Many skiers know that the sport is often all about climbing. It’s not unlikely to find Nordic skiers searching out the steepest and longest hills they can find, from Alaska to Wisconsin to Maine. Given their competitive nature, skiers are also likely to want to challenge themselves AND their friends to race up said hills.
So it’s no surprise that NENSA’s App Gap Challenge rollerski race, winding up the Appalacian Gap by Mad River Glen, drew almost 60 rollerskiers to duke it out. The course began with a winding skate leg that climbed up to the ski area, where everyone transitioned to classic equipment for a striding journey to the summit (nobody double poled this one…at least not this year…it may have happened but Adam Glueck was on a trip to Bend, Oregon and did not compete!).
MNC was well represented with what seems to be the biggest group size from a single club (Coach Adam’s goal for the team). Current Pugs Magda, Quincy, Will, Charlie, Eli, Ben C, Aidan, and Kai all raced the Junior event alongside summertime MNC skiers Conor and Greg. Adam, Sara, Kate, and Charlie Maitland all raced in the Sr division as well.
Pugs getting ready for the start (Dave P photo)
Magda and Eastern Cup winner Alex Lawson stride-for-stride (Dave P photo)
Kai with some smooth striding (Kat H photo)
It was a solid team effort from the MNC group, and while nobody really “blew the doors off”, the team seems to be in a good spot for July. The main consensus was that the Pugs didn’t quite have the top gear for racing yet, which is what we spend the fall trying to sharpen and hone in on with shorter, harder intervals and some increased racing.
We’re definitely ready for a little recovery this week as we prepare to put together a busy August to cap off the summer training season before school starts up!
Check out some more great photos from Dave here: App Gap Challenge Album
Check out results on the NENSA website here: App Gap Challenge Results
Sign of a busy ski day (Dave P photo)
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