Photos by Adam Popkin, Results and Thanks to Clover Whitham for writing this race report.
Mother Nature was smiling on the Mansfield Nordic Club Skiathlon, which was held Sunday at Sleepy Hollow on great snow under sunny skies.
It was all smiles with friends after the race for Rory, Bella, Hanna, Margo and Ophelia!
This is the “home” race for the club and proceeds support the MNC scholarship fund. It was also the first race of the season for many. Adults and Juniors (U20, U18 and U16s) raced in the morning before the Lollipopers kicked off the slate of Bill Koch races.
The Lollipop race is always a spectator favorite where the smallest racers of the day tackled some wild hills in the Sleepy Hollow fun park on the way to the finish line. Racers from around Vermont, including Craftsbury, Frost Mountain, Mad River Bill Koch and Sleepy Hollow BKL clubs, participated.
Next up were the eager Grade 1-2 racers who showed up to the start line ready to race many minutes early! MNC racers Nathaniel Schroeter, Johannes Hollenbach, Tanner Magnan and Grant Gillan, Margo Dillon, Claire Dolbec and Daisy Tremble flew off down the trail when the starter finally said “Go!” They skied a 1k loop around Molly’s Meadow and into the woods on Acadia Mania and returned on Potato Farmer to the fun park and finish.
There were a couple tangle ups in the mass start of the Grade 3-4 race but it didn’t stop these skiers! There were five MNC racers on the boys’ side – Rory Dillon, Rory Dolbec, Ollie Laber, Ronin White and Bodhi White – and two girls – Bella Altadonna, Nora Johnson. They skied in a crowd of 28 total racers for the first kids’ skiathlon race of the afternoon. They completed 1 classic and 1 skate lap, each 1 kilometer long. There were a lot of smiling faces flying by! Perhaps it was the promise of cookies made by volunteers at the finish line.
The racers in the Grade 5-6 race showed real grit and skill by finishing 4 laps (2 classic, 2 freestyle) for a total of 3.75 kilometers. This was also the first timed race of the Bill Koch races. Suiting up for MNC were Kaisa Weaver, Mazzy Merritt, Oliver Tremble, Finn Laber, Charlie Goosen and Jackson White. It looked like the ski exchange practice on Thursday paid off with smooth transitions and racers speeding back on the course.
Racers setup for the start of the Grade 5 + 6 race.
Sylas Weaver and Fiona Repp represented MNC in the Grade 7-8 race, which had 24 finishers from more than a half dozen clubs. These racers also completed 2 classic and 2 freestyle laps, for a total of 4 kilometers.
An honorary gold medal goes to former MNC coach Hanna Holm in her trademark cow in pink tutu costume for leading and keeping racers of all ages on the course!
Racers and their families made this another successful skiathlon! Special thanks to volunteers who made cookies for prizes, stocked the lunch table and monitored the transition zone and race course.
