We’ve had veteran Pugs as well as a LOT of new skiers joining us this summer, which has made for a really exciting time at our sessions. 30 skiers all rolling around Sprint Loop is quite a sight!

Big squad on day 1

Since it was our first official week of Summer training, we got in two of our big fitness tests which we’ll repeat again in a few weeks. First up was the double pole test on Thursday. 1 kilometer of uphill rollin’! The newer rollerskiers watched at the halfway point with coach Perry while rest of the crew did the test. Lots of fast times for the first test of the year: big PR for Sammie Nolan and PRs for Quincy, Marika, and Conor. A bit of video below, as well as the test archive.

The next day, we continued one of the coolest parts of the summer and an element I’ve been most excited about…the MNC Bikegang! We’ve always had a few athletes into mountain biking, but the sport is definitely enjoying a big push in Vermont. But an excited crew combined with a lot of nice weather has made our rides a really popular session each week. We’re officially graduated from the mellow trails at Saxon Hill and are looking to take our shred somewhere new next week!

MNC Bikegang at Saxon! 

Saturday brought us to the uphill run test at Bolton, where we had a lot of first-time participants putting their times in the record books. Rose had an awesome run and hit the 2nd fastest women’s time ever, and Hanna improved by over a minute from the spring version of the test. You can check out the full archive of times here.

We were missing a few folks on Saturday due the the start of the REG (Regional Elite Group) camp in Lake Placid. Greg, Conor, Aidan, Magda, Ali, and Quincy are all spending the next week training with the top athletes in New England and coaches like Andy Newell and the US Ski Team’s Bryan Fish. I’ll try and pass on some photos and results from that camp as we continue to head into another week of big training at home in Vermont!