Nordic Insights

17/07/2024

It's July; hopefully your summer training is proceeding perfectly and injury-free. But if you're encountering some tendon pain... Runners’ Edge Alaska is there for you, with some do's and don'ts on managing this unfortunately common ailment.

(This is sponsored content; I appreciate Runners' Edge Alaska's support of the site. But it is also imho good and helpful content, from a business I think the world of and that has provided PT services for the U.S. Ski Team at the last two Olympics and five World Championships. If they're good enough for the USST, they're good enough for you.)

This guest post is from Runners’ Edge Alaska, a full-service sports physical therapy business in Anchorage. This is sponsored content; Runners’ Edge writes the posts, which I am editing for house s…

16/07/2024

Press release: SMS T2 Team introduces gap grant program to support up-and-coming World Cup skiers on the world stage. The initiative will provide financial assistance to unfunded (D-Team and non-USST) athletes who qualify to race on the World Cup for any period of time. More details here.

The following press release was recently received from SMS. If you have a press release you would like to share, please email info (at) nordicinsights.news. Here’s SMS: The SMST2 Team is prou…

16/07/2024

Eight female coaches were recently selected to serve in the inaugural year of U.S. Biathlon’s Women’s Coaching Initiative. They include both names you likely recognize if you're even a casual biathlon fan (Susan Dunklee, Clare Egan) and names from farther outside standard biathlon spheres (Annika Martell, Naomi Kiekintveld). Find the full roster, and more program details, here.

By Gavin Kentch Eight female coaches were selected to serve in the inaugural year of U.S. Biathlon’s Women’s Coaching Initiative, according to a late-June press release from USBA. The women selecte…

12/07/2024

The Shoreline Events rollerski festival, offering by far the richest prize purse in American rollerski racing, is back this weekend for its fourth year. Racing kicks off tomorrow outside of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Shoutout to Out There Nordic for putting its money where its heart is when it comes to supporting American (and Canadian!) athletes.

By Gavin Kentch The richest prize purse in American rollerski racing last summer, by a healthy margin, could be found in the Shoreline Events rollerski festival, a two-day series of races held in a…

10/07/2024

This year's National Nordic Foundation summer auction is now live. You can bid on a brand-new Olympic race suit from Rosie Brennan, a signed Jessie Diggins face bib, a Kappa trenchcoat from JC Schoonmaker, a hi-vis NNF training shirt, and more. Bid early, bid often.

https://nordicinsights.news/2024/07/10/nnf-summer-auction-now-live/

07/07/2024

Mount Marathon photo dump? Mount Marathon photo dump. If you did the Mount Marathon Race men's or women's race on Thursday, your photo should be in here.

Feel free to download and share. Please tag on Instagram or Nordic Insights on Facebook; thanks.

02/07/2024

It’s July, which means it’s the off-season for skiing… but cross-country skiers are pretty good at running, too. Here are three notable results from weekend racing on two continents: Mariah Bredal crushed a 2:43 road marathon, David Norris was second in the summer’s first Cirque Series mountain race, and Sophia Laukli had a low-key, no-pressure return to trail running as literally the defending champ and course record holder on one of Europe’s most storied courses, ultimately finishing fourth in this year’s Marathon du Mont Blanc. Find out more here.

By Gavin Kentch It’s July, which means it’s the off-season for skiing… but cross-country skiers are pretty good at running, too. Here are three notable results from weekend racing on two continents…

01/07/2024

Call for coaches from U.S. Ski & Snowboard: Fall camp, Park City, October 13–20. More info and how to apply here. Hat tip to National Nordic Foundation for funding these positions.

The following call for coaches was recently received from Greta Anderson, Development Team Coach for the U.S. Ski Team. Note that the application deadline for anyone interested is July 31. Here’s G…

27/06/2024

Sophia Laukli took six weeks entirely off from running earlier this spring, easing her way back from tendonitis in one knee while missing the first three races in this year's Golden Trail World Series (which she won last year).

She returns to the start line at Marathon du Mont Blanc this weekend. Find out more on how she handled the enforced time off from running, and what she learned from the process. Plus free live streaming links for this year's race, which goes off at 7:30 a.m. CET Sunday morning (9:30 p.m. Saturday Alaska Time, 1:30 a.m. Sunday Eastern).

By Gavin Kentch There have been a lot of articles written in the past year about the importance of trail running as an outlet for Sophia Laukli, and the sense of balance that this provides her. Her…

25/06/2024

Jessie Diggins has for many years now pursued her annual Big Stupid, a one-day summer adventure that takes far more hours than is technically necessary for "good" ski training but that brings her joy while taking her outside of her comfort zone.

This year's version may have been the Biggest and Stupidest yet, as Diggins did three laps of the Broken Arrow Skyrace course above Lake Tahoe. On a day when everyone else did two. Details on food, fueling, fun, and more, all in article.

By Gavin Kentch Jessie Diggins has for many years now annually pursued her self-described “Big Stupid,” a single-day summer adventure that grossly exceeds the norms of what is technically required …

03/06/2024

Learning things about skiing is good. Supporting National Nordic Foundation is good. You can do both those things at one time in this year's NNF summer speaker series, which starts this Thursday with top-level American distance runner Grant Fisher. Other speakers include USST strength coach Tschana Schiller, Team Aker Dæhlie coach Hans Kristian Stadheim, and BSF Pro Team coach Andy Newell. Find out more here.

(header photo: Steve Fuller/)

The following press release was recently received from the National Nordic Foundation. You can find additional details and information about this summer’s speakers series here. The National Nordic …

22/05/2024

Some highlights from USSS development coach Greta Anderson's presentation at last week's Spring Congress meeting:

Do you want to know how many times USSS thinks junior athletes should practice sprint starts this year? Why you shouldn't always ski in the same order at practice? Why athletes, especially young female athletes, owe their competitors fairness and good ethics on the race course, but maybe not kindness? That, and more, is all in here.

By Gavin Kentch Last week’s USSS Spring Congress was not without its meetings and its scheduling spreadsheets, but mixed in with all the logistics that make the sport run in this country were some …

17/05/2024

It wasn't playing hooky from Wednesday's USSS Spring Congress meeting, it was a business trip to conduct important research. On the pleasures of mid-May skiing, and the wonder that is Hatcher Pass.

(Massive shoutout to Mat-Su Ski Club for the continued grooming.)

By Gavin Kentch Skiing at this point in the winter occupies a space squarely in the margins. It is now the second half of May. Few people on the continent are still nordic skiing on groomed trails.…

14/05/2024

If you enjoyed Minneapolis in February 2024, get ready for Lake Placid in March 2026. World Cup Finals for the 2025/2026 season have been awarded to Lake Placid/Mt Van Ho, organizers announced earlier Tuesday.

"People need to show up," said Bryan Fish with USSS.

By Gavin Kentch If you enjoyed Minneapolis in February 2024, get ready for Lake Placid in March 2026. “Recently we were awarded the World Cup Finals for 2026,” began Rebecca Northrup’s presen…

11/05/2024

It's the second weekend in May; grooming operations have ceased at most places on this continent that are not Mt Bachelor or Mat-Su Ski Club. Which, to my snow-obsessed mind, begs the question, which ski area in the country had the longest groomed nordic ski season last winter?

I read a lot of trail reports so you don't have to. Here are my findings.

It’s mid-May, which means that this is a season of transition for skiers in every part of a not-small country. If you’re in the Midwest, your natural-snow winter, uh, sort of never happened this ye…

07/05/2024

National Training Group athletes recently converged on Bend for a week of on-snow skiing in late April and early May. There was skiing, technique sessions, relays... and also a cooking contest, winning team gets the night off from kitchen cleanup. Some meditations on the nature of ski development, disguised as a photo dump, may be found here.

Plus a video thanking National Nordic Foundation, which you should watch.

By Gavin Kentch What does ski development look like in this sprawling country, anyway? Sometimes it looks very formal: We shall invite the best x athletes in age group y from region z to REG Camp a…

03/05/2024

It's the week of May 1, skier's new year. Across the U.S. and Europe, top athletes are skiing, rollerskiing, and generally easing into summer training. Except for Therese Johaug, who on May 1 dropped a 1:11 half-marathon. Training photo roundup here.

By Gavin Kentch It’s the week containing May 1, skier’s new year. If you are a domestic athlete in this country, today marks 244 days until the first race at U.S. Nationals (I think; this assumes a…

02/05/2024

How many USST athletes pursued collegiate skiing, and at which schools? I run some numbers here, as well as consider the generational shift in NCAA skiing from outlier to keystone over the past 15 years of American ski development.

https://nordicinsights.news/2024/05/01/on-team-naming-and-college-skiing-where-do-usst-athletes-go-to-school/

(photo: )

29/04/2024

The official announcement for next year's U.S. Ski Team comes out next (?) week. If you'd like to know what it will say, I can tell you that now, or, I read the criteria documents so you don't have to.

By Gavin Kentch It’s late April, which means that national team nominations should officially be announced soon by U.S. Ski & Snowboard. But if you would like to know what that team announcemen…

19/04/2024

Now skiing for Team Birkie: Alayna Sonnesyn, Mariel Merlii Pulles, and Christopher Kalev. Find out more here.

By Gavin Kentch Alayna “four-time Birkie champion” Sonnesyn, the pride of Wayzata High School, highlights several new additions to Midwest training group Team Birkie, the team announced in a press …

11/04/2024

“The average age that athletes in this study discontinued nordic ski racing is 23. Nordic skiers usually reach their physiological peak in their career around age 29, so further research on why skiers are leaving sport far before they peak physiologically could be beneficial for keeping skiers engaged in sport especially after they graduate college.”

Lizzie Larkins, a grad student in the department of Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology at Montana State University, checks in with the results of her survey on why American nordic ski racers leave the sport, and the challenges they face when they do so. Read on for more.

Last June, Lizzie Larkins, writing in her capacity as a grad student in the department of Exercise Physiology and Kinesiology at Montana State University, penned a request for survey responses in t…

05/04/2024

It's spring job hunting season for the nordic community: NENSA is hiring for the position of Competitive Program Director to oversee its year-round competitive programming.

This post is shared on behalf of NENSA. As the regional governing body for cross country skiing in the U.S., New England Nordic Ski Association (NENSA) provides the support structure necessary to b…

05/04/2024

Offseason transfer window now open: apply to train with SMS T2 Team this summer, or next year as a member of the SMS T2 Elite Team.

This post is shared on behalf of SMS T2. Ben Ogden, Finegan Bailey, and a lot of mustaches. (photo: courtesy SMS) The SMS T2 team is accepting applications for its 2024 Summer Program and 2024-2025…

04/04/2024

Was last night’s skate sprint relay here at Kincaid Park a fun, low-key, season-ending fling; a citizens race bloodsport with one of the deepest domestic fields of the entire year; or American ski development at its best, without even trying? Yes.

Read on for my love letter to citizens racing in Anchorage. Plus there is video.

By Gavin Kentch ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Was last night’s skate sprint relay here at Kincaid Park a fun, low-key, season-ending fling; a citizens race bloodsport with one of the deepest domestic fields …

01/04/2024

APU Nordic Ski Team takes the National Nordic Foundation's eponymous NNF Cup for the second time in three seasons, while Alayna Sonnesyn and Michael Earnhart claim the season-long overall SuperTour titles. More details here.

By Gavin Kentch Alaska Pacific University Nordic Ski Center has won the NNF Cup for the past year, reflecting its status as the club or college team that had the strongest cumulative performances a…

27/03/2024

Last one, brutally slow one: John Steel Hagenbuch of Dartmouth outsprints a pack to win men's 40km skate in a Duluth blizzard; Novie McCabe of APU pulls away over the final laps to win women's 40km by two minutes.

By Pasha Kahn, special to Nordic Insights DULUTH, Minnesota — On Tuesday the much anticipated snowstorm edition of the Spring Series 40km freestyle race kicked off in unfavorable, “super blustery” …

26/03/2024

It's March 26. Do you know where your running-specific fitness is? Runners’ Edge Alaska has some things for you to keep in mind as you make the seasonal transition from skiing to running.

This guest post is from Runners’ Edge Alaska, a full-service sports physical therapy business in Anchorage. This is sponsored content; Runners’ Edge writes the posts, which I am editing for house s…

26/03/2024

Fast and furious racing in Sunday's team skate sprint in Duluth, the penultimate event of Spring Series. Lauren Jortberg and Alayna Sonnesyn of SMS won the women's race, while APU's Zanden McMullen and JC Schoonmaker were fastest among the men. Full race writeup here.

By Pasha Kahn, special to Nordic Insights DULUTH, Minnesota — Day three of Spring Series on Sunday, March 24, unveiled a fresh race discipline to the SuperTour — the team sprint. Originally the int…

25/03/2024

More photos! Here are several dozen images from yesterday's team sprint in Duluth. Shoutout to Woods Creek Productions for the great shots.

By Gavin Kentch Sunday in Duluth saw the penultimate race of the 2023/2024 domestic race season, the skate team sprint at Spring Series. The APU men flashed their depth to take the top two steps on…

25/03/2024

Novie McCabe is good at classic skiing, takes national championship sprint win in the discipline on Saturday following Thursday's SuperTour distance win. JC Schoonmaker leads the way for the men. Full writeup here.

By Pasha Kahn, special to Nordic Insights DULUTH, Minnesota — Spring Series continued on Saturday, March 23, with a classic sprint held in bright sun and relatively crisp air. The 1.4k course ran a…