City of Lakes Loppet

The City of Lakes has always been one of my favorite races. I love its unique urban terrain, combining sections of challenging hills and beautiful city views. I was trying to mentally prepare myself for a long, grueling race with cold, new snow and the additional 7k including the Minikahda golf course section that was added this year. I was thrilled to find my skis running so well right from the start and throughout the entire race.  I followed Dan's Fast Wax recommendation of two layers of HSLF 10, followed by two layers of HSLF 0 topped with a coat of flight arctic ironed in with a base saver.  I also chose a pair of Atomic World Cup soft track skis. I've struggled with climbing the past few years, so I was especially grateful to find my friend and teammate, Rob Edman, to follow through the bog and the flower gardens. It sure is good to have friends in all the right places! I was also impressed with how my skis were performing. They were fast on the downhills and flats and the soft track skis worked especially well on the hills and cornering. Rob and I skied together on the lakes for awhile and then lost each other. I was happy to make it out of the Minikahda golf course with the soft conditions and the extremely slow and dirty snow at the entrance and exit.  Good thing I had a top coat on my skis to help keep them running fast all the way to the finish.  One of the best parts of the race was seeing and spending time with my friends afterwards. I loved hearing about their war stories on the trail, with a glass of Surly Beer in hand. 

Vakava had some amazing results!  Extra cudos to the Warriors who did both marathons!

42K Classic Results Men
Nate Porath                  10th overall                 5th age group
Craig Cardinal             17th                              6th
Rob Edman                  38th                              10th
David Christoperson   46th                              1st
Kevin Ivens                   141st                            11th
Brent Oja                      157th                             14th

42 Classic Results Women
Bonnie Wiskopf Albrecht   3rd Overall           1st age group
Angie Robinson                  8th                          2nd
Xena Huff                             10th                        4th    (new Vakava recruit)
Michell Oja                           17th                        6th

42K Skate Results Men
Nate Porath                         4th Overall             3rd age group
Derek Wallen                      20th                         7th
Craig Cardinal                    32nd                        10th  
Rob Edman                         44th                         12th
Andrew Kromroy                 51st                         15th
Paul Olson                           72nd                        20th
Dave Christopherson         98th                         1st
Mark Ahlers                         132nd                      16th
Mike Nohr                            144th                        8th
Kevin Ivens                          375th                       45th
Brent Oja                              402nd                      51st

42K Skate Results Women
MB Tuttle                             1st Overall              1st age group
Bonnie Wiskopf Albrecht   7th                            1st  
Cheryl DuBois                     8th                           3rd
Michelle Oja                         28th                         6th