Archive | Junior Blog

It has been a jam-packed week, with action all over the place from running to skiing to biathlon. The humidity has been brutally challenging, but as sports author Steve Magness writes, “heat and humidity are the poor man’s altitude” so we are getting a bit of an early acclimation in preparation for our camp in Park City, UT next week.

We’ve tried to take all sorts of good measures to remain functional in the heat. Lots of hydration (especially Capri Sun aka “suns” at practice) as well as the occasional towel soaked in ice water around the neck.

Rolling through the heat at the Range

While the flooding isn’t exactly ideal, we are thankful to have a lot of water sources near almost every spot we train at. The Winooski was a little muddy the other day, but that didn’t stop us from braving the big jump off the Long Trail footbridge into the cool(ish) waters below.

By the time you climbed back up the banks and steps to the bridge after one jump, you were already sweaty enough to make the next splash right away.

Niko, Lorenzo, Kate, Eli and Adam make the leap

That river jumping excursion took place right after the Bolton uphill run test, a great marker of our summer. We had a collection of first-time runners of this test (Acadia, Annalise, Mia) and some sweet PR efforts, notably Lorenzo with a 47 second personal best!

At the top we enjoyed some watermelon and savored the hazy view from the summit tower, and then took our leisurely time on the descent, as is our style.

Catching up at the finish line

Taylor hitting targets and skiing fast (Team SoHo photo)

Earlier in the week was the double pole test, with some equally impressive and solid performances. Astrid and Gillian were both just a hair off the course record, while general improvement across the board in technique and times was great to see.

But wait, there were more races happening too! Instead of having the ultimate fun of running up a mountain on Saturday, the EABC athletes were competing in the Summer Biathlon Nationals at the Range on Sat/Sun. Taylor was on the podium Saturday, and MNC skiers were all across the event as Taylor, Pat, Seven, and Liam raced it out.

Lots of MNC faces were also helping the event run smoothly, from Coach Liz (timing) to Coach Rosemary (volunteer coordinator) and more, it was a good display of our Jericho-area ski community.

Seven with some good dynamic skiing

Next up is a bit of a more “typical” week before we start thinking about fall sports, Rocky Mountain Camp, and the changing of the seasons.

MNC’s Greta Kilburn was recently recognized with the Gallagher Award from NENSA. Greta received this award as the top points scorer on the Eastern Cup this season!

You can read a press release from NENSA at this link.

From the release:

Adam Terko provided the following thoughts on Greta’s achievements this past season, and how her story in skiing acts as a testament to what is possible with patience, perseverance, and an embrace of the pure joy of competing in nordic skiing:

Greta is an overall phenomenal athlete. She skied and ran for Burlington High School in addition to being one of the top cyclists at her age in the entire country. However, the 2023-24 season was the first campaign in which she brought her extensive endurance pedigree to the Eastern Cup. We were lucky to have her training and racing with Mansfield while she navigated being a Freshman at the University of Vermont (where Kilburn will be joining the ski team later this Fall).

Greta arrived at the first Eastern Cup almost directly from biking competitions in the southern part of America, and with each new competition her skiing grew more confident. She had never raced a true sprint format event until the Lake Placid Eastern Cup, and had to learn some key steps about race days throughout the season by being thrown right into the deep end. 

At Junior Nationals she was able to put all of that to good use with an amazing week of racing to cap off her season. She’ll begin her sophomore year as a newly-minted official member of the UVM ski team, but will still have to take a few weekends in the Fall off in order to also continue her mountain bike career.

In a culture increasingly affected by stress surrounding college skiing, early specialization, athletic career trajectories, and pressure to perform, I think Greta’s story is truly important. Greta did not race Eastern Cups until after high school, and she entered many championship races oblivious to the backgrounds of many competitors. Therefore Greta remained unfazed by pressure or preconception on race day. The more important factors in Greta’s season were learning new things and pushing herself as hard as she could. 

Congrats Greta!

We just wrapped-up our second camp in two weeks. Phew! New York has been a happening destination for us in 2024, and with the big Ironman competition over the housing options in Lake Placid opened back up for U16 Mountain Camp.

It was fitting to have this camp in an Olympic town, as we watched the opening ceremonies and some early competitions as the Paris Olympics kicked-off during the camp. We also participated in lots of different activities of our own, across all sorts of disciplines and skillsets.

Kendama training at it’s finest

The “Kendama” is the newest object taking the ski world by storm, popularized by Ben Ogden (use code BENDAMA at Sweets Kendamas for 15% off). Much like archery or air rifle at the Olympics, it may not be the most aerobically-demanding sport, but it requires immense balance and precision.

More traditional Nordic training was on hand as well, from rollerskiing to skiwalking and bounding.

Rollerskiing down at Franklin Falls

Bounding up Whiteface: gotta do it when you’re in LP

We got to do a workout on the rollerski track by the jumping complex, and some NYSEF juniors joined us for an agility relay!

The Lake Placid area is great for all sorts of outdoor fun beyond just athletic training. We got to swim at a few different locations, made s’mores in our rental house’s outdoor fire pit, and sampled our fair share of ice cream from shops and gas stations around the Adirondacks.

Ausable swim break

Firepit outside our lovely home, with a slightly-smokey Whiteface in the background

A great camp overall, and you can check out a photo album for more pictures below!

U16 Mtn Camp Album

I can answer that one!

6:45

An early morning wake-up after a cool, breezy night…a welcome respite from a summer of oppressive humidity at all hours of the day and night.

7:00

Breakfast of oatmeal, eggs, and coffee, with rustling athletes prepping their own preferred options. Yogurt is scooped, milk is poured, bacon is fried. In the background, a large TV in the training camp house’s living room plays several motivational edits of skiers and ultrarunners.

8:00

Skiers unload at the base of the Gore Mountain access road. With dry air, no clouds in sight, and the sun beaming down, warmup for a timetrial day commences. The athletes have a plan, and set off to prepare while the coaches use cones to set start and finish lines, and arrange our strategy for timing, filming, and supporting the skiers.

Steadily, skiers make their way to the start. First up is a classic timetrial of 3 kilometers, to be followed by a skate timetrial of the same distance and course. It’s a mock version of the U16/Eastern HS qualifier race, which will take place this winter. Two timetrials means everyone gets an effort in both techniques. Time between means a focus on fueling and recovery/cooldown/warmup/mental acumen. The 3 kilometer distance doesn’t cut out any skier based on age…U20 and U16 athletes alike can complete this together and benefit.

9:00 

Timetrial #1 begins! Double poling and striding their way to the base of the alpine mountain, everyone looks great. Whether being caught, doing the catching, or skiing solo, everyone pushes their hardest.

At the top, skiers collapse onto the pavement in the main base parking lot…but a few deep breaths and Sour Patch Kids later they are up and milling about. Sara records times and double-checks math, and then everyone loads up to head back to the start area.

9:30 

At the base area, everyone switches to skate gear. The tricky balance of cooling-down from one race, and then warming-up for the next begins. People are in good spirits, and the sun is still shining. It’s getting a little bit hot out!

10:00

Timetrial #2 begins! This time skate skiing is the way to the top, and with different running order skiers can have new racers to chase and hold off.

The effort definitely takes its toll, but at the summit those that have finished run alongside and cheer for those approaching the finish line.

10:30

The timetrials complete, it’s time to decide who does what next. One group skis back up a different road, directly to the house. Another group sticks around to go back up the course one more time, this time back in classic technique and at L3 for a technique- and pace-focused effort.

Skiing looks great…controlled, efficient, and smooth!

Everyone involved got to create the end of the workout they needed, whether that be a direct ski home for recovery, an extended ski home with some out-and-back for more L1 on-time, or the bonus interval done back up the course.

By this point it’s getting quite hot out, but the humidity has held off. Everyone chats about races and timetrials past, technique factors in the race (who used V2 where? Who had the highest tempo at the end?), and visions of the winter ahead.

The atmosphere is positive, and everyone is feeling good about the effort regardless of finishing place or time. Results aren’t known, or even asked for!

12:00

Everyone returns to a clean kitchen…is this for real? People picked up their mess after breakfast? I guess so!

On the big TV screen, skiers hang out and watch the video from the timetrials, complimenting the technqiue of their teammates with maybe just a little bit of trash-talking and a few jibes. The mood is positive and everyone is feeling good about their efforts.

Next, some choose to take a nap, while others take shuttles into the bustling downtown of North Creek, NY. There’s really just one street, but an array of sandwich shops and cafes provide some options for a nice lunch and coffee.

3:30

A quick internet search tells us that a great swimming hole is only a few miles away. With a quick drive down to a scenic, dusty dirt road not unlike Dugway Rd in Richmond/Huntington, we are off and running. Discussions of scenic barns and llama farms keep things light, until we come upon the sound of splashing and yelling as the left side of the road drops away below us. It’s 80 degrees, sunny, and beautiful, and we’ve reached a deep pool with jumping spots of all sorts.

4:00

Swimming, cliff jumping, and hanging out in water create the best possible recovery option from timetrials and running! Everyone takes a jump, and some show off their best flips and tricks:

7:00

Tacos for dinner, followed by s’mores and hanging out around the big firepit! Can’t beat it!

This was just a one-day sample of an awesome Mountain Camp…for more Mountain Camp photos, click the link below!

Mountain Camp 2024

Summer training carried on this week, with two notable events. The first significant change to our normal routine was having a big group of athletes from the SMS T2 pro team in town. We all know that the Burlington-area is amazing for training, and it was time to share our best spots and workouts with some of the best skiers in the country!

Hanging at the MNCC

The T2 athletes and college group skiers were buzzing around the Range trails on Tuesday and Thursday, mingling with our MNC University and Junior crews. In between Range days they got in all sorts of Burlington experiences like a Lake Monsters game, the food trucks on Pine Street, and the “triple crown” trail running loop that we’ve enjoyed each year.

On Wednesday afternoon, the whole T2 gang (coaches, pro athletes, collegiate athletes) joined our Juniors at the new Mansfield Nordic Community Center (MNCC) for snacks and a Q&A session.

With thunder rumbling in the distance and coaches all refreshing the radar, we eventually made it on to rollerskis and over to Greystone. In what was only a small prelude of what was to come, it started raining on us all. A lot.

The clouds opened up and a torrential monsoon poured down from the skies above Richmond, and a train of soggy skiers made their way back to the MNCC and frantically scrambled into cars just as it really started to come down.

Skiing with the pros! Ben Ogden and Julia Kern lead the way

And boy, did it come down, especially in the Richmond/Huntington area. At around 11pm on Wednesday I walked out into the kitchen because I swore I heard a continuous, long rumble of thunder that just wasn’t receding off into the distance. It took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t thunder at all…it was the large rocks and boulders of the Mill Brook behind my house being violently rolled downstream in real time. I flicked on the outside light to see the stream had become a river, flowing rapidly across my entire backyard and within 15 feet of my house.

For reference, the stream is usually a small quaint Vermont mountain stream that can be crossed in one or two rock-hops. Now it had risen above its banks to become as wide as the Winooski. With flashlight in hand I walked over to my neighbor who, sadly, has a house that sits closer to the stream. He was sitting in his truck beaming his headlights down on what were two tipped propane tanks and a sunk car. This was all surreal, and on the anniversary of the brutal flooding last year. What’s ironic is that last year our side of Bolton (the western side of the watershed) received almost no flooding or damge, while the east side was devastated.

Turns out, both sides got it equally bad this week…I lost power, but upon driving out to Jericho in the morning received a photo message from my mom. She had taken a picture of the morning news cast with a reporter discussing terrible flooding and road closures. Behind the reporter? A complete river running right over Route 2 and DIRECTLY INTO THE MNCC! 

I had only removed the outdoor flags and banners hours earlier, when we finished up with SMS T2. I guess I should’ve left them up, because it would’ve been a lot of free airtime on the local station! Not exactly the PR we are looking for though, I have to say.

With the road closed there was no getting into the MNCC anyway, so all I could do was wait…besides, there was other business to attend to! It was an early morning trip to the Range, with the chainsaw in the car, in case of blowdowns and trail hazards. The trails fared ok though, and those that could make it to practice unimpeded by flooding got in a solid ski including the famous 5k (or 2k, if you’re a U16!) Project.

Alas, I did make it down to the MNCC shortly after. The water had shifted and I was able to don my rubber boots and wade into the now-underwater basement level of the facility. It was a bizarre scene, with water about a foot deep, and the water had clearly been much higher (about 3′ based on the evidence of wall and stair silt).

Floating haunted wax box

The good news? Nothing of value was on the lower level, and Coach Liz and I had already made it a point to get lots of cheap shelves wherever we could find them (Goodwill, ReSource, the side of the road, etc). The items that I found literally floating around were mostly construction materials that had been on the floor…some paint cans, brooms, plywood…sadly and eerily, there were a few BKL wax boxes drifting slowly from one side of the room to the other, like a ski-themed horror movie with Swix and Toko poltergeists.

We had anticipated flooding, especially after knowledge of what happened at this location exactly one year prior. We just didn’t expect this level this soon!

However, by the evening the waters had all drained from the MNCC: a benefit of a 100-year old building with less-than-tight foundational systems. I was able to use a squeegee to get a bunch of sand and mud off the floor. The following morning the Juniors helped out with that task too, as we were going for a run from the space. We also started the process of laying some bleach down to disinfect and de-odorize.

The main area upstairs was pristine, as if nothing had happened. Phew! It was quite a week, and we realize things could’ve been much worse for us, just as they WERE much worse for many others. We’re sorry for those that lost so much more, and we know the community will continue to come together in times of need as well as times of ease.

Elsa getting the last of the mud out of there! Vermont Strong!