Blog | Mansfield Nordic Club

Beautiful fall training

By Adam Terko on 1 October, 2023 in Junior Blog

The cool nights and bright, crisp days have made for amazing training this past week! From leaves crunching under the rollerski wheels, to colorful backdrops on dirt road runs, you can’t really beat this time of year.

After a busy weekend with two races in Lake Placid, it was nice to take a step back and focus on some basics…on Tuesday and Thursday we stuck to mostly easy distance skiing and technique work at the Range, and we visited Sleepy Hollow for some running intervals on Wednesday.

We ran into Eli in the parking lot and asked him about some trail work, and the date is now official: join us this coming Wednesday, 10/4, for some trailwork (limb trimming, debris clearing, log hauling) at Sleepy! We’ll go for a short run at 4pm (30-45 minutes) and then head out to the Sap Run and Upper Saddle trails. Tools will be provided.

On Saturday, a group piled into the van and headed to one of our favorite roads for smooth, gradual, scenic classic skiing…Road 101 at Smuggs! The views never disappoint, and the striding was looking pro.

Behind the scenes…if you’ve ever wondered how some of our smoothest video clips get created, Sara is shown here demonstrating the way it’s done. This is how the coaches get their speed workouts in; lots of running at rollerski pace!

Nothing beats a Vermont dirt road in the fall, and while many of our XC running athletes got plenty of strides in at race over the weekend, a smaller group got out for a scenic on-foot tour of Richmond and Huntington via Wes White hill, Mayo Rd, and Dugway Rd.

We’re heading into another busy week. With a government shutdown avoided, we’re happy to be able to continue skiing on the rollerski loop which is ever more critical as daylight fades. Speaking of fading daylight and changing seasons…

Check out this post on rollerski safety

Don’t forget about the MNC apparel order

If you still need to get skis together for stonegrinding, here is the info (skis go south this coming Friday!)

The Skirack ski swap is this weekend, and the MNC ski swap will be on October 29th!

Fall rollerski safety

By Adam Terko on 29 September, 2023 in Junior Blog, Masters Blog

The days are getting shorter, and so it’s time for the annual re-post of this article from Fasterskier outlining safety tips and guidelines from US Ski and Snowboard with regard to rollerskiing on open roads.

Rollerski Safety Best Practices

We have an order on the way for several small lights that can be affixed to helmets or modified to fit on water belts during training sessions. These are ideally to be used in a situation where athletes do not have/forget to bring a light of their own going forward this fall. MNC encourages all rollerskiers to purchase a small “bicycle or running light” either online or at a local store, whether you are a Junior or Masters athlete. The cheaper options for these are only a couple of dollars and could literally save your life!

See below for a screenshot from a recent US Ski Team email. In his note to athletes regarding their upcoming Park City training camp:

In addition to always wearing high-visibility clothing on the roads, please be conscious of your routes and skiing organization (single file vs across a lane).

When we rollerski, we not only represent MNC as a club, but our sport as a whole. For the most part, we live in an extremely rollerski-friendly part of the country…not everyone is so lucky, and that access/friendliness is not a guarantee or a right.

Let’s all be safe whenever we are our training!

Rounding the final curve to end the last ski

Castle Conquest Recap

By Adam Terko on 26 September, 2023 in Junior Blog

This past weekend was the Castle Conquest, a big rollerski racing event in Lake Placid. The weekend featured a skate sprint at the new rollerski track on Saturday, and the legendary Climb to the Castle race on Sunday.

MNC partnered with the team from Gould Academy to share in some housing, meals, and camaraderie. It was fun to see another team operates a lot like ours…rolling in with coolers and boxes of food, coaches willing to crash on the floor and couches, teams groggily getting their gear ready to race early in the morning under constant prodding…thanks to Ben, Jacob and the whole Gould squad for connecting with us!

There was fierce competition at the race from the likes of SMS T2 (including a few Olympians and World Cup skiers) as well as local Juniors and athletes from Paul Smiths College. There was a noticeable lack of collegiate participation, which I touched on in another post, but that didn’t stop the racing action from being intense.

The “royal court” format meant everyone raced a qualifier and multiple heats. Taylor got to go up against World Champs sprint medalist Julia Kern…pretty cool!

Both Sara and I were running around frantically capturing video and photos from the Saturday of sprint racing…with a course that loops around to make for great spectating, it was inspiring to see MNC and other Junior athletes not only racing head-to-head with others their age, but also folks like Ben Ogden, Julia Kern, and Lauren Jortberg…it’s a very small world of Nordic skiing, and these athletes are all incredibly approachable. A couple of our juniors recently stopped-in at the Richmond farmers market to get some dinner from Ben Ogden’s new weekly hotdog stand. That’s about as “old school Vermont” as it can get for a skier.

Jonah and Lorenzo found themselves battling in multiple heats!

Junior women’s podium. Virginia, Elsa, and hey, that’s Ava!

Junior men’s podium, Ellis + Anders + Niko

We competed in this race last year, and it was cool to see that on the same skis and in the same weather conditions, those that raced prior (Elsa, Anders, Niko) all had significantly faster qualifying times than their 2022 efforts! Spoiler alert: the same would hold true for the next day!

Video from the qualifier, featuring mostly MNC skiers (+ a few special celebrities and guests)

Sunday brought the epic Climb to the Castle. In contrast to a speedy sprint with a rapid downhill finish at max mph, Sunday morning was a grueling 5-mile ascent of Whiteface Mountain.

This year, everyone was greeted by clear skies, which can be rare at this event! The MNC squad had another great day…some tagged onto World Cup skiers to claw their way up the hill. Others joined packs of fellow Juniors or Masters, and some spent part of the race in between groups stoically grinding their way up the hill.

In all cases, the efforts were incredible and inspiring. A special shout-out to Duncan who competed in his first rollerski race this day. What a way to kick things off! Most hills this season will feel quite short by comparison! Duncan even scored a podium in the 5km race to start off his rollerski race career on a strong note.

Scenic podium with a view!

Castle Conquest Photo Album

We’re already looking forward to next year!

Welcome to our NEW head coaches!

By Adam Terko on 26 September, 2023 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule, Masters Blog, Masters Training Schedule, Uncategorized

Please help me in giving a big WELCOME to our newest MNC head coaches! We are very excited to welcome Liz Hollenbach and Michael Stearns to leadership roles with Mansfield Nordic.

Liz has been involved with the club for many years contributing to BKL coaching, as well as having two children in the program. Michael recently returned to Vermont after nearly a decade of Nordic ski experience in the Midwest.

We are looking forward to heading into the 2023/2024 season with all three pillars of club coaching leadership (Head Masters Coach/Head BKL Coach/Head Junior Coach) held by three separate individuals for the first time in a few years!

Liz Hollenbach – Head BKL Coach

Liz oversees the MNC BKL programming alongside our youth program coaches and is completing her USSA Level 100 coaching certification.

After coaching at both St. Lawrence and University of Vermont, Liz became involved with the Vermont outdoor community in a number of ways, including directing the Nordic Center at Bolton Valley, Alpine Ski Patrolling at Bolton Valley, co-creating Sleepy Hollow Mtn Race, volunteering as a NENSA Women’s Day Coach and coaching MNC Masters for a couple years.

Liz skied for CVU and competed for the New England JN team. In college Liz was a 4-year member, captain of the St. Lawrence Nordic team and 2x NCAA Championships qualifier.

Michael Stearns – Head Masters Coach

Michael oversees all of MNC Masters programs.

After working in the Nordic ski industry in Minneapolis for 8 years doing race wax service and race ski selection, Michael returned to Vermont as Director of E-commerce and Digital Marketing for UnTapped.

During his time in the Minneapolis, Michael spent many years racing in the Midwest marathon circuit. His favorite races are the More Vasaloppet and the Noque.

Michael lives in Hinesburg with his partner Zoe and their two dogs (Bob and Keeley).

Castle Conquest > Blink Festival?

By Adam Terko on 26 September, 2023 in Junior Blog, Uncategorized

We had a really great weekend in Lake Placid for the annual Castle Conquest event! This involves a skate rollerski sprint race on Saturday, and the famous Climb to the Castle uphill rollerski race on Sunday.

The weather was wonderful, the leaves were just starting to turn, and the racing was of the highest quality in terms of organization, timing, courses, facilities, and competition. I will recap our own club’s participation in a separate post, but here is where I’d like to get on my soapbox and work up the courage to publicly criticize the collegiate teams who did NOT attend.

Rollerski racing is huge in Norway and Sweden…on a recent podcast it was stated that more Norwegians tuned into the Blink Festival rollerski races than the Tour De France. And those races featured some sprint competitions as well as an uphill rollerski climb…exactly what was happening this past weekend.

The Keys to the Castle race on Friday took place on a very new rollerski loop, with TDs present and world-class timing from Bullitt Timing systems. Sunday’s races were on a safe closed road with full skier access. Again Bullitt Timing was present, even though the start and finish were 5 miles apart up a mountain. That is a serious logistical commitment.

Competitors had access to matched skis to equalize racing, exactly as it happens in the Blink Fest and other rollerski races in Scandinavia and beyond.

So, if the Norwegian rollerski festival is not any more well organized, and as a country we are trying to grow, develop, and become more competitive at ski racing, where were the teams and participants from the 4 EISA college teams within a 90 minute drive from this event? I’m referring to SLU, UVM, St. Mikes, and Middlebury.

The top U23 male skier in the world, Ben Ogden, was present. Recent World Championship medalist Julia Kern was present. There was certainly quick competition to be had, and amazing experiences to be gained. If cost was an issue, I’d make the argument that the race entries for this weekend would be worth dipping into a college team’s wax, stonegrinding, apparel, tools, or travel budgets for. This would’ve been an excellent fall testing opportunity, critical sport-specific racing experience, and even a relevant recruiting opportunity given the number of Junior racers.

Some college teams aren’t permitted group/coached training yet due to NCAA regulations, but the fact that Saturday’s race began at 10:00AM left plenty of time for at least a day-trip for some sprinting action. The “royal court” format also meant that everyone raced the qualifier and 3 separate heats, far more racing for your money than just speeding through a qualifier and having that be the end of your day.

In conclusion to my mini rant here, I’d just like to say that it was disheartening to have such high-level racing taking place in a location literally surrounded by strong, fun, engaged, competitive skiers/teams and see almost no collegiate athletes in attendance, save for local school Paul Smiths who had an awesome presence!