Monday, December 19, 2011

Clear Skies and Cold Temps: Nordic Racing in Crested Butte

The past weekend the Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Crested Butte, who played host to the first Junior National Qualifier in the Rocky Mountain Division.  Struggling with a shortage of snow this winter, volunteers around Crested Butte spent days shoveling snow onto the ski trails in order to have a complete 3km race loop.  The 14 and older athletes raced two laps for a total of 6km, while ages 10-13 raced one lap on both Saturday and Sunday.  Athletes in the ages of 8-9 raced a shortened loop totaling 1km.

Saturday morning saw clear skis and temps around 0 degrees at the start of the Freestyle technique races.  “It was awesome to have a full team travelling to the race in Crested Butte,” said Head Coach Josh Dalley, “we had a total of 26 athletes representing Durango, covering each age group.”  Starting with the youngest ages first, on Saturday Dec 17th the 1km J5 female class was won by DNSC athlete Jordan Taylor.  The J5 male class was won by Wiley Corra, followed by Ivan Sippy in 5th.  Skiing 3km in the J4 female class, Taya Bruell of Durango placed 11th.  In the J4 male class Carter Kileen of Durango was 8th.  DNSC skiers Katja Freeburn placed 8th, followed by Camryn Sippy in 10th in the J3 female class.  Dylan Williamson lead Durango with an 8th place finish in the J3 male class.  He was followed by teammates Stanton Ott in 13th, Perrin Kileen in 15th, and Leo Bruell in 20th.  Skiing two laps for a 6km race, Hannah Peterson of Durango placed 3rd in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown won the J2 male class followed by teammates Charlie Greenberg in 8th, John Rhoades in 10th, Gordon Gianniny in 13th, and Abe Ott in 15th.  Rachel Hampton lead the way for DNSC with an 8th in the J1 female class, followed by Amy Katz in 9th, Lily Oswald in 13th, and Kaylee Blevins in 15th.  For the men, Haakon Sigurslid lead Durango with a 3rd place finish, followed by Sepp Kuss in 7th, and Levi Kurlander in 13th.  DNSC alumni and now Denver University skier Elena Breed placed 3rd in the OJ women’s race.

Temps were again near 0 degrees at the start of Sunday’s Classic race.  Jordan Taylor again won the J5 female class, as did Wiley Corra in the J5 male class followed by Ivan Sippy in 6th.  In the female J4 class, Taya Bruell was 12th.  For the J4 men, Carter Kileen placed 7th.  In the J3 category, for females Katja Freeburn placed 8th  and Camryn Sippy placed 9th.  Dylan Williamson lead the J3 boys in 8th place, followed by Stanton Ott in 14th, Perrin Kileen in 15th, and Leo Bruell in 18th.  In the 6km classic race, Hannah Peterson placed 5th in the J2 female class.  Cully Brown of Durango again took the win in the J2 male class, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 8th, Gordon Gianniny in 13th, John Rhoades in 15th, and Abe Ott in 16th.  In the female J1 class, Rachel Hampton of DNSC placed 4th, Amy Katz was 8th, Kaylee Blevins was 14th, and Lily Oswald was 15th.  For the J1 male class, Haakon Sigurslid was 8th, Sepp Kuss was 9th, and Levi Kurlander placed 13th.  DSNC alumni Elena Breed placed 2nd in the female OJ class.

“I am very pleased with this weekend’s effort from our team.” said Dalley “with winter break on the way we are excited for quality training in the daylight.  We will be ready for more racing at our next qualifier in Steamboat Springs on January 13th and 14th.  In the mean time we will race in the local Coke series hosted at the Nordic Center at Purgatory on January 7th.”

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Nordic Racing in Colorado Kicks Off with a Weekend in Steamboat

This past weekend marked the start of the Cross Country ski racing season with a USSA race hosted by Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.  The race was originally to be hosted in Summit Country, but due to a lack of snow, they were forced to change venues to Steamboat. 

The Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Steamboat to participate in these early season ski races, with a focus on getting early season race starts prior to the First Junior National Qualifier race that will be held December 17th and 18th in Crested Butte.  On Saturday December 3rd everyone raced 5 kilometers around a fast course using skate technique.  The J2 (14 and 15 years old) category was lead by Durango Nordic skier Cully Brown.  Following him in 5th place was Durango Nordic skier Charlie Greenberg.  For the girls, Hannah Peterson placed 2nd.  In the J1 (16 and 17) boys category, Haakon Sigurslid of Durango placed 3rd, followed by Sepp Kuss in 8th.  For the J1 girls, Amy Katz placed 7th, Kaylee Blevins placed 12th, Lily Oswald placed 13th, and Emma Greenberg placed 19th

Saturday’s race was around the same course, but using classic technique.  All racers again competed in a 5km race besides the J1 boys who raced an extra loop to increase the distance to 10km.  Cully Brown of Durango again lead the J2 boys, followed by Charlie Greenberg in 5th.  Hannah Peterson placed 6th in the J2 girls race.  In the J1 girls race, Durango was again lead by Amy Katz in 10th, Kaylee Blevins in 12th, Lily Oswald in 14th, and Emma Greenberg in 19th.  The Durango Nordic J1 boys got around the 10km course in good fashion, with Haakon Sigurslid again claiming the 3rd place position, followed by Sepp Kuss in 9th.
“These preseason races are good for us to participate in as a team,” says head coach Josh Dalley “as they help get us used to the speed of racing as well as a weekend of skiing ‘on snow’.  For the past week we have been forced to go back to dryland training, so the cold weather and snow in Steamboat this past weekend was beneficial for our training as well.”  Now that the snow is falling in Durango, Dalley is looking forward to kicking off ski training for the whole team.  For more results, visit the Durango Nordic Ski Club website at www.durangonordic.org

Monday, October 3, 2011

September in Review

This past September we've been busy here in Durango.  We have been training hard, getting in lots of L3 and starting up on our L4 intervals and bounding.  As we head further into the fall our ski specific training is going to increase, as is our intensity.  Here I wanted to share a video and some pictures of what we have been up to.

We ended our summer with skiing up Molas Pass, up above 10,000 ft!




Throughout of Saturday's this month, we have been getting in some nice long roller skis out in the country.  Here is a video preview of some of these skis and some L3 intervals.


As the leaves start to change, we are also starting up our fall High Country hikes.  This past weekend we headed up past Silverton to Ice Lakes.  This is one of my favorite hikes ever. Check out these pics of the scenery.







And, as always, why not do some push-ups....



Friday, September 16, 2011

What have our Athletes been up to: Cully Brown

Fellow nordic team mate, Cully Brown had an eventful paddling season in both slalom and wildwater this spring and summer.  His first major competition was in April at the Western US wildwater team trials where he qualified for the Junior World Championships in Opava, Czech Republic.  Then it was off to Wausau, Wisconsin for US Junior Slalom team trials shortly after the Iron horse weekend.  At that event he place 6th qualifying him for pre world competition.  He had to make a choice, so he decided to focus on wildwater and skip the pre world slalom races.  To prepare for Wildwater worlds he trained with and receive coaching from Mike Freeburn and Andy Corra two local paddling legends.  Later in June, Cully competed in the Senior national championships, winning the spring race and placing second overall to his national team coach, Doug Ritchy from the Seattle area. 
     

More DR training throughout July and it was off to Europe.  Arriving in Munich, Cully first trained in Ausburg and Paugue before heading to the world championships in Opava.  Traveling with team mates and coaches in Europe was a great learning experience for Cully.  The US team stay in a 15th century structure that had more recently been converted a dormitory for Czech college students.  Sharing the dorm where athletes for all over the world made for a great first international experience.   The race courses at worlds were relatively flat, lacking any steep drops or technical paddling which favored the bigger,  stronger athletes. 

Over all Cully's best finish was 40th place, best among the English speaking world but back from the Eastern and Western European men.  The week of racing ended with a sweet party for the teams at a super old castle the looked like Hogwart.  Awards, movies, food, drink and dancing into the night was served up to the everyones enjoyment.  If you get a chance have Cully share some of his experiences and be sure to ask him about his new Czech friend, Zuzu.



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

What have our Athletes been up to: Rachel Hampton


Two efforts in particular were significant enough to garner our first Boulder Running Company/Colorado Track and Field Cross Country athletes of the week. Those efforts belong to Rachel Hampton of Telluride and Kyle Ames of Smoky Hill.


Rachel Hampton comes from one of the most remote and, arguably, most beautiful places in Colorado. Rachel spent a very busy summer running and cross training in preparation for cross country in the fall and Nordic skiing in the winter.  According to Rachel, “My mileage was definitely a lot higher than it has been in previous summers, and I added in good strength training too”.
All of this pre-season training helped Rachel to a first place finish at the Delta Cross Country Invitational at Confluence Park in Delta, Colorado. Rachel ran the five kilometer course in 19:20, a little over a minute ahead of runner-up Natalie Anderson of Hotchkiss.
The ruggedness of Telluride’s terrain and its altitude is a tremendous strength to Rachel and her fellow runners. The remoteness of the location, however, can make it difficult to face some of the competition they will see at state.  The lack of big meets means that Rachel and her teammates will need to make every opportunity count. They are looking toward facing Nederland in October. The MileSplit community will get an early preview of this battle at the St. Vrain Invitational on Saturday.

Read the Full Article Here

Monday, May 2, 2011

DWSF Awards!!

This past week was the DWSF Awards Dinner.  Here are the winning Durango Nordic Awards:

MVP
Rachel Hampton: Consistent efforts, always bright and positive, even with her two hour commute each way to be a part of the Durango Team.  A true role model and all year displayed consistent upward progress in the J1 girls results.
Haakon Samuelson: Was consistently a stellar role model for the whole team.  He trained consistently all year, and attended almost every race.  Always high spirited and helpful.  Amazing results this year, including being the fastest Junior sprinter in Colorado.

DEVO MVP
Marit May:  Showed consistent effort, was always a good, positive, mature, focused role model for her teammates.  She always showed up ready to go and really pushed herself this season trying her hardest at every drill and technique critique.
 Dylan Williamson: Showed excitement, smiles and team camaraderie consistently.  His enthusiasm and care for the Nordic and his teammates shone at practices, races, ALL the time.

Most Improved
Hannah Peterson:  Demonstrated huge improvement from the beginning of last summer, throughout the season, and ended with incredible races at JNs.
Gunther Ott :  Not only improved from increased summer and fall training, but also his perseverance this year and since the year he started Nordic.  It really showed this year in his best race results ever.

Rookie of the Year
Amelia Wigton: While quiet, showed huge dedication to Nordic in her first year, and became more confident throughout the season.  Her skiing has improved greatly over the year and we hope to see her back next year.
 Leo Bruell:  Always came to practice extremely eager to learn and improve.  He got right back up every time he fell and went out 110% whether participating in practice, technique work, races, relays, etc.

Sportsmanship/Inspirational
Lily Oswald:  Was upbeat all season, every practice, every race, no matter her results.  She always smiled and encouraged others and was a light bulb for the whole team.  She just kept getting better and better with each race, almost making JNs, but still stuck out the rest of the season and all this while also doing a lot with Dance.
Cully Brown: Just moved up to J2 level and was still one of the top performers all year in the Rocky Division and at JNs.  Always a sportsman, regardless of how things played out in a race, he always finished with a smile and congratulated his competitors.  He makes the best out of each situation.

Volunteer
Priscilla Blevins: Always willing to help out with whatever the team needs.  She helped Brent organize the team dinner at the Aspen race, among other things.  
Bob Oswald: Always willing and asking how he can help, but beyond asking, he was also looking for ways to help.  He was really helpful at all the Coke races and a nice team parent rep towards other new parents.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

9 DNSC Skiers Named to the Junior National Team after Aspen Nordic Festival

In Sunny and warm conditions, cross country skiers from the Durango Nordic Ski Club raced in the Aspen Nordic Festival, the final Junior National Qualifier of the season.  The races were held on Saturday February 12th and Sunday February 13th in Aspen, CO in conjunction with the Owl Creek Chase, a stop along the SuperTour series.  With tough competition from pro skiers, these races were also the last chance for skiers age 14 and older to qualify for Junior Nationals which will be held in Minneapolis, MN from March 6th through March 12th.

The classic races on Saturday kicked off with the youngest age groups first.  Placing 6th skiing for Durango in the J5 race was Cobe Freeburn.  In the Girls J6 race, ages 6 and 7, was won with Durango skier Ruby May.  DNSC had two skiers in the Boys J4 race, Dylan Williamson (3rd) and Stan Ott (6th).  For the Girls J4 race, Marit May was 3rd, Camryn Sippy was 5th, and Katja Freeburn was 9th.  Avra Saslow placed 9th in the Girls J3 race.  Moving on to the older skier who are trying to qualify for Junior Nationals, the Boys J2 (ages 14-15) was won by DNSC athlete Haakon Sigurslid.  He was followed by teammates Cully Brown (3rd) and Abe Ott (23rd).  The DNSC girls were lead by Amy Katz in 2nd and followed by Lily Oswald (5th), Hannah Peterson (7th), Kaylee Blevins (12th), and Emma Greenberg (18th).  Gino Pastore lead the J1 boys in their 10km race placing 3rd.  He was followed by teammates Sepp Kuss (6th), Gunter Ott (16th) and Ben Capelin (18th).  Racing against college skiers, Haakon Samuelson placed 7th in the OJ field.  The Durango J1 girls were lead by Alicia Pastore in 3rd place, followed by Rachel Hampton (8th), and Hannah Madden (12th).

Sunday’s races were mass start, meaning everyone in each age group starts at the same time, and freestyle technique.  Again, the morning start with the youngest skiers first.  In the J5 boys group, Cobe Freeburn moved up to 5th place. In the J4 boys, Dylan Williamson placed 6th, followed by Stan Ott in 7th.  For the girls, Katja Freeburn moved up to 3rd and was followed by teammates Marit May (4th) and Camryn Sippy (12th).  In the J3 girls race, Avra Saslow moved up to 8th over the 3km course.  In the deciding race of who will travel to Minneapolis for Junior Nationals, the DNSC J2 girls was again lead by Amy Katz.  She was followed by teammates Hannah Peterson (6th), Lily Oswald (8th), and Kaylee Blevins (10th).  Cully Brown lead the boys race for DNSC, placing 4th.  He was followed by Haakon Sigurslid (11th) and Abe Ott (22nd).  In the OJ/J1 girls race, there was a lead pack of 5 most of the race.  Alica Pastore lead Durango with a 5th place finish, followed by Rachel Hampton (6th) and Hannah Madden (9th).  The OJ/J1 boys skied 3 laps around the 5km course for a 15km race.  Stick with the lead pack until just about the end was DNSC skier Sepp Kuss (5th).  He was followed by Gino Pastore (9th), Haakon Samuelson (13th), and Gunter Ott (16th).

Sunday was also the running of the Owl Creek Chase, a 21km race course from Snow Mass to Aspen.  Ben Capelin of DNSC placed 2nd in the 19 and under age group.  Racing in the Men’s Elite field was DSNC Alum Lars Ellefson (34th).

9 DNSC Skiers Named to the Junior National Team after Aspen Nordic Festival

In Sunny and warm conditions, cross country skiers from the Durango Nordic Ski Club raced in the Aspen Nordic Festival, the final Junior National Qualifier of the season.  The races were held on Saturday February 12th and Sunday February 13th in Aspen, CO in conjunction with the Owl Creek Chase, a stop along the SuperTour series.  With tough competition from pro skiers, these races were also the last chance for skiers age 14 and older to qualify for Junior Nationals which will be held in Minneapolis, MN from March 6th through March 12th.

The classic races on Saturday kicked off with the youngest age groups first.  Placing 6th skiing for Durango in the J5 race was Cobe Freeburn.  In the Girls J6 race, ages 6 and 7, was won with Durango skier Ruby May.  DNSC had two skiers in the Boys J4 race, Dylan Williamson (3rd) and Stan Ott (6th).  For the Girls J4 race, Marit May was 3rd, Camryn Sippy was 5th, and Katja Freeburn was 9th.  Avra Saslow placed 9th in the Girls J3 race.  Moving on to the older skier who are trying to qualify for Junior Nationals, the Boys J2 (ages 14-15) was won by DNSC athlete Haakon Sigurslid.  He was followed by teammates Cully Brown (3rd) and Abe Ott (23rd).  The DNSC girls were lead by Amy Katz in 2nd and followed by Lily Oswald (5th), Hannah Peterson (7th), Kaylee Blevins (12th), and Emma Greenberg (18th).  Gino Pastore lead the J1 boys in their 10km race placing 3rd.  He was followed by teammates Sepp Kuss (6th), Gunter Ott (16th) and Ben Capelin (18th).  Racing against college skiers, Haakon Samuelson placed 7th in the OJ field.  The Durango J1 girls were lead by Alicia Pastore in 3rd place, followed by Rachel Hampton (8th), and Hannah Madden (12th).

Sunday’s races were mass start, meaning everyone in each age group starts at the same time, and freestyle technique.  Again, the morning start with the youngest skiers first.  In the J5 boys group, Cobe Freeburn moved up to 5th place. In the J4 boys, Dylan Williamson placed 6th, followed by Stan Ott in 7th.  For the girls, Katja Freeburn moved up to 3rd and was followed by teammates Marit May (4th) and Camryn Sippy (12th).  In the J3 girls race, Avra Saslow moved up to 8th over the 3km course.  In the deciding race of who will travel to Minneapolis for Junior Nationals, the DNSC J2 girls was again lead by Amy Katz.  She was followed by teammates Hannah Peterson (6th), Lily Oswald (8th), and Kaylee Blevins (10th).  Cully Brown lead the boys race for DNSC, placing 4th.  He was followed by Haakon Sigurslid (11th) and Abe Ott (22nd).  In the OJ/J1 girls race, there was a lead pack of 5 most of the race.  Alica Pastore lead Durango with a 5th place finish, followed by Rachel Hampton (6th) and Hannah Madden (9th).  The OJ/J1 boys skied 3 laps around the 5km course for a 15km race.  Stick with the lead pack until just about the end was DNSC skier Sepp Kuss (5th).  He was followed by Gino Pastore (9th), Haakon Samuelson (13th), and Gunter Ott (16th).

Sunday was also the running of the Owl Creek Chase, a 21km race course from Snow Mass to Aspen.  Ben Capelin of DNSC placed 2nd in the 19 and under age group.  Racing in the Men’s Elite field was DSNC Alum Lars Ellefson (34th).

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Nordic Visits Olympic Venue

The Durango Nordic Ski Club has just returned from a weekend of racing in the Western Super Qualifier hosted at Soldier Hollow, which was home to the Nordic Races in the 2002 Olympic Games.  At this year’s event, there were 647 racers, coming from ski clubs located in the regions west of the Mississippi River.  “This is the best venue a junior skier could ask to race at” said Head Coach Josh Dalley.  “As they race around the course, they can imagine being Olympians and skiing the same course back in 2002.”

The first day of racing was Freestyle Sprints, with a qualifier in the morning and head to head heats in the afternoon.  18 year older Haakon Samuelson had an outstanding performance in a competitive field, winning all his heats and placing 5th in the final.  Placing 13th overall and racing the B final was Gino Pastore.  Also in the OJ/J1 age group, but missing the rounds were Sepp Kuss (50), Ben Capelin (67), and Gunter Ott (94).  In the J2 boys field, Cully Brown advance into the heats, placing 16th overall.  Following him were Abe Ott (78) and Gordon Gianniny (82).  In the OJ/J1 girls race, Alicia Pastore advanced to the B final, placing an overall 8th along with Rachel Hampton who placed 12th.  Also making the rounds from Durango was Hannah Madden (23).  In the J2 girsl division, 4 out of 5 Durango girls advanced to the rounds, lead by Amy Katz in 14th.  Other results were Kaylee Blevins (21), Hannah Peterson (27), Lily Oswald (28), and Emma Greenberg (65).  Durango also had a large contingency of young kids, under the age of 14.  In the 13 to 14 year old group (J3), Avra Saslow lead the girls in 16th.  She was followed by Maggie Wigton (44) and Amelia Wigton (50).  Charlie Greenberg lead the boys with an outstanding 2nd place finish, followed by Jared Webster in 34th.  Katja Freeburn lead the DNSC girls in the 11-12 age group (J4) with a 4th place finish.  In the 11-12 boys, Dylan Williamson was 7th, followed by Stan Ott in 16th, and Leo Bruell in 27th.  Skiing for Durango in the 8 to 9 age group (J5) was Jordan Taylor (9) and Taylor Bruell (11).  Cobe Freeburn was 3rd in the 8 to 9 year old boys, and Wiley Corra was 1st in the 6 to 7 year old group (J6).

The second day of racing consisted of mass start classic races.  This is when everyone in each age group starts at the same time, skis their course in the traditional cross country technique, and the first one to cross the line is the winner.  These races were in the reverse order of the Sprints, so the younger kids raced first.  Wiley Corra was in the first race of the day and brought home a win to Durango, skiing away from the rest of his J6 field to win by 18 seconds.  In the J5 girls race, Jordan Taylor was again 9th, followed by Taylor Bruell in 11th.  In the J5 Boys, Cobe Freeburn moved up to 1st place, outsprinting 2nd in the finish straight.  In the J4 girls, Katja Freeburn placed 4th.  In J4 boys, Dylan Williamson placed 7th, followed by Stan Ott (15) and Leo Bruell (27).  The J3 girls race was competitive with 58 girls racing.  Placing in that group were DNSC skiers Avra Saslow (14), Maggie Wigton (43), and Amelia Wigton (54).  Charlie Greenberg was again 2nd in the J3 boys, followed by Jared Webster in 38th.  Then the racing moved to the grueling Olympic 5k course.  J2 skiers completed 1 lap while the OJ/J1 Girls did 2 laps and the OJ/J1 boys did 3 laps to complete a 15k.  In the J2 girls, Kaylee Blevins had a spectacular races, leading the way for DNSC in 13th.  She was followed by Amy Katz (15), Lily Oswlad (19), Hannah Peterson (32), and Emma Greenberg (62).  The J2 Boys were lead by Cully Brown in 5th, followed by Gordon Gianniny in 66th, and Abe Ott in 89th.  The 10k OJ/J1 girls race was a tough one with two laps up the legendary Olympic Hills.  Alicia Pastore from Durango skied a tactically smart race, placing 4th overall.  She was followed by Rachel Hampton in 12th, and Hannah Madden in 23rd.  Haakon Samuelson lead the 3 lap race for the Durango Boys, placing 20th overall.  He was followed by Gino Pastore (26), Sepp Kuss (38), Gunther Ott (70), and Ben Capelin (81).

The Team has one more Junior National Qualifier left, which will be held in Aspen, CO on Febuary 12th and 13th.  

Monday, January 24, 2011

Nordic Storm at Snow Mountain Ranch

The Junior National Qualifiers continued this past weekend as the Durango Nordic Ski Club travelled to Granby, CO to compete in the second weekend of four Junior National Qualifier’s.  These races where hosted by Boulder Nordic Junior Race Team at Snow Mountain Ranch.  “As a team, this was our strongest showing so far this year.” said head coach Josh Dalley.  “We had 20 skiers racing at the event, with ages ranging from 11 to 18.  This weekend also solidified some Durango athletes spots on the Junior National Team, putting 13 DNSC athletes within striking distance of making the team.”

On Saturday Boulder hosted a five kilometer freestyle technique race.  The J1 and OJ classes all raced together (ages 16-19).  Leading the way  for DNSC was Gino Pastore in 7th place, followed by Sepp Kuss in 10th, Gunter Ott in 16th, Haakon Samuelson in 18th, and Ben Capelin in 23rd.  The Junior Women’s race was lead by DNSC skier Rachel Hampton in 4th and Hannah Madden in 9th.  Haakon Sigurslid lead the J2 Men age group (14-15) for Durango with a 3rd place finish.  Following Sigurslid were John Rhoades in 18th and Abe Ott in 20th.  In the girls J2 age group, Durango was lead by Amy Katz in 2nd place, Hannah Peterson in 6th, Lily Oswald in 9th, Kaylee Blevins in 11th, and Emma Greenberg in 18th.  DNSC had two J3 boys (12-13) compete.  Charlie Greenberg skied to a eight second victory and Jared Webster placed 12th.  In the J3 Girls race, Durango’s Avra Saslow placed 11th.  Dylan Williamson placed 5th and Stan Ott placed 9th in the J4 Male age class.  In the J4 Female class, DNSC skier Marit May rounded out the podium with a 3rd place finish.

The racers went head to head on Sunday in a mass start classic race.  The J1 and OJ Girls skied 10 kilometers with Rachel Hampton again leading the way for Durango in 7th, followed by Hannah Madden in 13th.  The J1 and OJ Boys raced 3 laps for a total of 15 kilometers.  Gino Pastore moved up a spot to 6th place, followed by Sepp Kuss in 10th, Gunter Ott in 14th, Haakon Samuelson in 16th, and Ben Capelin in 23rd.  The J2 Girls stuck to 5 kilometers, with a close race between the top 3.  Amy Katz from Durango was in the final sprint for the finish line and captured 3rd place.  In that age group she was followed by Hannah Peterson in 8th, Kaylee Blevins in 10th, Lily Oswald in 11th, and Emma Greenberg in 20th.  In the J2 Boys, Haakon Sigurslid lead the race from the beginning, finishing 1st with a 15 second gap over the rest of the field.  He was followed by John Rhoades in 18th and Abe Ott in 19th.  In the J4 Female class, Avra Saslow placed 8th.  Charlie Greenberg held on to a podium for the second day in a row, placing 3rd in the J3 Boys group.  He was followed by Jared Webster in 19th.  Marit May also held on to two days on the podium, moving up to 2nd place in the J4 Girls race.  In the J4 Boys race, Dylan Williamson proved himself to be a force, placing 3rd on the second day.  He was followed by Stan Ott in 7th.  Full results can be found on www.fourcornerstiming.com or www.durangonordic.org.

Next, the Durango Nordic Ski Club athletes will be racing this coming weekend in the Tour de Ski, hosted at Durango Mountain Resort.  The race courses wind their way around the Hermosa Valley, with challenging climbs and epic views. 

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Going the Distance

Distance Races start tomorrow!  Yes, it’s finally going to happen and we are ready for it.  With another good day of training at Great Glen, they kids are ready to go out and rock tomorrow in the distance classic race.  Everyone is felling good, upbeat, and…ready.  This is US Nationals and we brought our A game.  And us coaches are ready as well.  We did a lot of klister testing today and even race a lap of the race course to check it out.  We did our homework and we’ve determined that tomorrow is going to be a good day for Rocky (esp DNSC).

Conditions update.  The gun show has been happening.  Not the muscle “gun show” or the actual Gun Show that we had at JNs last year.  I mean the snow guns.  They have been out in force and cranking out enough snow to cover a 2.5k loop that will be used for the races tomorrow and most likely the rest of the week.  I took some pics today on my phone:
It starts with making snow
Then push it around the course
And end up with a ski trail.

Also, here are some great shots my mom took during the sprint races.  Our kids showed up well and had solid performances in tough conditions.





More to come after tomorrow’s race.