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Altitude Camp Concludes Summer

By Adam Terko on 20 August, 2024 in Junior Blog, Uncategorized

The bags are checked, the airport snacks are purchased, and our group of Juniors who just finished Rocky Mountain Camp are in various stages of transit back to Vermont.

This was a great camp, and the third edition of this western adventure. We got to visit some new places, both in training sessions and beyond…we went to a new canyon (Cascade Springs), raced at a new GoKart track (The Grid in Provo).

We even had a massively-expanded timetrial at the Soldier Hollow rollerski track with Team SoHo and Park City Ski and Snowboard club. Last year we were in Utah a week later and most had started school, but this time the clubs of the area were hosting practices-as-usual just like us. So we had a skate rollerski timetrial with 40 athletes total!

There are sure to be more stories and reflections to come, but for now please enjoy a sampling of photos, with links to the full album, until we get out feet under us back East 🙂

Rocky Mtn Camp Photo Album

Joint rollerski with Team SoHo and PCSS

Mt Timpanogos in the distance, where we’d hike later in the week

We also explored some non-ski outdoor activities, like a bit of fly fishing

Some chalk decorating after a TT with the other clubs!

Double pole intervals up Big Cottonwood Canyon (complete with fried chicken at the top from the Brighton store!)

The ever-scenic Mt Timpanogos

Final-night sunset at Guardsman Pass

Volunteer @ Summer Biathlon Nationals

By Adam Terko on 29 July, 2024 in Uncategorized

We need YOU!!

Consider volunteering for this year’s Summer Biathlon Nationals at the Range on Aug. 3 & 4. We need volunteers during the morning from about 9-11:30 am to help on the Range and penalty loop. NO experience necessary, the jobs are not hard and we will teach you. You will get a free pair of socks, a free ticket to the banquet, and a front row seat on the Range where you will see all the action. It’s a great event and fun to be a part of it. The event is hosted by EABC, MNC’s “sister” biathlon club at the Range. To volunteer, please email Rosemary Shea-Cobb: sheacobb19@gmail.com

4th of July Parade

By Adam Terko on 8 July, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Uncategorized

Big crowds!

For years now we have rollerskied in the Williston parade for Independence Day, complete with “snow” (leftover ice rink snow gathered in the morning from Gutterson and Cairns hockey arenas) and candy to appease the excited crowd. This year was no different, and with bright sunny skies and a road full of onlookers it was great to display our club to the masses.

I do have to say, it was a little underwhelming to have only 7 Juniors and 1 BKL participant. We have so many great and enthusiastic club members, and we hope that in the future more will come out to this event! It is a great way to represent the club, grow awareness of skiing in general, and have a good time. As alluded-to in the Eblast and other postings, skiing isn’t even required…we’re happy to have walkers or bike riders!

Maybe we need to rethink our communication channels, especially in the summer when skiing isn’t front-of-mind. A lot goes into this event, from organizing the float/vehicle system to an early morning of snow shoveling, so a signup form and a minimum participation number may be in our future.

Again, this is a really cool thing that we are able to do, and it’s an easy date to remember for next year 🙂

Bella with a sampling of snow!

Off and rolling

Skiing straight to creemees after!

Introducing: Masters Fitness at MNCC

By Adam Terko on 2 July, 2024 in Masters Blog, Masters Training Schedule, Uncategorized

Strength training is of critical importance for skiers, and especially Masters! Getting stronger, more stable, and more controlled in the gym can help improve ski technique and reduce injury risk.

In the past we have arranged partnerships with local gyms and trainers for our Masters to get together for indoor strength training.

Well…we have our own gym now! We’re excited to offer a holistic and accessible strength/fitness training class most Wednesdays at the Mansfield Nordic Community Center (MNCC).

Starting next week, July 10th, you can join to get in some great training, learn about exercises and movements, and connect with other Masters on the same quest for strength!

Coach Adam will lead these sessions, and they will involve a mix of bodyweight and weighted exercises. With some basic movement screening techniques, we can adapt exercises and add/remove options based on individual needs.

Sessions are offered most Wednesdays from 6-7pm or 7-8pm. Each session is $15, or $40 for a 3-class option. All signups include gym access, strength plan, coaching oversight/leadership, movement analysis, and follow-up resources for participants.

We will be looking to cap each hour-long “session” at 6-8 athletes for coaching and space reasons, and if we hit some of those limits the form below will be adjusted accordingly. We can be pretty flexible though!

Schedule sessions here (also available when submitting the form above)

Getting to the MNCC:

The MNCC is located on Route 2 in Jonesville (Richmond) near the intersection of Stage Road and Cochran Rd. The address is 3214 East Main St. Look for a big, blue building on the south side of the road. The MNC flag will be flying!

There is only parking for two (2) cars at the space itself currently. We encourage carpooling and parking at the gravel lot at the end of Cochran Rd and walking over, or even biking from one of the parking areas on Cochran Road itself. We have a brand new bike rack right outside the door!

MNCC Comes Together

By Adam Terko on 16 June, 2024 in BKL Jackrabbits, BKL Race Blog, Junior Blog, Masters Blog, Uncategorized

I didn’t get a ton of sleep last week.

Turns out that it is pretty motivating to have a building renovation underway. There’s a reason that entire television networks are based around before-and-after stories of dilapidated houses getting turned into beautiful homes: the sense of “what if” can’t be ignored.

Having the MNCC project underway is like being a paleontologist discovering the fossilized remains of a gigantic new dinosaur. You know that the skeleton isn’t going anywhere, but every time you’re at the dig site you can’t help but dust off one more bone, or take one more measurement…and before you know it, it’s 10:30pm one night, or 12:40am the morning after you started some project.

It’s not just me. Club members and leaders have been getting involved along the way. After joining us for a painting session one afternoon, I got a text from Board member Mike Millar that outed him as having eaten dinner, put his baby to bed, and returned to paint the ceiling late into the night.

There wasn’t much asking around at training one morning until I found a willing volunteer to help me pick up some lumber. With a few canoe straps, Pat Frazier and I tied down several pieces of particle board (that would eventually form the missing back wall of the MNCC) to his Subaru’s roof rack. I paid Pat his wages for the ordeal (one bagel with cream cheese from the shop next door) and after evening training and biathlon, we unloaded the boards at the MNCC so that work could continue.

Throughout the week as I was working inside the building, my car was conspicuously parked outside right on Route 2. Several times I heard a car honk as it went past, and would run over to a window to see an MNC junior or collegiate skier speeding off in the distance. They knew I was getting things ready, and were giving a salute on their drive past.

Sometimes a guest would even stop by, such as the time Rye walked in to see what was happening and found himself with a rag in hand applying floor polish mere minutes later. On several occasions, MNC University coach Brandon and I have finished practice and driven straight down to the MNCC to paint trim, piece together gym flooring, or assemble squat racks.

Brandon assembling the floor of the “gym” area!

It feels really good to have a project like this, and it feels like exactly what both me and the club needed this summer. It was time for a change, and for a new branch of growth. The possibilities for this space grow with every new conversation as we transform this space.

I even went into the Richmond Library to dig up a little information on the building’s history. I’m an admitted fan of local history, and others may have the same kind of interest. So what did I find?

The building we are in is, unsurprisingly, connected to all of the other industrial-style buildings in the the immediate vicinity, including several barn structures across the road. This was all the Plant and Griffith Lumber Company, the principle industry in Jonesville.

The building we are in was constructed in 1925, making next year the centennial! The location of the railway right onsite made shipping lumber extremely smooth, and I was let in on another cool tidbit from the property manager Dave…just west of the collection of buildings we’re in is a small one-story ranch home still occupied today. The Plant and Griffith Company made a lot of it’s money in manufactured/fabricated homes from their lumber, and that ranch house is the model display home!

I plan to get copies made of these (and other) historical documents, and have them framed to go into the lower level of the MNCC! I think it’s really important to recognize the history and significance of local buildings that have been around for so long, and were integral to the community. I hope that MNC can now use this space to create our own lasting legacy!

And so, of course it is time for the “before and after” photos…but something tells me we’ll never quite be done putting finishing touches onto this space here and there! If you’re interested in contributing, check out our Amazon Gift Registry below, and thanks to all those who have already chipped-in! Almost everything you see in these photos came from kind donors.

MNCC Gift Registry!

The original photo of the space