It was a weekend perfect for a sunny getaway: everyone has been in school long enough for some routine to set in, and it’s been a while since we had a rollerski race to compete in. Time for a trip! Every year we go to the Climb to the Castle rollerski race in Lake Placid. This year, a new event was added on Saturday: a Double Day event featuring a 3km skate race and then a 1.5km skate race. Lots of action!
Some rollerski race ACTION!
The prologue was a fun way to kick things off, and the group did well on the technical, fast rollerski track at the Olympic Jumping complex. The big news was Tim Cobb WINNING the whole race, even ahead of Senior competitors and some competition from one of the Canadian training centers. What’s more, he did it on a pair of Marwe skis with #6 wheels, a bit slower than the #2 Swenor wheels many competitors were competing on. Aidan finished 3rd overall for a double Pug podium, while Magda led the women’s team as they went 5th-9th.
One of the most fun parts of the day was the break in between the races. It was hot and sunny out, and although I didn’t plan to bring the MNC trailer at first, I was glad I made the last-minute decision to hook it up and toss in the tent, some blankets, and an old mattress pad. We ended up having a nice little hangout spot and got to spend time visiting with friends from other clubs like Laura Appleby (CSU), Alex Frago (HURT), and some of our fellow training partners from St Mikes.
Tent Gang!
The sprints were up next and things continued to be fast and fun, with Magda again leading the women to a 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th. Hanna was next in 9th, only seconds behind…super impressive race as Hanna was just getting her rollerski legs under her for the first time this spring and barely double poling up the gradual hill at the UVM bike path…now in this sprint she was hunting for seconds, pushing around corners at 20+ mph, and sprinting up hills with ease.
In the men’s race times were super tight. Timmy and Aidan were 3rd and 4th, only .2 seconds apart and .1 seconds out of 2nd place. In the end with places/times combined Timmy was 2nd overall for the day. He was very close to winning a pair of classic rollerskis, a pretty ironic prize for a biathlete to win from his performance in 2 skate races!
Men’s overall podium
Lake Placid Double Day Results (3km and Sprint)
Some assorted footage:
BUT WE WEREN’T DONE! It was time to go home and hit the study hall, and then make dinner before resting up.
Study time and dinner shopping time. Thanks to Hannaford for supporting our trip with a gift card donation!
Some of the girls team bringing a little VT swag to Lake Placid
On Sunday morning, we woke at dawn to another sunny day. Good opportunity to race up a mountain! This is one heck of a race and it’s quite the experience. Grinding uphill for an hour is not for the faint of heart, but we had some really strong performances and a lot of fun checking out the scene at the top. Special shoutout to the MNC Masters who raced as well!
Meredith and Jenny had an epic battle to the finish of the women’s race, scoring top-20 results and sneaking ahead of some strong college competitors. It was also the 2nd strong day in a row for Julia who was solidly in-the-mix for all 3 races, from 1k to 8k! In the men’s race Aidan improved his time by a minute over last year while Cameron skied much more aggressively in packs, and Brook said afterward that “no other hill would be the same”.
Some race footage of the Pugs, also including race winners like Jake Brown, Raleigh Goessling, and Tara Geraghty-Moats
Ladies at the summit!
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