Author Archive | Kort Longenbach

Masters All Over NE

By Kort Longenbach on 5 February, 2018 in Masters Blog

Women’s Gold Medal Relay Team @ World Masters

Our MNC Masters could be seen all over New England this past weekend, participating in various races and social events. The weekend kicked off with a headlamp ski and potluck, graciously hosted by Jim Fredericks and JoAnn Hanowski at their home. Despite the chilly temps, many Masters went for a great evening ski on the freshly groomed trails, See more photos of the evening here.

Also, Jim and JoAnn had recently returned from a trip to World Masters in Minneapolis, where JoAnn was part of the Gold Metal US relay team!

Jarlath the Iceman

Closer to home, several MNC members made an appearance at the John Roderick Marathon in Maine. Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne skied the 50k in the threads of our local affiliate ING and posing for the classic frosted beard photo. Also, representing MNC was an ex-Junior, now college aged skier Charlie Cobb who skied the 25k. Great job gentlmen!

John Roderick Marathon Results

Mike reflecting on the race.

Andy feeling the spirit and a little something extra on the skis.

Not to be outdone, a group of Masters joined the Juniors at Craftsbury for the 10/15K FS event on Sunday. MNC Masters laying it on the line were Joann Hanowski, Andy Bishop, Mike Millar and Michael Gaughan. More Photos

Results can be found here:Eastern Cup 10k/15K FS

After a great showing by our Masters these past two weekends you can tell winter is in full swing. But don’t stop now, there are more events to come including the Bretton Woods Marathon as well as the MNC Skiathlon and MNC’s new racer friendly NENSA Club Relay Championship.

Ooops.. swapped poles.

By Kort Longenbach on 5 January, 2018 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

A few instances of swapped poles this week…

Found:
> Tues: A pair silver Swix Poles ~170cm, presently left with Coach Adam at the Range.
> Thurs: A pair of black & white Swix 140cm poles. To be brought to the range next Tues.

Looking for:
> Pair of Black & Silver 155 cm Swix poles (if found bring to range and Coach Adam or Liam).
> Pair of red/black/white Swix skate poles – They say “Katz” on a small white label. (info text
Jennifer 802-373-0893)

Reader Submission: A parent’s reflection on Ft. Kent

By Kort Longenbach on 18 December, 2017 in Junior Blog

By Gary Ricther

Regarding this past weekend’s event at Ft. Kent, Maine, Adam will no doubt provide his usual encouraging, realistic, useful, professionally written observations and reflections.

It may have been the simple, practical fact that it is now our son driving US to and from the events, giving me more time to reflect, or that paradigm responsibility shift from driver to passenger, and/or that amazing sunset that we drove into for those hours along that long, straight Trans Canada highway, but so many things struck me about what Mansfield Nordic Club is doing right. Whether this is exactly what Murray Banks had in mind,… and since has been carried on by enthusiasts like Andy Grab, Tim (Grampa) Weston, (you know you have reached a certain status when the kids nickname you), now Adam (Dad) Terko,….stuff is happening that is good.

Totally skipping any performance details, look at the distance and expense that MNC community members incurred this past weekend for the Eastern Cup event in Ft. Kent, ME. Regrets? – zippo,…really reveled in the weekend. +6 degrees, -15 with windchill,…bring it on – we had many skiers, many parents and supporters. We coordinated, chipped in, loaned, hauled stuff for the team, loaned personal larger vehicles! (Victoria & Dave – wow, thanks!), hauled bodies, had great nibblies and solid food, had firepit and wood at the ready if circumstances would have allowed. It was great to see things like the amount of crossover from MNC to the greater nordic community, with many alumni skiing for the academies, but still chumming with our crowd, as always, cheering on other skiers and teams, supporting skiers from throughout our state and beyond, cooling down together while covering the inevitable race postmortem, one of our den-mothers jumping in the ambulance, having a fun team dinner and the discipline and benefit of a Saturday night team meeting. Also to have individuals new and old get to know other club members better, confide and learn and teach, sometimes for hours in the rooms at night, and to see and be inspired by other skiers from all teams, like wildman-Glueck, whom Sharon and Gary hosted – to see him totally laying it all out there, then come by and visit in our wax/food room and chat uniforms, and newcomer young Jenny W. from Maine who is now a remote but full-fledged blue-green wearing family member (whom we hosted this past summer) – what a fun contribution!

And if you’re counting,… interested to see how many podium skiers wore blue/green on the outside, or have been touched by MNC in one way or another and feel some blue/green on the inside,…well,….it was a lot. More than ever, weekends like this make me realize it just doesn’t matter. We had a gas, with old friends and new.

So I for one feel an enormous gratitude to Murray, Andy, Rosemary, Ken, Kort, Sharon and others whose efforts have brought us to the point we’re at now. It is how it should be. We are truly casting a wider shadow than that of the Green Mountains, and we and others are all the better for it. Isn’t it great with all the other crap going on in America and around the world that our nordic community can be so right and so good?! And speaking of mountains, Adam is doing a mountain of work and effort to hit that ideal blend of fun and performance for so many of the kids, and I am happy to say has inspired our kid to carry on in his style by now giving back after 11? years (OMG, really? that went by) by helping with BKL. Unsolicited, he brings fun stories back already. Here’s hoping others will join him as the next generation to keep our community in the spirit that we experienced this past weekend. I know I will be reminded how right it all was, if by nothing else, on cold days the rest of this season, for the small kiss Jack Frost gave me on one of my cheeks.

Winter Masters Training FAQ

By Kort Longenbach on 4 December, 2017 in Masters Training Schedule, Uncategorized

Weekly Training Plans:

The technique (skate or classic) and training information will be published Sunday evening in our Masters Training Doc. However, due to often rapidly changing snow conditions please plan to review the Snow Report and Masters Training Doc around 3PM to confirm the plan for the day.

If you are unsure or if conditions are likely to change, consider bringing both skate and classic equipment. Additionally, early in the season please be prepared for dry land training (ie sneakers & bounding poles) or alternate locations (the Notch, Sleepy,…).

Session Start Times:

We ask that all Masters have skis on and be on snow by the planned session start times (3:45 & 6:00PM). Being on snow on time helps our Masters Coaches keep sessions organized, avoids having fellow skiers standing in the cold and maximizes ski time.

On Classic ski evenings please plan to arrive early to wax or get wax advice from the coaches if needed. Early in the season we also encourage those new to Masters to arrive a early in order to get acquainted with the coaches and coaching groups.

Coaching Coverage:

Afternoon Session(3:45 – 5:15PM):

Afternoon sessions will be lead by Coach Christa.

Evening Session (6:00 – 7:30PM):

Tuesdays: Will be our full coaching day where we plan to have three coaches and three ability groups. Blue: Experienced Skiers, White = Intermediate Green = Novice/Beginner. If you arrive late and miss the group gathering, a white board will be available directing you the the general direction of your group.

Thursday: (1) Coach Liam will lead drills and activities for those wanting additional instruction, (2) others will ski freely or according to a prescribed workout plan. (Check-in with Coach Liam. He will provide tips and suggestions for self guided drills/activities).

Race Training Plans:

For those who purchased race training plans Coach Adam will be reaching out to you to build your plan.

Parking Reminder

Please plan to park in the large parking lot on the left side before the grooming equipment building. Access to the trails and Walker building can be obtained through the tunnels that go beneath the ski trails. Please do not park on the side of the road near the smaller lot at the top of the hill.

Masters Rollerski TT 2017

By Kort Longenbach on 29 October, 2017 in Masters Blog

With less fanfare than our Juniors, the MNC Masters have been out there getting ready for the season. Strength training and running groups have been meeting regularly, and will continue until the snow flies. Our roller ski crew has been racking up the mileage with a mix of roll’s on Wednesday’s with the ING crew and Sunday’s with MNC’s Coach Rick.

As we get closer to the start of the season, the weekend rollerskiers have gradually been adding both distance and an at speed component. The prior weekend to this past, the ski in Georgia covered 20 miles including a 4 mi tempo portion at the beginning. This past weekend featured the fifth running of our Southridge 6K time trial.

The TT route follows a series of three loops, each loop featuring a climb to the top of the neighborhood, followed by what typically can be a slight downhill recovery for the next lap. However, as with the prior year, a stiff head wind out of the south kept the skiers working and from taking advantage of the recovery section. But despite those head winds, a broken pole and a wrong turn or so, most group members were able to improve their times over last season. To see this years and past season’s results click here.