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Success, mistakes, and the cycle of growth

By on 24 March, 2025 in Uncategorized

Notes from Adam’s end-of-season event speech

Our growth and improvement is actually predicated on a series of mistakes.

On the outside maybe it looks like our club’s membership growth, racing success, activity involvement, and program depth have been steadily rising.

This is true when you zoom out…and this shows in statistics, ranking lists, notes from former members, and comments from fellow coaches and clubs.

But think of the improvements everyone in this room has made as a skier…were there falls along the way? Maybe a forgotten pair of boots, or a missed wax job? These are the easy mistakes to relate to, but they were important steps nonetheless because they helped show the full range of what this sport brings.

As the achievements and abilities get higher, the mistakes don’t go away: they just appear in different ways and on a similar plane to the level you’re currently at.

Maybe you haven’t fallen on skis in a year, but in a big race you “fall”, in terms of pace or tempo, behind your closest rival on the racecourse. Maybe you have the right wax, but picked a pair of klister skis for a hardwax race. Most difficult of all, maybe you and your teammates all raced to your potential, but you made a comment at the finish line that was taken the wrong way and knocked someone down emotionally rather than physically.

What’s important is realizing that up close our sport cycle of challenges, mistakes, reflection, and new challenges. It’s a wavy line with lots of ups and down, but it trends upward when handled right. When you pan out, that’s when it can look like a steady path forward and upward.

As we’ve grown and changed as a club, we’ve treaded into new territory for achievement and also mistakes. In some ways we’ve never been stronger, more secure, or more successful…but even in our own region I can find examples of clubs and leaders who have been in similar situations and forgotten the value of not just the successes, but the mistakes as well.

Our challenges lies in balancing the same few things we always have, maybe even in the following order-of-importance:

  • Acknowledging the positives and maintaining them is our core
  • Improving mistakes is our steady growth
  • Seeking new challenges is what keeps everyone excited!

Thanks for a really fun year with MNC, and let’s keep moving forward with both the achievements AND the missteps as our guides.

Junior Nationals 2025

By on 17 March, 2025 in Junior Blog

This season Vermont has seen week-in and week-out of cold temperatures, fresh snow, frozen fingers, and icy wind. The skiing has been the best we’ve had in years.

Yet on the morning of the Eastern Cup classic race in Waterville, Mainem, as we huddled in a wax trailer at -11F and heard the call of a delayed start, I let my mind wander ahead to Junior Nationals.

March at Soldier Hollow in Utah is pretty consistent. It is the definition of spring skiing…sunscreen, 50F, corn snow, and short sleeves. You know, I thought, I’d even take it being minimal snow if that was the week of weather we get at those races…turns out I was pretty on-the-money, as we arrived in Utah to glorious spring skiing and sun! We had an MNC crew of 8 athletes, and we arrived early for a few days of prep at altitude ahead of the big event. The travel was relatively smooth, and our arrival and acclimation seemed to hit just as we wanted. There’s a reason we do a training camp in this exact location each August and we had the data, local knowledge, and familiarity to make the most of it.

Team MNC at the opening ceremonies

It was a frantic week, especially as I was head of service and not actually a “coach” for the week. Most of my time was spend in the wax cabin, but it was an AMAZING experience to spend lots of time with other coaches and leaders from around New England. By far the most fun I’ve had in a “tech” role at a big event.

But the MNC athletes proved they certainly don’t need my physically there cheering them on to kick butt! The races were great, with an individual classic race starting things off. Our club made a statement in the very first race of the whole championships with Acadia, Astrid, and Mia finishing 4th, 5th and 6th! Club followers will not be at all surprised to learn these three finished this individual-start race within the same ten seconds. And in third place, right ahead of our squad, was Brooke Greenberg, MNC skier up until this fall when she and her family moved out to Utah. It was an honorary MNC 3-4-5-6 in this race!

Finishing 4th, 5th, and 6th! Photo by George Forbes

Jorgen takes to the course, with SoHo in all its glory behind (George Forbes photo)

On the skate sprint day it was a chance for some of the older MNC Juniors to shine. With Anders, Niko, and Jonah storming to 3rd, 4th, and 6th in the qualifier it was sure to be a barnburner. The slush got deep, but the skiers persevered. Anders made it to 12th in the U20 B-Final, and in the A-Final for U18 men it was TWO Pugs on the start line, as Jonah and Niko both made it through all of the rounds.

Anders racing to 3rd in the U20 qualifier (George Forbes photo)

The day ended with Niko 5th and Jonah 6th…for the second race in a row, MNC put TWO skiers in the top-6 at this Junior Nationals! What’s more, make that 5 different skiers each with a top-6 result. 

Coach was allowed to run out of the wax room to catch both MNC boys in their A-Final!

The day wasn’t over yet, as Jorgen battled his way to his second JNs top-20 and Acadia overcame being tripped in her quarterfinal to score yet more points for the gang. But much like the older Gorman, it was Mia who made her way all the way through the rounds to the A-Final and matched Jonah’s 6th place! To hit 6th place in a classic distance race and skate sprint showed some serious consistency, but (hint) Mia wasn’t done yet.

Thursday brought a mass start skate race. For the U16s the conditions were fast and icy. It was James’ best race of the week, where he took advantage of the New England conditions to hit top-40 for the first time and produce what might’ve been his best skating race of the season, only 1:48 off the lead in a 7.5k race. Continuing to improve, Jorgen narrowly missed out on a top-10 finish in 12th.

James skating strong (photo by George Forbes)

In the U16 women’s race Mia, Acadia and Astrid skied right up near the front. When the race started to string out, Mia held strong and ended up…you guessed it, 6th place once again! That made it a 3-for-3 in 6th place finishes in each individual race. Pretty cool!

As the sun continued to turn the course into total slush, it was time for Niko to play the tactical game of staying consistent and moving up throughout his race. Much like the Waterville mass start, he moved up nonstop, passing about 10 people on each lap to end up with a really great distance race! It was another busy day with plenty of action.

You know that Astrid and dynamic skating technique go hand-in-hand (photo by George Forbes)

On relay day, MNC athletes helped their combined teams to fight through an absolutely BRUTAL weather and snow day, with soft slush giving way to epic snowstorms at 32 degrees. Zeros were flying out of the wax room, klister was dripping across skis, hardwax was frantically rubbed onto kick zones…it was absolute insanity.

When all the dust settled, it was Intermountain and Alaska both coming out on top of the team scores for the week, with New England in third place. Since the early 2000s New England has rarely lost at Junior Nationals. To not win is one thing, but to be beaten by TWO regions is somewhat unheard of. This is akin to Norway being beaten by both Sweden and Finland in the same event…what does this say?

Well, for one, MNC skiers certainly did their part to help out Team New England. Our club was 11th overall in the club standings, just shy of GMVS and the top-10. What’s more, our women’s score was 10th overall, and our men’s score was 11th overall, showing great depth and parity in our athlete’s abilities.

JNs club team score, combined men and women

While it is great to be one of the strongest clubs in the region alongside friends like Ford Sayre and GMVS, we can certainly contribute more. That doesn’t necessarily mean just more strong results from MNC athletes…that’s always a goal, but I think there is something to be said for continuing to raise the bar in our area.

Did you know that for the first time, Vermont did NOT field a full women’s team at the NENSA U16 Championships? Did you also know that, inspired by New England, a few years ago the Intermountain region established a “Western Regional Championships” similar to U16 and EHS races in our area, in order to better facilitate racing options and skier development? They also began putting together youth festivals and more fun, engaging events for younger skiers after taking a nod from our very own BKL Festival.

Change did not happen right away, but is it any surprise that, about 4-5 years after introducing these events and opportunities, suddenly Intermountain jumps ahead of not only Alaska but also New England at Junior Nationals?

I think those additions played a huge role in expanding competition opportunities and growing the sport. It feels like the pressure to make JNs is so high in New England that opportunities like EHS can feel like a “consolation prize” instead of a really important event…but I think this story about Intermountain and their rise to success after implementing very similar races teaches a very important lesson about valuing and making the best out of any and every opportunity we get as racers, coaches, techs, and leaders.

Something to think about, and something a big club like ours can play a role in positively shaping and affecting!

 

Pascal’s Birkie Recap

By on 3 March, 2025 in Masters Blog

Pascal provides the following great recap from the American Birkiebeiner, the biggest XC ski race in America! There are also a great collection of photos which I couldn’t quite get to re-size into this post, but will work on that!

Mansfield Nordic Club Masters at the 2025 American Birkebeiner

Two weekends ago, a group of MNC masters traveled out to Wisconsin for the American Birkebeiner. Our group included myself, Renate Adamowicz, Steve Hunter, Owen Lenz and Chris Flannery. For Renate, Owen, Chris and myself, this was our first “Birkie” while Steve has done the race several times. In addition to our group, Colin Pogue, Chase Rosenberg, and Lukas Adamowicz from MNC also competed in the race.

We had all trained hard through the winter in preparation for the race. It was great to have so many good MNC practices at Sleepy Hollow through December and January. However, unlike Vermont, Wisconsin was not having a good snow year. There was snow cover in the Cable to Hayward area in late January but it was minimal and there was not enough on the ground to use the full 50k course. The Birkie race organizers were looking at the possibility of having to do a shortened course or multiple loop course like they did last year. Fortunately, it stayed very cold in the Midwest and the Cable/Hayward area got small storms in early February to gradually add to the base. On February 10th, the race organizers were able to give the good news that there was enough snow to do the full course starting in Cable and finishing in downtown Hayward. We would be able to get the full Birkie experience.

We left Burlington on the Thursday before the race and had smooth flights to Chicago and Minneapolis. We then drove 2 hours to Hayward and arrived there early afternoon. We had time to go to the Expo and pick up our bibs and gear bags before going to our spacious Airbnb in Spooner which was about 45 minutes away from Hayward. This worked out well for Chris as he was doing the 30k Korte Loppet the next day. The highlight of the Expo was seeing the Untapped table. Untapped was providing all the fuel and hydration out on the course.

On Friday, Chris left early in the morning to get to the start of his race. The rest of us drove into Hayward later in the morning to get a short ski in and watch Chris’s finish. The Birkie course was closed but we found out that were several trail options in the Hayward area. We ended up finding a small network of trails behind the hospital close to town. The trails were very beginner friendly and nicely groomed with two sets of classic tracks. Not good for skaters like Owen and Steve but great for Renate and I who were doing the classic Birkie the next day.

We then parked our car at the spectator lot in Hayward and took the shuttle bus to the finish area in downtown Hayward to see Chris. Steve was familiar with the finishing stretch of the course and suggested we walk out onto the lake to see Chris come in before going up and over the International Bridge to the finish. That ended up being a great place to watch the end of the race. You could see a steady stream of skiers in the distance on the lake. There were a group of college students lined up along this last section of the lake blasting techno music, shaking cowbells, and cheering loudly for the skiers coming in. This perked up a few skiers who would do little dances on their skis. It was inspiring to see so many skiers of different abilities out on the course and seeming to have a good time doing it.

Chris finished his race close to 2:00 and after getting some lunch in town, we headed back to the Expo and then to our Airbnb to get ready for the next day. For Renate and I, that meant getting down to the business of putting kick wax on our skis. We had opted to wax our own skis while Owen, Steve and Chris wisely took advantage of the waxing services of Gear West. It was a little daunting trying to choose from the different wax company recommendations for the race but basically whatever brand of wax you used, it seemed to come down to some combination of a binder with layers of hard wax as the snow out on the course was supposed to be firm powder. We ended up going with the Toko recommendations as their rep did the best job of explaining how their waxes would work, alternating layers of green base binder and blue hard wax. Renate had great kick throughout the race while I ended up starting to slip a little about 20k into the race and stopped twice after that to add Toko red and then Swix purple. Although I added several extra minutes to my time for these stops, it seemed like a good decision after watching many people struggle to get up the final hills on the course while I was able to get up them more easily.

We had an early start on Saturday, leaving our Airbnb at 6:00 to make sure that we had enough time to get through traffic and get to the Birkie Ridge parking lot for the bus to the start of the race at the Mt. Telemark ski area. It was tricky to plan our time because we were all in different waves with different start times with my wave being the earliest at 9:10. As it turned out, we were able to beat the traffic crunch and got to the start area a little after 7:00. It was still very chilly in the starting area, so we crowded ourselves in with hundreds of other excited and nervous people in the warming building to wait for our waves to start. Time seemed to go by quickly between briefly testing skis to making final clothing adjustments, dropping off our gear bags and visits to the port-a-let.

The process for getting to the starting line was very systematic and well-organized. At 8:55, I got into the 3rd pen for my wave, at 9:00 moved to the 2nd pen, and then finally at 9:05 to the pen for the starting line. Five minutes later, the start signal went off and my wave left with the next wave going five minutes later. I had the benefit of being in the 70-year-old age group which was given a special wave of its own right behind wave 2. As much as that gave me the opportunity to ski freely at the beginning of the race, it also caused me to go out too fast and by 5k, I could feel myself slowing down. Had I known about all of the hills to come, I might have gone out more conservatively. In the end, all the waves get mixed together anyway and you’re skiing with people from many different waves so finding a pace that works for you seems important to do.

For the first half of the race, the classic skiers ski a separate, parallel course to the skaters and then both groups join up a little after the 20k mark. This separate course adds 3k to the distance for the classic skiers, but you have the benefit of having at least 3 tracks to ski in. Once the merging happens, the classic tracks get reduced to 2, and sometimes 1 or none. It is a mind boggling experience to join a continuous stream of skiers that are all skiing close together at different paces.

During the second half of the race, the snow on the uphills turned into mashed potatoes. This created a bottleneck of skaters and classic skiers trying to get traction to get up the hills. Despite these conditions, the groomers did a great job with preparing the course and making it safe for the skiers. There were good classic tracks on most of the course and no icy downhills or bare ground.

The most enjoyable part of the course might have been the last section on the lake. From there, you could see the town water tower in the distance, so you knew you were close to the finish. Coming off the lake, you went up a small hill and left on a street that took you to the bottom of the International Bridge which spans over the main road in town, Route 63. The climb up the bridge and descent down it was short but steep. The day before, we had seen someone lose their balance and do a headfirst slide down the hill, so I was very conscious of not leaning too far forward when I got to the top of the bridge. Once down the hill, it was a quarter mile on Main Street to the finish. There was a lot of noise from the crowd, but I could still hear Chris and Steve cheering me on. A little later, I got to join them and Owen to cheer Renate as she finished. She probably had the biggest smile of all of us going down Main St. to the finish.

Once we each got through the finish area, it was on to collecting our baggage and going to the changing and food tents. One of the coolest things about doing the Birkie is the recognition you get from people on the street. They would see the sticker with the number “1” on your bib and immediately congratulate you on finishing your first Birkie. It felt like you had just gotten your high school graduation diploma. And speaking of numbers, we didn’t get a chance to see Colin after the race, but he had an amazing performance finishing in 7th place in the classic division!

I think all of us first timers would say that it was an amazing experience on many levels. There is no question that it is a hard race, but it is so much more than just a race. It’s a celebration of cross-country skiing and an adventure that you want to experience again. We now know what “Birkie Fever” is all about.

 

Training Block/State Meet

By on 24 February, 2025 in Uncategorized

It is a busy time of year for the juniors. As we head into the “championship season” we have a lot of different irons in multiple fires. On one hand, we want to be putting in some training time while we have a little while until events like Junior Nationals, Eastern HS Championships, and U16s. In the midst of this window is also the State Championships. So it is a balancing act, but on Wednesday everyone is aligned once again!

You can see a little recap video of the first day of States over at WCAX. You may see some familiar MNC names and skiers both racing and being interviewed! Tuesday is the classic edition down at Prospect…good luck everybody!

For those not racing in the high school league, we’ve gotten the training block underway with several longer days, including a really nice ski at Camel’s Hump Nordic! This is a really great under-the-radar ski area that has lots of trails, cool terrain (including some fun descents both groomed and backcountry) and grooming with a Pisten Bully…this great winter of snow allowed us to ski the whole place.

We’re in for a few days of warmer weather, but the skiing should remain great up there and it’s worth checking out.

 

A Keep-building Year

By on 18 February, 2025 in Junior Blog, Uncategorized

Fresh snow. Fierce wind. Cold air. We’ve hit on a pattern this winter, and while we are relishing some of the best snow in years (maybe a decade?) there can be too much of a good thing, it turns out. Heavy snow, dangerous roads, and extremely violent winds big roles in our final Eastern Cup weekend, but we were 100% “go mode” until the very last second!

Things actually got going with races on Friday. By virtue of his competitive sprint points, Anders was granted start rights in the EISA Middlebury Carnival classic sprint, where he qualified for the heats and battled right to the line! A really cool way to start things off.

UNH, Middlebury, Laval, UNH, MNC, Dartmouth

On Saturday it was time for the whole team to lay down an individual start classic race. We’re pretty darn strong at classic skiing, and the U16/EHS Qualifier a week prior had given us a nice bit of “home field advantage” as the course was just a slightly longer version of that 3km event.

Like any year, JNs looms large over the last Eastern Cup. I’ll reiterate what I believe I said after the first weekend…In 2024 we qualified an astonishing 10 skiers to the Junior National Team. Soon after, we graduated 7 of skiers into collegiate programs, while another two skiers moved (literally!) to other states. With that background, I’m happy to admit my own mistake in underestimating our group of athletes this year. I told one parent of another club that it felt like a rebuilding year was on the cards, but right away from the first Eastern Cup I was proven wrong. That same parent sent me a note after those races: “I thought you said it was a rebuilding year? It doesn’t look like it to me.”

Throughout the year I was proven wrong about this re-building phase again and again…so I will henceforth refer to ’24/’25 as the keep-building phase, where we proved our ability to continue learning from our previous hard work, teammates, and former accomplishments and put those skills and lessons to work right away. Even with a younger and less experienced team of racers, the MNC Juniors didn’t miss a beat.

In the men’s 10km Pat, Niko, Lorenzo and Jonah all skied great on trails that required the smoothest classic skiing finesse you could imagine. Starting one bib apart, Jonah and Lorenzo skied basically the whole race together, while a few bibs up ahead Niko continued a very impressive string of distance races to solidify his spot on the JN team.

Back to 100% health after a busy stint in Europe competing in biathlon, Seven absolutely tore it up and proved that she would’ve been more than in with a shout at going to Soldier Hollow with a few more races: but how can you turn down the chance to race in Poland and Germany, and often as the top American competitor in her field to boot? This sport is always a game of tradeoffs…whether it be kick and glide, or one race trip or another. Charlotte held strong in another big classic race that should set her up really well for the upcoming State meet!

Seven continuing our club’s trend of “biathletes who are really strong classic skiers”

For the U16 racers it was a single lap of the 5km course, and starting bib 1 was James. It is almost inevitable that nearly every club will have someone “on the bubble” for JNs on the last weekend. James was sitting in a tie for the final spot on the U16 boys roster, meaning it could very well come down to this weekend. With all that pressure, AND the intimidating situation of starting bib 1 on a one-lap course (meaning James would just have to essentially grind out a solo timetrial with no competition but his own breath and muscles) it could be easy to crumble. But James did the opposite and stormed up every hill, carrying speed into the descents and across every part of the course like you wouldn’t believe. It was obvious watching him that it was his best day yet, and indeed he landed on the podium for the first time!

Atop the podium was Jorgen, aka “Mr Rikert” as I call him, because he is from just down the road and is always espousing how wonderous these trails are. Jorgen used true home course advantage to ski to a dominant win, and having his best race of the season and first top-20 was Gabe who also can claim home course advantage as another member of our “Addison County MNC Contingent.” With his health back under him, Isaiah completed the grouping of our really strong U16 boys.

Gabe up at the last climb before the long descent to the stadium

While it was fun to sweep the U16 girls podium in Waterville at Eastern Cup #3, the thing about sweeping spots 1-2-3 is…you need three people to do it! Astrid was out sick, having stayed home from school during the week overcoming a fever. It was tough to miss this one for Astrid because she loves to classic ski at Rikert, and sickness aside her current form would’ve put her in a strong position yet again. Nothing indicates you are a real racer at heart like wavering back-and-forth about racing when deep down it’s not for the best, and as a coach I’m really proud of Astrid’s resolve.

Everybody will be sick at some point, and miss critical races: it’s just a fact! We can do our best to control it, but there will always be the risk.

If a 1-2-3 wasn’t going to happen, Mia and Acadia were not going to rest and made sure at the very least a 1-2 happened, with Mia storming to her first Eastern Cup win. After leading the classic race in Waterville before her crash, and then putting together an insanely impressive classic race against older (and internationally-experienced) competition at the EHS qualifier a week prior, you just had the sense that all the pieces were coming together for Mia. She particularly stormed through the long third cloverleaf section of the course with intent, and captured the win by 30 seconds. Acadia joined Mia right on the next step, making it a 1-2 finish!

At the end of the day, it was hard not to feel both excitement and relief. Skiers on the bubble for JNs, like James, had put together some of their best races. Others had continued upward trends toward their goals and shown just how far they’ve come in a really competitive field.

The following day, we awoke to lots of new snow. Driving up the gap, the winds continued to get stronger and stronger…until we reached the venue where fences were blown sideways, tree debris littered the trails, and the race had been called off. It was a bit of a subdued end to the Eastern Cup season, but safety took precedence.

It also meant the end of the Junior Ranking List…MNC is sending 8 athletes to Junior Nationals! I believe in a quick count that we are (for the second year in a row) matched with Green Mountain Valley School as the club sending the most athletes as a part of team New England. Ford Sayre and Craftsbury are not far behind, meaning the depth and competitiveness within our immediate area is really the strongest in our region, if not the whole country. Junior Nationals is a big goal for so many of our skiers, and there will always be amazing skiers who do not get to experience this trip. However, it’s important to realize that those on the JN team certainly wouldn’t have gotten there without having their friends and teammates challenge them, push them, and help everyone grow together. Pugs all the way!

Pug Podiums…featuring our “campaign sign” of the season: LOCK IN, DON’T WALK IN

If you’d like to support the MNC athletes headed to JNs as they embark on this (absurdly-expensive) journey, you can do so at the fundraising page below! Thanks!

Help MNC skiers compete at JNs!

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