Our MNC University crowd is continuing to grow, even moreso with the start of June as many leases in Burlington are beginning…meaning more out-of-state athletes are arriving in the Green Mountains!
There were also several special guests last week. Some were invited, others were not. You’ll see what I mean.
Even at the highest levels, you’ll still find yourself connecting with the basics. Coach Brandon leads the crew in arm swing drills
Olympian and World Cup/World Champs medalist Julia Kern in the house!
Things have been going smoothly at the Range, with early access to the rollerski loop meaning safe spaces to gather on skis for any type of training; speeds, intervals, and easy distance. As many know, the hills are short but quite steep, which is a blessing and a curse! One benefit of this terrain is great work on techniques that are harder to do on shallower vehicle roads, like running (on skis) and hop-skating.
It was cool to be joined by Olympian, US Ski Team member, and World Cup/World Champs medalist Julia Kern for some days this week. Julia is spending some time in Richmond this summer, so we’re excited to welcome her to some training when it fits with her busy schedule! She’ll be jumping around to various trips and camps across the continent (and globe) but knowing that our own backyard is also one of those key locations for the best to train at is pretty cool.
We knew Julia would be around this summer, but we (and the Range operations folks) were less prepared for the other guest on the base this week…I drove into the facility on Thursday morning to help get set up for training, and right in the middle of the road was a black bear. As soon as I saw it I knew what must’ve been up to, but first I had to get it out of the way. It was a tense standoff between bear and Subaru, long enough for me to snap a photo, but eventually the creature sauntered off.
Sure enough, when I crested the hill up to the parking lot I could see that the contents of the large dumpster had been emptied and spread all across the road. This bear had enjoyed quite the feast! In the afternoon, as the Juniors were getting ready to practice, Sara exclaimed “did you all see the bear right next to the trails on the way up here?”
It’s not the first time we’ve seen bears around, and they generally seem to want nothing to do with humans (except for our trash). But it’s a good reminder not to ski alone at these trails!
The MNCU group was out on bikes, skis, and foot this weekend. Here’s several who made a loop run on Mansfield to kick off June
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