Blog | Mansfield Nordic Club

Masters Ski at Trapps

By Rosemary Shea-Cobb on 6 February, 2024 in Masters Blog

MNC Masters met at Trapps this past Sunday. We were greeted with a spectacular blue ski, no wind, clear and dry day. The group was equally balanced in numbers with skaters and classic skiers and broke off into two groups. It turned out that both groups had the same thing in mind- We passed and met up with each other in various spots. One group was headed down the Haul Road from the Cabin and the other coming up. After that, time was spent on the race course and various other lower trails. We even met up with MNC guest coaches Pennie and Leigh and sang Pennie ‘Happy Birthday’ in front of the yurt. Some of the group needed to leave around noon to tend to animals and children at home. Those with less commitments that day, enjoyed lunch at the Kaffeehaus together. A great ski on a beautiful bluebird day!

Masters’ Olympic Games Day

By Rosemary Shea-Cobb on 5 February, 2024 in Masters Blog

Last Tuesday, Masters afternoon and evening skiers tapped into their “inner child” and had an Olympic Games Day in honor of the Youth Olympics being held in South Korea. After forming teams and coming up with a team country and cheer, the teams competed in a cone shuttle relay, speedball and relay towing. Lots of fun for all and photos are below!

Relay towing.

Speedball on the penalty loop.

Cone shuttle relay.

Afternoon speedball.

High-speed towing relays!

Craftsbury Marathon Re-cap

By Rosemary Shea-Cobb on 5 February, 2024 in Masters Blog, Uncategorized

Women lined up for the start of the Classic Craftsbury Marathon Women’s wave.

Fifty-nine women and one hundred and fourteen men lined up for the Craftsbury Marathon Classic 25 or 50k on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. Among them were five MNC masters women and and six MNC masters men. The course would be a 13.5 km loop: two times round for the 25k and three times round for a shortened 50k. With the MNC wax trailer parked in the lot and coaches Rosemary, Adam and Kristen testing wax and dialing in the structure, we quickly klistered up everyone’s skis for good kick. Coach Rosemary then set up a bench trailside with the klister roller ready to give anyone who needed it a little more kick during the race! A little “wax security” goes a long way for a worry free race! Congratulations to Chase Rosenberg, Pascal Cheng, Michael Dillon, Craig Peppin, Jim Adkisson, Andres Torrizo (age class winner), Sara Katz, Karen Alence, Jen Adkisson, Ellie Bouffard and Liz Hollenbach (age class winner) for kick and gliding the distance and having a great time doing it! In addition, we had two Devo skiers ski the 25k with Coaches Adam and Kristen. Congrats to Liam Vile and Oakley Crawford!

This is a Marathon weekend, and that meant a skate 30 km on Sunday. MNC had twelve men and four women compete in Sunday’s skate race. Congrats to Michael Gaughan, Sam Seely, Mike Millar, Owen Lenz, Brian Sprague, Chris Howell, Duncan Dubief (Jr), Chris Flannery, Gretta Kilburn (age class winner), Sheila Weaver and Coach Rosemary (age class winner).

Extra kudos go out to Sara Katz, Michael Dillon and Pascal Cheng who all raced BOTH days, completing the “Brodhead Challenge”, skiing essentially almost 80 km over the course of the two days and proving that they are incredibly fit and tough! Hats off to all three of you!

Women head up the teaching hill.

The BKL Division start.

The MNC Trailside Klister Station!

BKL Info Feb 5-11

By Liz Hollenbach on 5 February, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule

It’s MNC Skiathlon week! This is our “home” ski race for all ages and proceeds go to support the MNC scholarship fund. Everyone is invited to race or come cheer and check out the scene (details and registration link below). At practice this week kids that are planning to race will do some skiathlon practice. Tuesday we will practice with just our classic equipment and Thursday we’ll practice with skate boots and both skate and classic skis and poles.

BKL Fest Volunteering: Our friends at Frost Mountain Nordic have asked us to spread the word that they are looking for some more volunteers for the NENSA BKL Festival (March 2+3). Please check it out and sign up for a spot if you are available. Frost Mountain Nordic: Bill Koch League Festival at Rikert (signupgenius.com)

Bring a Water Bottle! This time of year we start to do more trail skis at practice- everyone is working hard and getting thirsty. If you have some type of little waist pack, water bottle holder or camel back at home it would be a great to bring it to practice to carry water while skiing. These don’t have to be fancy, just secure around the waist and hold a bottle. You can also bring a full water bottle and leave it at the edge of the trail near the metal fence below the Walker Building. Coaches have been working on stopping for water breaks along the way. Reminder: the water in the Walker Building is not potable. We are also working on collecting some hand me down water bottle holders. Let us know if your child would like one bkl@mansfieldnordic.org.

Last couple days to order Neon Pink and Yellow Sweatshirts! We’ve reopened the online MNC Apparel Shop for youth, men’s and women’s clothing. Orders due by February 7th at midnight. Order Here

BKL Sub-Groups | Parent Volunteer signup sheet | BKL Season Long Schedule

Tuesday 2/6: Penguins, Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes & Racers
Location: The Range
Details: Classic for ALL – Devos check out the Junior training doc

Practice Waxing Info: If you raced this past weekend at Sleepy you can ski on your race wax one more time. Forecast is for mid 20s and it may be something like violet klister. You could also try a warm hard wax like Toko Yellow. We’ll have the wax bench setup inside the Walker Building and will have wax available.

Racers, Liz’s Jack Rabbit Group and any child doing the Skiathlon: we will practice some ski changes in just classic equipment today.

If there are any Arctic Foxes or Grade 3/4 Jack Rabbits (1/2 Racers do a classic loop only) interested in racing the Skiathlon, bring classic equipment and join Racers and Liz’s Group for Skiathlon practice. Let your coach know and they will help connect you.

Thursday 2/8: Jack Rabbits, Arctic Foxes, Racers & Devos
Location: The Range
Details: Skate

Racers, Devos, Liz’s Jack Rabbit Group and any Arctic Fox or Grade 3/4 Jack Rabbit doing the Skiathlon: Wear the boots you use for skating and bring both Skate & Classic Equipment for Skiathlon Practice. Let your coach know and they will help connect you with a group that’s practicing Skiathlon.

Saturday 2/10: Skiathlon at Sleepy Hollow
Online registration closes Fri 2/9 at 5pm (BKL $12 and lollipop free)
Day of race registration is also available (BKL $20 and lollipop free)
Let coaches know you are coming: Racer Sign Up List
If you are coming to Sleepy help make cookies for BKL Prizes: Sign Up to Bring Cookies

MNC Team Info and We’ll also email it to families on the Racer Sign Up List.

Looking ahead: Next week we are planning to do the Mini-Marathon (the exact day is TBD and will be based on weather and conditions). At the Mini-Marathon we all ski on the 1km loop and kids can ski at their own pace with friends and coaches. We need some parent volunteers to bring snacks, help at the snack table and count laps. Mini-Marathon Sign Up

The BKL Water Bottle Holder Project

By Liz Hollenbach on 5 February, 2024 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule, Masters Blog

The thirsty and hard working kids of the Mansfield Nordic Club Bill Koch Youth Ski League are looking for donations of hand-me-down water bottle holders for xc skiing or running. We don’t need water bottles, just the holder. Do you have a water bottle holder that you aren’t using any more? Have you upgraded, but still have your old one?

This is an example of the kind of water bottle holder donations we are looking for.

Let us know and we can coordinate a pickup. Or bring your donation to the Walker Building at the Range and drop it off in the box on the picnic tables. bkl@mansfieldnordic.org