Mansfield Nordic Club
Ski coaching, training and playing in the shadow of Mt Mansfield for all ages and abilities
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Eastern Cup #2 moved to Waterville, ME
All race distances, formats and schedules remain the same. Weather and waxing suggestions will be updated on the Team Meeting page below.
Stay tuned for more. Follow continued updates at Adam’s Virtual Team Meeting page.
Lodging is more prevalent in Waterville, which is one bonus!
https://www.skireg.com/mncduathlon
Registration is open for the 2016 Mansfield Nordic Duathlon! This year’s duathlon will once again be held at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center. Test both your classic and freestyle racing in a single event that now welcomes all age groups.
Previously a BKL event, the MNC Duathlon has now expanded to become a part of NENSA’s Zak Cup series. Earn points for your club and race head-to-head against competition from all over New England!
To register now, visit https://www.skireg.com/mncduathlon
Online registration closes Wednesday, January 20th 2016 at 11:45pm EST
Race events and distances per age group:
Lollipop: .5km classic only
Grades 1 and 2: 1.5km classic only
Grades 3 and 4: 1km classic + 1km freestyle
Grades 5 and 6: 1.5km classic + 1.5km freestyle
Grades 7 and 8: 2km classic + 2km freestyle
Men and Women U16 and older: 6km classic + 6km freestyle
10:00AM course preview
11:00AM race start
3:30PM awards
Registration and bib pick-up in the Nordic Touring Center, upper level, 9:30-10:30AM and 12:00-1:00PM
See you at the races!
Summer training has a lighthearted feel for a number of reasons. The weather is warm, the sun is bright and the latest giddy pop songs are freely blaring on the radio. The race season is far away and the pressure of performance feels even more distant. Long workouts invoke challenges to go farther than ever before, and interval sessions are friendly competitions among friends.
Will, Baxter, and Kai. This could just as easily be intervals OR an Eastern Cup race
In fall and winter as the races approach, and in the midst of competition season itself, everything carries more weight. Every long workout and interval session is filled with questions:
“Am I going too hard?”
“Will I be too tired tomorrow?”
“So-and-so is looking fast today…oh no”
“What was that weird tweak in my shoulder??”
The pressures of a race season, felt by National Champs down to BKL rippers, can drive anyone nuts. It happens to coaches, too. On race day I often go from 6am to 3pm without eating or drinking at all…the sheer stress and excitement of the day just overwhelms everything. It can be both a great thing and a recipe for disaster. With racing season upon us it’s important to balance managing stress and getting fired up for the next competition with enjoying the sport and keeping things light. We often race fastest when we are having fun, tough as that is to believe.
Eliza racing at Biathlon Jr World Trials. Take the stress of racing and then add targets to hit!
Standing on the start line, waiting for the gun to go off, is like the fall season and first few races. Then, just like everything else, the racing becomes routine. We’ve just heard the gun go off: we’ve got one High School race and one Eastern Cup under our belts. As Holiday Break ends, we’ll be “out of the stadium” and on our own, with each racer navigating his/her way through a complicated, busy and hectic race season all the way until Junior Nationals, Easterns, U16s and States.
Trepidation on the start line!
I’m confident that we’ve prepared well. Early results are backing that up, and when the course through the season hits the metaphorical steep climbs and tricky descents we’ll be ready for them too!
After an Eastern Cup or other USSA race there is often an edgy waiting period as athletes and parents eagerly refresh the JNQ standings in hopes of seeing the “points” scored at an event.
Those wanting to know their points sooner often had to break out the calculator and crank through some formulas (see below)…but those days are over thanks to MNC Masters Coach Pete Hegman’s website XCPointsCalculator. The site is user-friendly, and eliminates the need for complicated math!
What are NENSA points, USSA points and FIS points? That is best explained HERE. In essence, various “points” systems are a way to measure race performance fairly in a sport where the depth and size of the field may change drastically. The Eastern Cup Opener at Craftsbury featured about 200 athletes per race, making a top-10 a pretty remarkable feat of success. Conversely, a smaller Eastern Cup at a venue like Rumford might feature 60 athletes. Is a top-10 there equivalent? Points can tell you!
Since points are typically based on a calculation involving the percent back from the winner, being closer to the winning time in a big race with high-level competition (e.g. racers with lower points to create the penalty from) will often yield great points. Finishing with a better overall place in a race with weaker competition will not always lead to better points…which is why points help keep things fair!
Junior National rankings are determined by a points average. For U16 racers the best 3 races are counted, and for U18/U20 rankings the best 4 are counted.
Looking at past seasons, you can see a more objective view of how MNC racers stacked up this past weekend, especially in the distance skate race!
Eliza Thomas:
2014/15 best points race: 258.59
Sunday EC skate points: 201.42
Will Solow:
2014/15 best points race: 198.15
Sunday EC skate points: 172.87
Kai Richter:
2014/15 best points race: 211.28
Sunday EC skate points: 182.07
Baxter Bishop:
2014/15 best points race: 240.42
Sunday EC skate points: 193.33
Greg Burt:
2014/15 best points race: 181.17
Sunday EC skate points: 122.74
Peter Unger
2014/15 best points race: 304.96
Sunday EC skate points: 228.11
To be fair, since the race was a 5k for all this means that times for everyone were fast and racers will automatically be closer to the winning time. That being said, it is cool to see that, objectively speaking, Sunday’s race were some of the best Eastern Cup performances of the MNC athlete’s careers!
Click through to check snow conditions at Tomasi Meadow (Underhill) and the Range (Jericho). These conditions are submitted by on-the-ground reports and are as current as possible. Read More about “Snow Conditions”…
Join us on Sunday, December 15th at Craftsbury for our Masters Mini Camp. We’ll work on both skate and classic, gather for lunch, and review video and talk technique! Read More about “Masters Mini Camp @ Craftsbury”…
Masters athletes…are you looking to build strength and train with friends and teammates? Join us at the Mansfield Nordic Community Center on Wednesday nights! Read More about “Masters Strength @ The MNCC”…