Seeley – Gowtham

Last weekend’s racing opportunity shed light on things I hadn’t done well: paying careful attention to the wax recommendation (I had missed a glide wax layer) and nutrition before/during the race (I had forgotten the race day breakfast and had not carried my own gels). While they didn’t alter my result or experience in that shorter distance event, they had the potential to create a painful experience for longer distance events. I got a pair of opportunities to rehearse the pre-race and race day routine before those longer races come calling, and as my good fortune would have it, the two events (Pre-Birkie and North End Classic) were a stone’s throw from each other – making it the travel once and race twice weekend.

Continue reading … “2023: Pre-Birkie and North End Classic”

Having skied the lovely trails in and around Mora, MN, three times so far and having experienced the hospitality of the organizers, volunteers and spectators (don’t let me forget to tell you about the soul warming blueberry soup they serve at aid stations), I didn’t need any convincing to sign up for the golden edition of Vasaloppet in 2022. For the past 2-3 years, several experienced members of my nordic skiing family had been encouraging me to do Seeley Hills Classic (SHC) and/or Pre-Birkie (PB) to better handle the Birkie Fever. After checking the schedule of events, SHC was a no go this year (we were hosting the 2022 CCSA Invitational and Great Lakes Division CXC Cup at Michigan Tech Trails on that day). But PB was scheduled for the day before the Vasaloppet. Google Maps again showed that doing both events would amount to approximately the same driving time/distance as doing just the Vasaloppet. So, I made some changes and opted to go for one more of get two for the price of one deals!

Continue reading … “2022: Pre-Birkie and Vasaloppet USA”