Blog | Mansfield Nordic Club

Fall Camp 2022

By Adam Terko on 17 October, 2022 in Junior Blog

Last year we started Fall Camp as a weekend trip to break up the long stint between the start of Fall programming and Thanksgiving Camp. This can be a tough time of year to stay motivated, with the weather getting colder and school starting to get busy.

Almost every college team seems to partake in a similar camp this time of year, and in this year’s case Middlebury was actually overlapping with us in Lake Placid…they arrived to jump on the rollerski loop just as we were leaving one day.

We had perfect weather this year, which is a nice bit of karma after battling snow, wind, hail, and fog in NH for the 2021 camp. Since we arrived around dinnertime, it was already dark for our first workout…initially I had put us down for a quick jaunt over to Henry’s Woods, a local simple trail network. But I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to run up to Cobble Hill which involves a wooded trail to the summit of an old ski area adjacent to the Northwoods School.

With headlamps dwindling on batteries we scrambled up to the open, rocky summit and looked down on the twinkling lights of Mirror Lake and the town below. Then we turned off the lights, laid down on our backs, and stared up in unified contentment at a ski dense with stars. It was a mad dash back to a late dinner at the condo, but very worth the cool experience.

Turning off the headlamps and looking down on town

The next morning we were excited to have local club NYSEF join us for some hard rollerski intervals on one of the towns two (!) rollerski tracks. The loops at the jumping complex are great for fast skating, which rewards good technique and momentum through sweeping corners and turns. The leaves were falling like snow, and the team put in repeat after repeat hammering around the circuit.

With some lunch and study time after that, we knew we only had enough daylight for one of the easier, shorter high peaks (4,000’+) mountains in the region. Luckily for us, the tourists had cleared out by the afternoon and we could hike up Cascade without any crowds or parking hassles. The summit was reached right as the light hit golden hour, making an open and rocky summit even more spectacular. We got down with light to spare, and dinner at a reasonable hour this night!

Runnin up to the summit

Enough tourists still up top to have them snag a photo of us

After making some tacos and following them up with chocolate-dipped apples for dessert, we went to bed in anticipation of a long ski to close out camp.

While there are a few fun roads around Lake Placid to rollerski on, I wanted something unique and special for this camp…since we ski a lot in Charlotte, I was wondering if it would be possible to string together a route that brought us from the Adirondacks right to the ferry, meaning we would literally “ski home” from camp.

On Wednesday of last week I took my Subaru out for a little joyride, and spend a few hours just driving the backroads north and west of Elizabethtown with Google Maps and a notepad riding shotgun. It was an amazing fall day for that drive, and I worried that the unfriendly Sunday forecast would turn what I thought could be an amazing ski into a total slog…

But I was proved oh so wrong! What we experienced on Sunday was one of the top rollerskis of all time in my book, and the team seemed to agree. With scenic backroads and almost zero traffic at all, the group skied from Elizabethtown right at the base of the mountains, all the way to the Essex ferry. Skis were clipped back on once the ferry docked, and everyone skied all the way back to the Linseisen house in Shelburne where we were treated to an awesome food spread to cap off the camp. Pictures and videos from the ski don’t do it justice, but here is a map of the route, and a group photo near the lake looking back at the ADKs where we started from.

Of course, you know it wouldn’t be an MNC camp or trip without some video content as well…here’s a short collection of clips I put together on Instagram, which I then transferred to Youtube to view here. Looking forward to our next team adventure!

BKL Ski Equipment 101

By Rosemary Shea-Cobb on 8 October, 2022 in BKL Race Blog, BKL Training Schedule, Equipment Swap

Does my child’s equipment from last year still fit? What do they need for the program? Below is a quick guide.

What does my Child Need for Equipment?

It depends on which program you are planning to register them for. (You can find Program Descriptions HERE.)

Penguins 1-Day: Pre-K to 1st Grade:

Equipment needed: No-wax classic skis, boots, and poles. THESE ARE ALL AVAILABLE TO RENT THROUGH THE CLUB at our Ski Swap (October 23), or if you miss that, through the MNC REGISTRATION PAGE with pick-up at Adam’s house in Bolton.

Jack Rabbits2-Day : Grades 1-4

Equipment needed: Classic no-wax or waxable skis, classic length poles, skate skis, skate length poles and combi boots.

Arctic Foxes2-Day : Grades 5-8

Equipment needed: Classic no-wax or waxable skis, classic length poles, skate skis, skate length poles and combi boots.

Racing Team 3-Day: Grades 5-8

Equipment needed: Classic waxable skis, classic length poles, skate skis, skate length poles and combi boots.

How Do I Know If My Child’s Equipment Still Fits?

When my kids were BKL age, I found that skis would last 1-2 years, and then they would be too short. I found that my kids usually needed larger boots and longer poles every year. Kids grow and they will have a better ski experience if they are using equipment that fits them correctly. Here is how to know:

Boots:

Have your child put on a ski sock (a heavy, synthetic or wool hiking type of sock) to try on boots. They should fit like a sneaker. A little room to grow is good- it’s October now and we’ll be skiing into March! Nordic Ski boots are usually sized in EU sizes.

Skis:

Ideally, you fit skis by weight of the skier. Skis are measured and sized in centimeters. HERE is a chart by Fischer that will give you a good idea of what length of ski your child should be skiing on. Look for the Junior Nordic chart. Skate skis should be 5-10 cm. shorter than classic skis and are also sized by weight. There are usually a couple of different length options for a specified skier weight. If your skier is a beginner, go for the shorter option. If your skier is more advanced go for the longer option.

Poles:

Classic: Standing in shoes on a floor you want classic poles to reach all the way up to the top of the shoulder or just under it. Once in ski boots on skis & snow, those poles will reach just under the arm pit. The exception is young beginners. It’s OK for them to have poles that are shorter- sometimes it’s just easier for them to learn if there is less pole there.

Skate: In shoes on a floor, skate poles should reach up to the skier’s upper lip or nose. Once on snow, they will be at upper or lower lip level.

Err on the longer side with poles if you are getting them in October or November! I’ve seen many kids outgrow their poles by mid-February!

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Discounts on Bliz glasses, Start wax, and much more!

By Adam Terko on 6 October, 2022 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

The winter is fast approaching, and our friends at EnjoyWinter have a lot to offer that can set you up right for the season.

Use the code MNC2223 at checkout for 30% OFF your order! What’s more, with each order using that code, MNC receives 10% of the purchase price to spend on wax and tools for the upcoming season…that may not sound like much, but last year this promotion helped us provide klister and kickwax for many of our training sessions. We love being able to provide wax at training sessions (especially klister days), rather than asking our members to purchase their own out-of-pocket.

So…if you need some cool new gear for the winter, check out EnjoyWinter.com and use the coupon code MNC2223 at checkout!

Some notes on brands and products from EnjoyWinter, including brands you may not have heard of:

Bliz glasses…goes without saying these are some of the most popular ones on the market!
Swenor rollerskis…our preferred brand of rollerskis, and we particularly prefer aluminum models for their light weight and durability
Start wax…the klisters and hardwaxes are great in particular, and the “Oslo” kickwaxes are a must-have for New England skiing
STC poles…a brand the specializes in lower-cost poles and a great entry option for stiff poles at lower prices than Swix or OneWay
4KAAD poles…see above!
Spine boots…much like STC poles, this is a smaller company and a great option for lower-cost boots than more familiar brands

MNC Race Suits/Jackets/Hats…Storefront OPEN

By Adam Terko on 3 October, 2022 in BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog

The Podiumwear team storefront for all of our MNC apparel is NOW OPEN for round one of ’22/’23 gear ordering.

MNC Team Storefront: Fall ’22

This is the place to order things like:

Your MNC race suit (with options for one-piece or two-piece)
Your MNC warmup jacket
MNC warmup pants, pom hats, compression shorts, etc

Some items have new models, and may take a day or so to appear in the online store…please keep checking back periodically.

This storefront closes on October 31st with an expected ship date in late November. We will do a second round of storefront ordering shortly thereafter, but if you are seeking a race suit for the winter this is the best time to ensure that you have a suit in time for the early-season races.

Please note that prices are set by Podiumwear, and MNC does not profit from sale of these items. All transactions and payments go directly through Podiumwear, and this storefront is simply a conduit for ordering and production.

Note that this order does NOT include a parka or “puffy coat” option. Are you a Junior looking to get a puffy coat? This year we’ve found an option for a Backcountry insulated jacket for around $50. Juniors who are interested in having this be their MNC jacket should order this model from this website and bring it to Coach Adam before October 31st for embroidery (about $10-15 per jacket, we will have the shield logo on the arm and ‘Mansfield Nordic Club’ on the back, all in official MNC script/branding).

A few Juniors have already received their parkas, and we can confirm that the jacket fits true-to-size and is good quality. Note that the women’s model does not have a hood, so it may be worth considering the men’s model for that benefit.

Men’s model: please choose Blue (“Nebula Blue”) or black (“Stretch Limo”). Blue is preferred.

Women’s model: please choose Blue or black. Blue is preferred.

Stoic - Insulated Hooded Jacket - Men's - Nebulas Blue

Rollerski Racing Action

By Adam Terko on 27 September, 2022 in Junior Blog

It is rollerski race season! Much like Scandinavia which holds big rollerski race events throughout the late summer/early fall such as the Blink Festival, Holmenkollen Ski Show, and Toppidrettsveka, NENSA now has a series of high-quality rollerski race events.

We’re talking hillclimbs just like the famous Lysebotn Opp in Norway, sprint races, and distance events on several rollerski tracks that New England is fortunate to be home to. These events feature live results and chip timing from Bullitt Timing, prizes from Cabot Cheese, and an all-around professional approach. What you have is basically an Eastern Cup on rollerskis.

FREEFALL

On the 18th MNC helped host the FreeFall race in Jericho, which featured a field of over 100 racers from the club to the collegiate, pro, and US Ski Team level. The 15k distance was one of the longest races for our U18 and U20 skiers, but having that distance come in a rollerski race before the season starts means less pressure and a good way to experience that type of event…as well as ski right alongside NCAA athletes.

Women’s podium, including 2 Olympians

In the 6km race we had a lot of Juniors also competing, highlighted by Taylor and Brady going 1-2 for the men and Kate taking 2nd for the women.

The event wouldn’t have been possible without a lot of help from MNC volunteers: thanks for making the day a success!

You can find a full recap and more photos from the event at this Fasterskier article!

CASTLE CONQUEST

Our Juniors headed over to Lake Placid this past weekend to compete in another rollerski race event: the Castle Conquest. This is a combination of two events: Saturday featured a freestyle sprint, and Sunday featured the famous Climb to the Castle uphill climb.

For Saturday’s sprint the action was done in “court format” which means everyone does the solo qualifying round, but instead of just 30 making it into the heats, everyone advances. What’s more, nobody gets knocked-out after their heats…they only move up, neutral, or down in a bracket system.

This is ideal for early season and, in particular, Junior racing because it means lots of head-to-head racing experience and practice with the format of a sprint day. The combined men’s and women’s field was also really fun because there was overlap and everyone was ending up in heats with racers of similar competitive speed.

Just your usual cuts and scrapes…ironically most of these came from warmup/cooldown and not the races themselves…

Anders and Emma were our top qualifiers, and Emma went on to win the whole women’s race in a pretty convincing fashion. She took home a check for some prize money, but just as importantly she won a coveted inflatable Cabot Cheese penguin. In the U16 race we had some great competition and some podium (and raffle) prize representation by Niko and Aaron, who experienced his first sprint rounds ever!

It was a sunny warm day, and everyone did a great job having fun and supporting each other. Almost the whole course on Lake Placid’s new rollerski track can be seen from the stadium area, so watching tactics and technique play out was very interesting.

After lunch and some study hall time inside the new lodge to get schoolwork done, we also got to run outside and cheer on Pat who was competing in the afternoon biathlon race on the loop. Then a quick run in the team’s matching T-shirts which were given to them by the organizers.

Sunday morning brought some early alarms and a departure under a beautiful pink sunrise to the base of Whiteface Mountain, where racers took off on this epic and memorable 5-mile (or new 5k option this year) mass start skate race.

It’s no secret that we’ve trained really hard this year, but nothing puts your fitness on display like an all-uphill race. We had several returning athletes who competed last year, and the improvements were absolutely wild. Anders and Rosie took 3 minutes off their times from 2021, while Geo snagged 6th overall with a 6 minute improvement. And breaking off solo from the rest of the women’s field was Emma, who won the race by almost 2.5 minutes en route to a 7 minute improvement over 2021! Another big check was headed her way, AND to complement her inflatable Cabot penguin she received the also-coveted Cabot inflatable cow. There is now a cheese-themed inflatable zoo at the Page household.

First-time castle racers included Elsa, Aaron, Pat, Niko, and Kai, and MNC alum/SMC skier Charles Martell also got to hang out with us and throw down a solid race!

Castle Conquest Results

Emma bringing home the bacon!

Pat, Niko and Aaron raced the short course, which was new for this year, and swept the podium! They clearly coordinated on their podium appearance with matching Bliz glasses and a game to see just how long they could stand up there until the crowd and announcers got uncomfortable…but I won’t turn down the PR!

This year featured an actual view!

For now we’ll take a little break from rollerski racing, but who knows if we’ll make a journey down to Mass on November 6th for the Mt Greylock Hillclimb…could be fun!