickly put a bit of time into the group I had been with at the turnaround. When I got to the next aid station I mentioned that people had gone out past the turnaround. Eva met me there as well with a change of skis. She had added a layer of Rex 30G to the skis I started the race with so I switched back to those for the remainder of the day. Having kick again and being told I was in 2nd place motivated me to keep the pace up, and I felt like I was moving really well for the next 10k. When I got to the aid station around 60k though I was starting to get hungry. They had quesadillas there so I quickly scarfed one of those down along with a cookie and kept cruising. 

This aid station is right at the base of a climb that lasts over 10k and gains about 1000ft of elevation. It was getting quite hot by this point in the day and that combined with the sun and the effort of climbing really pushed my heart rate and internal temp up. I kept reminding myself that I still had 40k to go and that I needed to chill, but it felt like there was never a place to just relax without stopping. I did stop briefly once to take off my skis and scrape a bit of ice off the bottom. It was only a couple of small chunks, but I could feel them dragging and occasionally stopping my ski. I looked at my watch once when I thought I was getting close to the top, and it only said 64k. I had hoped to be close to 70k already, ugh! This 10k section took me an hour and it was by far the most difficult portion of the race. I started to get hungry again and took a gel, then shortly after ate a granola bar. I kept imagining that there was a group right behind catching up to me so I didn't let myself stop much, even though I justified that it would be totally fine if I dropped from 2nd down to 5th or 6th.

I made it to the aid station just past 70k without anyone going by me, and quickly grabbed some food and got back on my way. Dalton Struck passed me on the way back down the hill. It was pretty warm out by this point in the day, and my skis felt slow for much of the descent, with occasional icing in the kick zone. As I was descending I saw Louis and Brock at different points on their way up, so I knew their detour had cost them a lot of time. 

The descent was good recovery, and I finished the rest of my water, hoping there would be aid at the bottom. It turned out there was not, and race director Allie was at the intersection pointing me back up the hill, so I charged on into the climb feeling tired but ready to face it again. I quickly started to heat up on my way back up the hill towards 90k, and reminding myself of my theme for the day - address issues as they arise, don't just push through - I stopped and took off my race top and baselayer. The bibs were pretty substantial, so I figured that would be enough to keep me warm, and I still had my lobster gloves on from the morning, so my hands weren't in danger of getting cold. I shoved my removed layers down my race tights, the only convenient storage I had available, and almost immediately felt much cooler and at a better equilibrium for the climb. I started to get pretty thirsty and took my last gel liquidy gel just to get some liquid in my mouth, knowing I only had 45 min at most until the aid station.

The rest of the trek up to the aid station was pretty uneventful, and when I got to the aid station up at the Deeryard I was thrilled to see Eva there waiting for me. She dug my extra layers out of my tights and force fed me a granola bar while Kira Stolen filled my water bottle, then I was back out on the trail. Even though I was pretty tired I didn't want to linger at the aid station in case there were others close behind me. My skis felt a bit faster the second time down the long descent, the temps were starting to go down along with the sun and the snow was getting a bit icier. I don't remember much of the final descent except being really tired and excited to reach the finish. The last 1/2 km or so leaves the well groomed Norpine trails and heads back into the state park. There were some pretty significant bumps, and several signs warning skiers to go slow and even recommending taking off skis and walking. I kept my skis on and somehow stayed on my feet through this section, with a liberal amount of snowplowing, and made it across the finish line! There were volunteers there collecting bibs, but they seemed unsure about asking for mine back since I had no shirt on underneath it. Eva was waiting there to take my skis and give me a jacket though, so I quickly did the swap and we waited at the finish to see the top woman finish just a couple minutes behind me, then Tyler and Thomas shortly after that. My finish time was 8 hours and 18 minutes. I told Eva I thought I was in 3rd place, but she told me that some of the skiers who had taken a wrong turn did a modified course to get to their 100k and I was the 6th finisher.

A bumpy finish

We walked down to the post-race food building, all of us racers excited to share stories and compare notes about the course, navigation and getting lost, skis and snow conditions, and there was a lot of excitement about the day! There was also some debate about the results with people skiing different courses and how that should all be accounted for. The post race food was hot and good, and it was fun to hear everyone's hot takes about the race. I was pretty wiped out, so Eva and I headed back to the hotel so I could get in a nap.

I've been excited about this event since I heard of it, and the first edition definitely lived up to expectations! The chance to ski and race on so many new to me trails that really showcased North Shore skiing was amazing. I loved the mix of conditions from the rough trails hacked in to make the race course connect, the beautiful grooming on the Bally Creek and Norpine trails, the random bumpy paths through the woods, the road crossings and aid stations, and the rollercoaster of a finish made this event a great adventure, one of the most unique events I've done on skis.

The Birkie, Sleeping Giant Loppet, and Great Bear Chase

 First, the Birkie in bullet points:

• My goal was to start fast and double pole hard in all the double pole sections. This plan was quickly thwarted as we got a dusting of snow right before the start and everything felt super slow. This was perhaps compounded by my decision to use my almost 20 year old Fischer skis because (1) I thought they kicked better than my new ones and (2) I wasn't certain about the trail conditions.
• Wow, but do I ever have in internal regulator that keeps me at Level 3. It's like I just lock into a pace to take things conservative to High Point and this is no trouble at all.
• Definitely felt the best ever climbing up to High Point.
• Am I EVER going to learn how to stride? Back in December we did a video technique session and made the change that I shouldn't let my ski swing back so far. The result: lots of ski slapping. Back then I thought: I'll work on this rollerskiing. So I just spent my time on skis trying to not kick my skis back so far, get some glide, or else just run. So I ski slapped my way to Hayward.  
• Similarly, am I EVER going to get comfortable skiing downhills and around corners in the tracks? I should arguably practice more. I do practice some. There's some screamers after High Point and I usually get out of the tracks and ski over on the side where it's not tracked. This often is quite fast but this year with that dusting of snow it was pretty darn slow and I likely lost a couple places in this section.
• This was my last year to qualify for an Elite Wave colors bib. After next year I'll always be in purple (or black or whatever the 40 year will be:)
• One of my process goals was to feed better than I ever had before. I got something at all but two of the aid stations and three times I took both a gel and energy drink. I really liked this year's gel. It was so liquid and easy to get down.
• Sometime between Gravel Pit and Mosquito Brook I got tired. Molly passed me, I skied with her, passed her, then she pulled away a bit. But we were catching and passing a few women. Painfully slow. It's hard to describe my fatigue when I'm not in it but just about every muscle in my body is just done. When I passed Molly back up climbing out of Fish Hatchery I said "I'm so tired." But somehow, I think when I get so tired, and everyone is so tired, I can slog on better than the rest. At least I had the lake to look forward to. On that very last big uphill heading up from hwy 77 I just kept the pressure on since I'd just passed a couple women. But man, the classic Birkie is the hardest thing I do every year by a long shot.
• But then we got to the flats before the lake and the lake and I felt really good. I just locked into a steady double pole rhythm. The skaters were still slowly passing me but no one caught me in the classic and I think I reeled in just a tad the couple women in front of me. I felt so strong.
• I finished 18th on my 18th Birkie. Turned 40 two days before the race but won the 35-39 age class (and would have won the 40-44 as well) but that 45-49 age class is stacked! 
• A couple weeks later it finally dawned on me: if the Birkie is the hardest thing I do, maybe I should train more/harder! I haven't been doing the long rollerskis much the past couple years due to a combo of boredom and desire to do other things in my life. And as for this winter, well, likely had it been warmer and had there been more snow I would have done more skiing and less walking. But I don't know if it matters because somehow every year that classic Birkie gets me. 

Starting out in my 18th Birkie. Photo: Jackie Schneider

 

 Sleeping Giant Loppet

    The Sleeping Giant Loppet has been on our bucket list for as long as I can remember (or at least, since I learned about it probably at least two decades ago now). Erik and I have tossed around doing it multiple times but somehow the early morning start coupled with the time change has always made us think twice. But this year we finally committed.  

    And so on the last day of February we were driving north Thunder Bay bound. There was a big snowstorm moving into the area and at least for our driving, we were glad to only have wintry conditions the last hour. Bib pick up was at Kamview Nordic Centre. After grabbing our bibs, we did an easy hour ski on the trails. Or at least as easy as we could go considering they'd just gotten a foot of fresh snow. After the meltdown earlier in the week, we were lucky to have a fresh coat of white stuff. 

    Conditions were slow and our ski pushes churrned up the skate deck. But it was so great to be skiing new trails (for the first time all season) and be skiing in a winter wonderland. The trails were all a maze and we mostly stuck to the lighted loop which had been freshly groomed. 

    The next day was the Sleeping Giant Loppet. Due to the snowstorm, the race was postponed by an hour which meant we could have a leisurely morning before driving out to the park. We had the option of taking a shuttle bus from Thunder Bay but had ultimately decided to go with the freedom of driving ourselves. Temps were cold and it was a shocker to go from running in 50 degree temps four days earlier to zero degrees. But it was sunny and I wore the same clothes as Mora and I was never cold. 

My GPS of the Sleeping Giant Loppet course. It starts out with a clockwise loop around Lake Marie Louise and then does a counter-clockwise loop to the north before finishing along the east side of the lake.

    Even though I'm a classic specialist, I had decided to skate the Sleeping Giant. This was two-fold: I figured I ought to do some skate races and also two years ago my patella-femoral syndrome had really flared after the Birkie making classic skiing really painful. This didn't happen this year and so I was kinda bummed to not be classic skiing, especially with all the new snow. Erik, in contrast, was classic skiing. 

    When I went to line up there was a woman in the front row with a wind breaker tied around her waist next to Caitlin Gregg. There was a spot on the far left and I decided if the chick with her tied-on windbreaker was on the front row, I could be, too. The gun went off and conditions were super slow. The trail was initially mashed potatoes but fortunately this didn't last long (must've been where everyone was warming up). A bunch of women passed me as I settled into my rhythm, most of my skate pushes breaking away. The first four kilometers flew by but I spent most of the first 12 kilometers salty for not doing the classic race and debating whether it was worth it to cut corners or try to find some firmer snow where my skate pushes wouldn't break the snow. 

    After 12 kilometers the trail left the park road and we headed onto a hiking trail with more "flowing" terrain. This was winding with small uphills and downhills, a section where skating is often more fun. I'd been skiing by myself up to this point but now formed a pack with another woman and two guys. Our pack broke up at the aid station and crossing of the main park road. From here we had the biggest hill on course, both climbing and descending. There were some corners and I did a couple short snowplows. Then we headed back out on another road for awhile before another flowing section. I tried to take in a bit of scenery, especially as we crossed some low lands or passed by some creeks. 

    Near the end, the race comes back to the main park road, initially sharing a couple kilometers from near the beginning before heading back to the start/finish. I was getting done by the last five kilometers. I can't say I was anywhere near as fatigued as in the Birkie, I most certainly wasn't, but it wasn't a great skate day and by then it's hard not to want to just get to the finish. This certainly wasn't an A race for me and with the slow conditions it took me 3 hours and 9 minutes. 

Ski Vacation

    On Sunday we returned to Kamview. I was stoked to do so and we had our best ski conditions of the entire trip. I classic skied all the trails I hadn't done on Friday, including the Lookout Trail. We expected that trail to have some big downhills but even though there was some decent vertical, there were no sketchy hills. Most of the course was fairly flat and I decided I liked Kamview a lot. 

Almost all of the trails at Kamview in one shot.

 

    On Monday we drove out to Lappe. In previous years we'd tossed around the idea of doing 24 hours of Lappe, but this never came to fruition. Despite a somewhat confusing trail system, Lappe is intended to be skied as one of four loops: a 14 km expert loop, a 10 km advanced loop, a 5 km intermediate loop, and finally a 1.4 km easy loop. The day was going to get warm and it was already sunny by the time we got to the trail. We headed out on the expert loop which had some gigantic hills and one of the most banked corners I've ever seen. It was definitely expert and I'd say makes Michigan Tech pale in comparison. The snow started transforming before we'd completed the loop and Erik needed a break so I went out to do a very slow 10 km loop on the transformed snow. It had been my intention to follow this up with the 5 km loop and then finally the 1.4 km loop but since the 5 km is the second half of the 10 km loop, I thought better and gave up and just skied the 1.4 km with Erik. 

    That afternoon we found some good terrain to practice our mountaineering skills and use some new gear in anticipation of another attempt on Gannett later this year.

Erik looking out to the Sleeping Giant from a park in Thunder Bay

 

    On Tuesday we took a break from Nordic. I ran in town in the morning and then we went downhill skiing at Loch Lomond. There was some good vertical and the price was right even if the chairlifts were old. Erik was impressed that we could see Isle Royale from the summit. 

    On Wednesday, on our way out of Thunder Bay, we stopped for another classic ski at Kamview. It was snowing again and we slowly trudged along on what was becoming the theme of this trip: lots of new and/or transformed snow. It was snowing too heavy to have a view from the Lookout Trail. 

    We need to go back to Thunder Bay again. It's only a six hour drive and we only skied once at Lappe. Give it a few years, and I'd happily spend a few more days at Kamview. Heck, I even thought about trying to move to Thunder Bay. But the reality is, Kamview was only so good because it was novel, and then it would no longer be novel. I think we'll be back for the Sleeping Giant Loppet- but next time I'll classic ski:) 

    Then we drove back to Minnesota along the North Shore to make our way to the Great Bear Chase, spending the night in Superior where they'd just gotten an ice storm followed by some blowing and drifting snow.

    On Thursday we skied at Wolverine since they'd just gotten a lot of snow. Well, that and we'd brought the sled with and I knew about the old ski jump in-run and figured that would be a good place to go. So we had another slow ski between all the fresh stuff and some transforming snow. Then Erik went sledding while I tried to practice my self-arrest skills with the ice axe (it doesn't work so well in a foot plus of fresh powder).

Erik doing some extreme sledding at Wolverine.

    We spent that night in Houghton and on Friday Erik went downhill skiing at Mount Bohemia while I tried but was rather unsuccessful at finding a nearby walking adventure. Largely there was too much snow and despite all the gear we'd brought with us, we'd failed to bring the old school snowshoes. 

The hike views weren't all bad.

 

Found a waterfall!

    That night we returned to Houghton to join some other Vakava skiers who'd come for the Great Bear Chase.

The Great Bear Chase

    Last year I wanted to do the Great Bear Chase but mother nature had other plans and it was cancelled. We were able to roll over our entry to this year. I returned to classic skiing and so was Erik. After a number of races this season, I had the suspicion that Erik intended to ski behind me for a decent chunk of the race. I'd won the classic race in 2019 and 2020 and had no intention of getting any other place besides first. In warm-up my skis felt slow again which wasn't surprising given the start was around 10 degrees and they'd gotten a bunch of snow three days previous. 

Great Bear Chase course: 2 x 25 km laps

 

    As we stood on the start line the announcers asked us to be kind to the slower skiers we were passing. "You're here to have fun!" the announcer said to which I yelled: "No, we're here to chase the bear!!!" 

Dave in the skate marathon still chasing the bear. He got a grizzly award for being 75. Something we can all aspire to do.

    I started on the front row which wasn't hard to do because the start was super wide but I feel like it establishes the tone. I didn't notice any other women but I could tell I was near the front of the race, if not time-wise, at least place wise as we headed up the first hill. Erik slotted in behind me. We mostly skied outside the tracks which seemed faster and was firmer for the pole plants. The skiathlon started 5 minutes in front of us and we ticked off a number of skiers throughout the race. The lead skate pack, who started 5 minutes behind us, passed us in the snaking hills and the entire first lap felt congested. 

Erik and I skiing together.

    And hard. OK, not that hard. I'd once again settled into a nice rhythm but I wasn't striding much, instead running outside the tracks and my double pole felt slow and not at all strong. Erik got ahead of me in a flatter section towards the end of the first lap, just before we hit the north punchy hill section. But he was never really out of sight, I just couldn't catch him. 

Ben with game face on. He said he enjoyed the classic but not so much the skate.

    Then we were onto the second lap. The tracks felt faster but most of the pole plants punched through a bit. I gained on Erik in the south punchy hills but then he really pulled away from me in the gradual downhill to the low point of the course. Then it was the grinder gradual uphill. I could barely see Erik as I saw him pass #409. Then we were back to the punchy hills on the north side and there was Erik, #409 having left him in the dust. But he never tanked too hard and must've seen me behind him in his bright pink as he kept the pressure on.  I noticed that instead of trying to stride in the tracks, which just seems like so much work, we'd just get out of the tracks and run. And we herring-bone ran when it got too steep. I'd never skied an entire marathon so close to him. It was kinda weird.  

Ian doing the skiathlon.

    I never could catch Erik. I wondered if I would've pulled out another gear had he been a woman. In the end he beat me by 12 seconds. We were on course for 3 hours and 22 minutes, just 8 minutes less than the Birkie. I was happy to call it a season.

    "Did you have fun?" our teammate Adrienne asked Erik and I when she finished. We both were like "No, not really. Racing is hard." And this brief conversation, other than saying earlier that we were here to chase the bear, were my most fun parts of the race.

    I won again and had more competition than previous years with the top four women all Birkie Elite Wave qualifiers from this year. So I'll take that. 

    That night we were treated to some aurora borealis from the deck of the Vakava house.

I'd never seen the northern lights in this "ribbon" pattern before. It almost looked like fire smoke. Of course, it always looks way better in the photos. It looked white to the naked eye. Photo: Ben Mullin

    On Sunday morning, before driving home, we skated at Michigan Tech. This was only my second time skiing the trail system. We had about half an hour of perfect conditions before it started seriously transforming. But there was still some snow in the trees and it was pretty. We skied down to the low-point of the course on the Skidder trail which had some fun turns. When we'd skied here in 2021 we'd skied the Cemetery Loop on very icy conditions. I didn't really want to do that trail again but we did and there is one super steep hill out there that almost got me again. 

Ski at Michigan Tech

 

Finishing up our week of natural snow for the 2024-2025 season. Photo: Laura Cattaneo

     And just like that, my natural snow season is likely over, outside of the Birkie and a couple skis in Bemidji and the Twin Cities, barely a week after it begin. 

A Perfect Race

Way back in high school I realized I was good at double poling. It quickly became my favorite technique. It didn’t require balance and I could use my upper body. I don’t have great VO2max. OK, I’ve never measured it but I figure running speed, like say a flat out mile, says something about aerobic capacity and I’m not exactly a gifted runner. But for me, the double pole is the great equalizer because it requires strength and technique in addition to cardiovascular fitness. People I have zero chance of ever keeping up with in a running race I can take down double poling. 

There weren't any classic photos this year so here's some from the skate race. Here is near the start (by the Mora Nordic Center) in The Vasa with Laura front and center and Ben L on the right. Laura finished 5th in the women's race.

And so it’s become that the Mora Vasaloppet, a fairly flat and largely double-poleable course, has become my absolute favorite. I’ve wanted to get that wreath around my neck at Mora for years. I’ve been on the podium a bunch, but not since they added prize money to The Classic. But that hasn’t stopped me from the dream and training and tapering for Mora. Some weekends I “train through” my races in preparation for my A races of the season and Mora is always an A race for me.

I took two days off before Mora this year and while sitting on the couch the day before glanced at my watch and it said my heart rate was 46. I didn’t know my heart rate got that low! I checked it manually and confirmed the reading. I hoped that meant I was rested for Mora.

Even though I was tapering my training, I made sure to eat a good amount throughout the day before the race. Back in the day, I used to not eat much until a huge dinner and not be able to sleep because my stomach was so full. I don’t do that anymore. I also put chocolate chips in my overnight oats the morning of the race. It’s always interesting to me that even though I’m eating just a bit more than my normal amount of breakfast food, which I usually take down without any issue, on race morning the butterflies make it hard to stomach my breakfast.

I’ve also found it’s important to do anything that makes me a little happy. As such I definitely have my special clothes for racing. This includes a pair of navy blue long underwear that I’ve had for two decades and my blue Finlandia hat from 2008. So if you’ve seen photos of me racing, well, I almost always sport the same headgear.

 

Elena racing The Dala. She won her age class got a red horsee.

I had forgotten that The Classic at Mora now had a prize purse until a few days before the race when I was reading through the guide again. I was bummed about this because prize money usually means deeper competition and although I’m speedy, I'm far from World Cup level. Wreath-around-my-neck dreams shattered. Podium B goal forgotten. Hopefully I can just eek out a dala horse in my 10 year age class.

The morning of the race I looked at Saturday’s Mora skate race results. This told me who might be doubling and who might show up fresh. But I didn’t really know who would be there. I did my warm up ski and since there were already some skis down in the start I decided to put mine down, too. I debated between the second, third, and fourth rows, eventually settling on the third, telling myself I could always switch farther back with someone later on. That’s the nice part about being up front, we all know each other and our abilities.

When I returned to the start there was Margie. My former teammate Sarah was there, too. She’d gotten third in the skate race the day before. I’d been picking up my bib when Chelsey Youngberg was getting hers, so I knew she was there, too. I’d seen Renae Anderson had raced yesterday and then there she was finding a place on the front line. There were a couple other faster looking women, one I recognized from the Founders Classic and another one I didn’t know. OK, mark all the women. Sarah’s probably going to beat me but pay attention at the start. I stayed in the third row, next to teammate Ben and behind teammate Brock. Sarah was to my right and Margie was behind me.

The gun went off. If I’ve learned anything over the years ski racing, it’s that the first 200 meters matter more than any other part of the race. Who you start with and behind and ahead of determines sooooo much. So I started fast and strong and quickly was in front of Sarah who was over in the tracks. After a couple bends, way less than half a kilometer into the race, I saw Chelsey in front of me. Erik was to my right. There was an open track. I wondered if he knew that he was slightly between second and third place woman. He wasn’t moving into that track so I jumped in it. And there was Chelsey. How could she be so close to me? She’d been kicking my teammate Gabby’s butt this year. And to be clear, Gabby is in a totally different league than me. I don’t even see Gabby EVER during intervals. I think she like does them with our top guys. Just try, Elspeth, my competitive side screamed as my conscience quipped that’s so dumb to even think you can keep with her. No. Just try.

So I tried and within the next kilometer she was totally out of sight as I’d figured. I tried to keep Erik in sight as we skied around some corners on the flat trail. My teammate Maria had said to me before the race, “when I get lapped” and immediately I thought I’m not getting lapped! Someone came up on my right and it was Owen. Holy crap, I must be skiing fast. I’ve never skied by Owen before. I’m definitely not getting lapped! I think I spent most of the first lap skiing with Owen and another guy. The trail snakes all around and a couple times I could see I had a slight gap on Sarah. As we came through the lap lane the announcer called “Elspeth Ronnander, currently in third place.”

Now it was onto the second lap, this time we would start going down to Lake Mora. Owen got away from me and bridged up to the pack with Erik. Soon there was someone else on my right. I’d only gotten a brief look at them but feared they were a woman but soon enough they passed me, fast, and it was a dude with a ponytail. Suddenly Erik seemed closer to me out on the lake but he was now packed up with Owen and a YAM and soon they gapped me more.

But as we climbed up from the lake and made a couple more turns, I couldn’t help but think that I’d never seen a male YAM in front of me before so I couldn’t be doing too bad. Then I noticed that Owen had fallen off that pack and I was slowly making time on him. I began lapping skiers and cheering them on. If Josie isn’t in this race (conflicts with her kids and the Wisconsin State Champs) I’ll take on the role of cheerleader.

At this point it all becomes a bit blurry. There was Erik’s pack in front of me, usually a couple guy stragglers off that pack between us, and a couple guys behind me. I definitely passed Owen on that lap. I never really thought about my pace, mostly just in my groove, double poling hard, striding/running when it made sense (not much) and then herring bone running all the steep hills and running/pushing hard over the top of every hill. 

Perennial favorites in The Dala, Nate and Paul skiing together early on in the race.

 

Craig and Nate racing a bit later on in The Dala. Nate would go on to win, beating out Craig by two seconds. Paul ended up a couple places behind.

Ever since I started citizen ski racing I’ve noticed that there’s two races going on. There’s the overall race and then there’s the women’s race. Us women are interspersed with the men and there usually aren’t many of us. It feels so different to me skiing around women versus men. It’s like brownie points to beat men but the real race is between me and the scattered women. That’s what matters. Anytime I’m going for a podium I prefer to not be racing close with other women. Ranae and Chelsey were so far in front of me I didn’t have to worry about them, but I was always concerned about who might be chasing me from behind. 

Mary Beth going strong in The Dala.

By the third lap I was closing in on a guy who was just double poling. I don’t use my kick much but I’m convinced it makes a difference. I soon passed him. Half way through the third lap I could see a couple guys catching me. The first one turned out to be Jim Carlan. He passed me quickly. Keep him in your sights, I told myself. Perhaps, had he been a woman, I would have had more motivation to stick with him. But also, as I’ve written about so much previously, I really prefer to ski by myself, albeit with some others around. As we went out on the north lake for the second time in the third lap, I heard someone next to me. Present yourself, I thought. I was pretty sure it was another guy, and indeed it was, and another one without kick wax. He didn’t pass me quite as fast and he never got too far in front of me.

Then we were onto our fourth lap which meant everything for the last time. The double pole guy wasn’t too far in front of me. I could still see Jim, a little farther in front, and just barely in the long enough straight stretches, I could see Erik, too.

Now we were encountering a lot of traffic and I was starting to get tired and my right medial epicondylitis was beginning to flare. But the kilometers ticked by so fast and I was often passing skiers like they were standing still. As I broached the final climb off Mora Lake I saw that Margie had passed Sarah as we met at the 9th street road crossing. I felt securely in third but I kept up the pace and soon I was passing double pole guy. Erik saw me again at the north aid station. I was at least providing good motivation for him. I still tried to do a bit of cheering as I lapped skiers, sometimes double lapping them, but mostly I was getting tired and frustrated that a bunch of them were in the left track, which in my opinion was just a bit faster and also firmer for the pole plants. One guy jumped out of my way and I said thanks.

Before I knew it I was up and over Marshmallow Hill for the very last time and then came out to the last U before we headed south to the finish. I could see that Jim was closing on Erik and that I had made up just a bit of time on Erik in the last lap. Then it was into the finish and I was determined to keep up a strong double pole.

I’m sure I was tired at the end but it’s always invigorating to finish on the podium and I think I could have kept up that pace for awhile longer. I was stoked to take home my biggest payout to date but also just a bit melancholic that as I bridge my fifth decade in less than two weeks, my odds of getting that wreath around my neck are diminishing. I guess it’s a lesson to appreciate what I have and that I’m still getting faster and stronger even at my age. 

The Classic podium at Mora 2025.

As I posted recently, I’m getting older, but still on the chase. My lower paraspinal muscles always get insanely sore after Mora but his year they felt less so. And after tapering for Mora, I was able to jump into an intense training block, running 6 miles the day after Mora and then doing a full strength workout two days later, and then doing a long interval set three days later with Vakava. It’s taken a couple decades, but I’ve become a well-trained athlete, and that’s every bit as much success as my results on paper.

On Skiing in Circles, Becoming a Cold Baby, and a Couple Races

The lack of snow continued in January and so we skied round and round on the manufactured snow loops. The 5 km loop at Hyland takes me 20 minutes and Wirth’s 7 km loop even longer. So it’s not that bad. On the couple weekends I didn’t race, I did some intervals. Well, actually, it was just one set of intervals. I heard that instead of doing 30-30s, APU does 2 minutes on followed by 1 minute off for an hour for an L3 workout. I did this with Erik and kept up a blistering pace with him. It was intense! I don’t get tired very often but this workout was both difficult to complete and made me extra sleepy.

Despite the lack of snow, we’ve certainly had our share of cold weather. I’ve admittedly become a “cold baby.” At least that’s the term we used back in the day for our friends who didn’t ski when it was below zero. My hunch is that I’ve spent too much time at cold temps improperly dressed. That and with Raynaud’s I’ve simply frost-nipped and even frost-bit my fingers (and thumbs) one too many times. Hence they seem all the more sensitive, the tips of my pinkies permanently numb, and not wanting to injure them more, I’ve started to avoid skiing, or at least skiing so much, when it’s cold. I really struggle to keep my hands warm. Often they initially get cold, will warm up for awhile and then get sweaty, and then around an hour or so start getting cold again. It’s super frustrating.

Last year Erik bought me some heated socks to help with the feet. I got heated gloves a few years ago and was not a fan (the best I could understand was that they were to be used when it was 30 degrees ABOVE zero) but these heated socks have been a game changer. I’m pretty sure they are designed for alpine because the socks are very tall (like up to my knees) and the batters are ridiculously large. They do keep my feet warm though and that’s important.

I’ve also succumbed to wearing more layers, especially for Vakava practice at 6:30 pm which correlates with a time of day when my body temperature is lower (I always get cold around dinner, then get hot from 8-9 pm). I’ve learned when I need more windproofing on my legs and to wear a buff and hat even in the teens, and to dress in multiple layers. 

A very cold Vakava group ski on a sunny Sunday. Hard to tell who everyone is with so much face coverings! Photo: Ben

Some days though, I’m perfectly content to just go for a walk. Ideally I would run more but my posterior tibial tendonitis has flared again. Plus, the major benefit to walking is that I don’t get sweaty. That and I can keep my fingers all tucked inside my mega mitts. Skiing is hard for me in cold temps when my fingers freeze and then when I get sweaty and go down a hill at 30 miles per hour….well, that is just cold and I think I only have so much tolerance for that.

Alas, I’ve mixed things up with some races. The first was what I still like to call the Pre-Loppet. I did something kind of dumb and didn’t wax my skis for the race since it was a “training” race and I’d skied three hours the day before and they had been plenty fast just about every other time I’ve been out this year on the manufactured snow but there was an inch or two of new snow and my skis were super slow! I think the body felt reasonable but I probably tired myself out too much holding onto some pride to beat a couple teammates and it made the race feel really rough. It was interesting though, where a couple weeks prior I’d been skid turning into La Squadra to control my speed, during the race my skis were so slow I was free skating.

The next race was the Founders Classic sponsored by the Mora Ski Club. After local races the week before got cancelled, this one popped up on my radar as a good training race for the Mora Vasaloppet. A bunch of other Vakers headed to Mora for this one as well. I love a good double pole course and that’s exactly what I got in Mora, going round and round, mostly with coach Dave, trying to chase down the small pack of men ahead of me (that got harder once teammate Paul jumped in the race and decided to shake things up some). Anyway, I still won for women and got some great perishable prizes (maple syrup and a giant cookie!). And I got in a good double poling workout that will hopefully help prepare my back for the classic race at the Mora Vasaloppet. 

A good chunk of Vakava skiers for the  Founders Classic. Photo: Brock's wife

Then the first weekend in February it was time for the City of Lakes Loppet Skate Race. It was a five lap race (ok, four laps last weekend, five laps this weekend, back to four laps next weekend…be sure to remember and count them all!). I was worried about the trail conditions given it hadn’t gotten below freezing overnight. And after not racing the skate race for a few years, I was relegated to Wave 2 and was worried about a lot of trail congestion (usually I ski off the back of the first wave).

My fears were largely put at bay though. I managed to get a front row starting position in Wave 2, accelerated off the line to at least keep up with the men until the double pole zone ended, and then was never impeded by traffic. I got into my racing zone quickly, pushing my pace but not suffering. I had a brief thought that maybe I’d gone out too hard but I quickly put that to rest and just skied on, trying to mark the other women in Wave 2, hoping to win my wave for the ladies. 

 

Me on the far left, off to a good start in Wave 2 of the City of Lakes Loppet.

The downhill conditions were markedly better than I’d anticipated. I have this problem though that I’m usually only confident if I can take an outside line. This year I’ve been working on this some, sometimes purposely going inside when I do feel confident, to practice. I’ve just had bad experiences in the past when I’ve gone inside, hit ice, and lost control. Slush and ice both make me tense up and lose my cool completely. I took the pace fast heading down into La Squadra every time and there’s part of me that can’t believe I actually do this because in a sense, it’s terrifying to edge in my skis to make those turns at such high speeds. It’s also thrilling. I can only do it when I have 100% confidence. And as the race progressed, it became a quad burner as well. 

Erik demonstrating how to ski downhill.

There were a couple short mashed potato hills that I struggled on and tried to just ski up. The couple weeks before I’d been playing with my V-1 technique, as that seems to be the technique when everyone skis away from me. I tried to stay lower overall and keep my feet wider instead of bringing my legs in close. It seemed faster (and I even practiced this on my January 30th rollerski) but was hard to do in the mashed potatoes. There were also places on course where the snow felt slow, like new snow condensing. Kinda weird conditions but likely because it was manufactured snow made when it was cold and this was the first time it was warming up so it hadn’t totally transformed yet.

 

Laura crushing it per usual (on a warm day!)

Anyway, I was leading Wave 2 for the women on the fourth lap when I couldn’t take my outside line on the downhill coming by The Trailhead. I freaked, snowplowed, got knocked backwards, and fell down:( I got back up quickly enough and skied on but lost a few places. At least my confidence wasn’t shaken on the downhills and my final time down that hill my outside lane was clear again and I took it full speed. I didn’t win my wave but I mostly felt good out there, appreciated some cheering, and was able to push my body well. I can’t ask for much more than that. 

Craigger racing the Loppet.

Now I’ll look forward to some classic races.