I was apprehensive about putting a 6.7 mile uphill running race on the schedule for the first full day of Mountain Camp…but then again, it is MOUNTAIN Camp, right? And as skiers we are often always looking for the biggest hills. Plus, having done this race last year and seeing many familiar Nordie faces in the crowd I had a feeling this would be up our alley.
Sure enough, the Loon Mountain Race was a heck of a time. For some it was a pretty intimidating challenge…6+ miles with 3,000+ vertical gain. But with bright skies, low humidity, and huge fields of something like 500-600 in women’s and men’s race each, the vibe was more like a festival complete with dirty humans, camper vans, and motley dogs strolling through the parking lot.
The women took off first, and the only real bummer of the day was that the men started over an hour later. That meant there wasn’t going to be a lot of chance for either group to see the other. It sounds like the girls didn’t need much for outside support though. They CRUSHED it! Ava, Meredith, and Jenny were the top 3 Pugs and we had some support from more veteran athletes like alums Emily Stitt and Annavitte Rand, and Coach Sara.
GIRL. GANG. Julia, Sammie, Hanna, Snow
The girls raced extremely well against seasoned ultrarunner-types and uphill machines and running club members from all over. Ava and Meredith were 2nd and 3rd for the Junior Women. And who was first? None other than Dartmouth’s Rena Schwartz…yup, that’s an All-Nordic women’s podium at this running race 🙂
Women’s Jr podium! Missing Rena who had presumably already taken off to get a rollerski session in 🙂
For the men, St. Mikes XC runner and skier John Cunningham was steadily tracking down his brother Tim, another friend-of-the-pugs. Eli absolutely crushed the “Upper Walking Boss” last kilometer and had Coach Adam in his sights, while Coach Liam was already breathing easy at the top by the time that group reached the summit. Sprinting toward the line with much grace was Brook, who you would not predict to be an uphill runner given his height BUT has totally turned into an aerobic machine.
The biggest surprise, and the most exciting news of the day (along with the Women’s World Cup win) was during the announcement of team scores. We had no idea they even did this, but as they announced the average times of the various teams (top-5 runners counting to the average) the girls began doing the math…sure enough, they WON the whole thing as the top women’s team! Not bad for the first day of ski training camp.
Paul, the race director, was so psyched to see so many MNC athletes competing that he personally emailed his thanks and then found us to introduce himself. It was a great event and you can be sure we’ll be there next year!
Gang’s all here. Looking tired but not too tired for a second session that afternoon..
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