The Ups and Downs of December

December is always a tough month for nordic skiers in New York.  It has been a long, wet, cold fall and everyone is ready for real winter snow.  Everyone is excited about racking up early days in snowy tracks, packing the rollerskis away for a while, and lining up for first period races.  This December was especially full of ups and downs and as HURT nation gets ready to enter 2015...here's the recap

1) Snow, Snow, SNOW....slush

This November/December started out with some of the best early season snow in recent memory...maybe ever (no hyperbole there, folks).  It was seriously awesome!  Many nordies were out skiing for their own version of West Yellowstone ski festival here in the East during Thanksgiving and early K's were enjoyed across our area.  The NYSEF season opener was on some of the best VanHo conditions in recent memory...maybe ever (no hyperbole there, folks). It was seriously awesome and felt like skiing in Finland (not that I have been...but the pictures looked the same).

Now we've hit December 20's....and it looks like late March with a heavy dose of mud and rain.  #blurg

2) Low numbers...high numbers.

It is important to have poor short term memory as a ski racer....one weekend you may pull off great results and one week later fall flat and miss expectations.  This is the nature of the game.  HURT was out for the NYSEF season opener as Owen, Aaron, DPK, Chris, Pete and Eric H put up solid results and scored big points against rival clubs.  For the HURT high school skiers things started off great as well as many of them packed the top 5 and podium positions.  The Rikert Eastern Cups wrote a slightly different story. It was awesome to see HURT alums ski so well over the course of both days and current team members (despite the poor finishes #blurg) found new goals to set.  Those races serve as a reminder that more work can always be done and new goals can be set...but it can be done!

Chris Y storms up the Ladies 5K at the NYSEF opener

Amy fights her way through a tough Eastern Cup at Rikert

MWSC and HURT Alum, Austin H skis his way to a 16th place overall Eastern Cup finish

DPK and Aaron H sprint their way to a 10th-11th respectively at the NYSEF opener. All about the boot slide!

DPK leads the HURT contingent at the opener

HURT alum, Will F skis to a strong finish for St. Lawrence.  

3) More to come...

The season has just begun and a lot of great events are on the horizon.  You may see mud and gray today, but the best of winter is coming.  The Directress(es) and everyone here at the HURT newsroom want to wish everyone (all 3 of you...) who reads this blog a very happy and festive holiday season and we hope you are looking forward to seeing big results from everyone and hearing the news of new HURT skiers ready to join the ranks....some big signings are in the works.  All the best wishes to you and you family from HURT-nation!

On like Donkey Kong!

Snow making has begun at Lake Placid ski jumps, the toll road has snow, feet of snow fell in the U.P, fast grass is found from the Green Mountains to Mt. Van Greene, and mid-season corduroy is rolled on the Tug.  All over HURT nation skiers are gearing up for the start of the race season and enjoying the early cold snap.  The December NYSSRA membership drive has HURT poised for some solid starting club points despite losing some solid masters points to the evil empire (Burt? in black?) but if you haven't wrangled your closest friend, fittest neighbor, or nearest stranger onto skis and into HURT green do it now before December 1st!  We love seeing your early season pics so when you get on snow post it up on the HURT book-o-faces.... or tweet it @hurtnordic #eastyellowstone.  Here are some of our early season favorites so far....

Mr. Mares is laughing at all us rollerskiers while he stands atop feet of Michigan white stuff.

Barb and Chris cruise the toll road!

 

MDH and Ed "Yeti" Luban enjoy a team ski on the early season white stuff

Directress #1 tests out her fastest boards on the first snow to land on the new trail system at "Mt. Van Greene".  Check out the great weight transfer!

Directress #2 hasn't found the skis yet but is wind-testing the most recent race suit technology. 

Chris Y. is keeping things rolling with Tuesday night workouts, OD skis are planned for the rest of November and with a little luck some team Thanksgiving weekend snow time is in the works.  Keep your eyes on our media empire and plan to join us!  For those at the far edges of HURT nation.....keep us posted on your season with pics and let us know when you are in town.  

Enjoy the start of the season!  Its on like DONKEY KONG!

November Training Days

Come join us for two OD rollerski workouts in November.  Both are starting from Chris' house at 9am.  We will aim for about 3 hrs of L2 skate skiing.  Mark your calendars!

Saturday November 1st 9am (the day before Sufferfest!)

Sunday November 16th 9am

Fall Time!

Fall time is a great time of year...temps get cooler, cider donuts are back and rollerski sessions get more frequent and more intense.  Winter is coming and you can feel it in your bones (along side the exhaustion, soreness and general fatigue that comes from sharing a bedroom with an infant....oh sorry....that's just me).  Fall training days are in full swing and the Directress(es) are encouraging (demanding...they are very demanding...) everyone to come out and get some good team skiing in.  Tuesday night training is still rolling with Chris, Owen, Tim and co. leading the way at SPAC and the interval sessions are starting to ramp up fitness.  We have been planning some wicked weekend training departing from the Yarsevich-Center-of-Excellence in Greenfield, NY.  The first session saw Patrick, Owen, Chris, DPK, Brian and Sean joined by HURT new-comer Eric Rogers for a 30+K roll on some of the best training roads NY has to offer. The next weekend training day will be Saturday, Spetember 27th and following it will be a fall-time-potluck-HURT-celebration for  all team friends and family.  Email Chris for potluck details and directions.  We really hope to see you there! (you don't have to wear a bright yellow shirt either.....it was purely coincidence.....I swear it).  We are working out the details for our October dates so stay tuned for details.

On Sunday, please consider coming down to Siena College to join in the NYSSRA Nordic planning meeting.  NYSSRA is looking for fresh faces and new ideas as we plan for the winter race season.  The general meeting is scheduled for 12:30 and should last only a couple hours.  HURT will again place a bid to host the NYSSRA Championship Weekend up in Lake Placid (which was a HUGE success last year) and will be looking to find ways to implement Jan Mares' great idea of adding 5K race options for adult skiers at some NYSSRA races.  (which the mothers of HURT LAYDZ have already committed to DOMINATING).  Remember....what happens in the fall pays off in the winter....just like training and racing.  When great planning happens in the fall, great events happen in the winter.  We would love for you to be part of the process so please check out the info at www.nyssranordic.org and try to make it if you can.  

September Training Update

The OD Rollerski originally scheduled for Sunday Sept 28th conflicts with the annual NYSSRA meeting!

Therefore, we will be holding the ski and potluck the day before, 9am Saturday September 27th.  We will start our ski at 9am from Chris' house and return around 11:45ish for a BBQ.

Please RSVP, so we can organize the lunch.

October Training Days

HURT Nordic will be holding another in our series of Over Distance (OD) Training on Saturday October 11th at 9am.  We will be doing some easy L1-L2 skate skiing, covering 40 KM (about 3 hrs), starting from Chris' house.

Join us and please RSVP.

September Training Days

HURT Nordic will be holding two OD training days this September.  Mark you calendars for September 7th and 27th.  We will be starting at 9am from Chris' new house, where there is crazy good roller skiing terrain (lots and lots of hills).  Email us if you need directions.

September 7th, 9am will be 2 hrs (~30km) of easy skate skiing.

DATE CHANGE: Now Saturday 9/27
September 27th, 9am will be 2.5 hrs (~35km)  of easy skate skiing.  Following this ski we will do a lunch potluck/BBQ at Chris'.  Please let us know if you are planning to attend and we can organize dishes to share.

A preview of some of the terrain.  Newly paved, little traffic, and this is not even the steep one!

Number 23

One of the great features of fasterskier.com is the athlete blogs. They are inspirational, instructional, and offer a cool window into the professional world of the sport we love.  Jessie Diggins posted a great piece on the importance and value of having a team both on and off the trails. This could not be truer.  As a way to thank the Chrzan, Mares and Hunecks for their generosity and time, along with thanking all the other wonderful people who make up the HURT family, I wanted to add a special number 23....


23) They will help you move.... and despite the change in miles, they will keep you close.


One of the great things about HURT is that we go from Syracuse, NY (and north of Syracuse) to now Manchester, VT, but we still have a way of keeping it close.  That is no little thing.  Small (and big) efforts and close friendships make this possible. Thanks to everyone for all you do to make this team great.

Thanks for helping the Directress PK and her Proxy move into their new home in Manchester! 

FOR THE FALL:  Keep an eye on the team calendar.  Chris and Tim will be leading team training on a new night (Tuesday) and there will be some Saturday/Sunday rollerskis planned and added very soon.  Those will happen through the fall. Chris' new house has access to TONS of beautiful training roads around Greenfield.  We will see you then!

Also....Keep an eye out for info on the annual SUFFERFEST rollerski race up Prospect Mountain. 

Oh....and P.S. Which one you punks stole our measuring spoons! Adam!!!!

HURT in July - Camp review and team goings-on

Despite being the farthest month from reliable snow in NY, July is one of the best months of the year for HURT skiers.  Things were kicked off with a summer get-together featuring good food, good people and a pre-party bike ride for the roadies on the team. Thanks to the Halligans for hosting the party and everyone for coming…we missed those people that couldn't make it!

The Best Team around! 

The original Director does his best to honor one-half of the new Directress duo...

Hoping to mimic this…..

was actually more like this….

The real highlight for the month was the annual HURT nordic junior ski camp held at Camp Meadowbrook in Queensbury.  This year we had the largest group ever and the most skiers from Eastern NY.  The word is starting to get out to Section 2 skiers….if you want to ski fast in the winter, make sure you are at HURT camp in the summer!  Past years had seen temperatures frequently approach the 100 degree mark with humidity that would make you sweat just thinking about it.  This year, bright sun, comfortable temps and cool nights kept skiers feeling good and training hard.   

So much work was done over the week…..bounding intervals, strength training, agility (both on land and on skis), classic rollerskiing, skate OD's, double pole intervals, skate sprints, Uphill TT running, flexibility, video analysis…..it really had everything you need to be a better skier.  And everything was followed up with great food (a lot of food….wow….like so much food!!), trips out for Stewarts Ice Cream, Mini-golf and fun times around camp.   Our sponsors (Stewarts, The Sportspage and Rudy Project) did a lot to make sure our kids walked away with some great items and camp deals.  Special thanks to Coaches Adam Terko and Ethan Townsend who came down from St. Lawrence University to spend some time with our juniors.  HURT juniors were very well represented as Brian Chrzan, Adam Chrzan, Aaron Huneck, Owen Putman, Sarah Duclos, Amy Duclos, Patrick Broderick, Adam Marino, Connor Hyrnuk, Eliza Blood, Justin Caron and newest member Nathaniel Kinkaid all spent the week training at camp.  

Here are some photos from the week...

Buck Mountain Hike

Balance! Balance! Balance!

Striding it out

Back to the vans

Coach Underwood demos body position

DPK one-arm striding

Double Polin'

Coach Adam leads some easy skating

2014 West Mountain uphill TT

Connor H: 15:31

Coach Adam: 16:46

Brian C: 17:00

Eric H: 17:03

Aaron H: 17:20

Bryce: 18:15

Dave B: 18:55

Adam M: 19:14

Patrick B: 19:15

Austin: 19:48

Seamus: 19:37

Sarah D: 20:04

Owen P: 20:22

Justin C: 20:24

Adam C: 20:33

Amy D: 20:52

Nathaniel: 21:11

Val: 21:24

Dowon: 21:37

Casey: 21:41

Eliza: 21:58

Pablo: 22:25

Nico: 22:26

Emily A: 23:55

Brendan: 24:54

Amanda: 26:14

Maggie: 30:31

Claire: 30:52

Sophie: 30:53

Anna: 30:54

Team training will be continuing so keep tabs on the calendar….be sure to keep up the great summer training!  A camp video can be seen here: http://youtu.be/4-k-kjU9wOU that shows some of the great skiing done by all the kids.  Enjoy!

Keep on Rollin

This past Monday, HURT faithful did some L1 rolling skiing and technique work. Thanks to the help of Laydz skier/den mother Jan Mares and some well placed Go-Pro action they were able to shoot some early season technique video for double poling, kick-double poling and striding.  Now is the time of year when the directresses want to take a look at those bad habits and make the small changes that are going to pay of big as the training season heats up.  Take a look at the footage and if you are in the video figure out what you need to do to.....get your hips forward/keep your hips high/look up the trail/hit your end points/flex your ankles/have your arms high and at the proper arm angle....or whatever technique cues you come up with to have your classic skiing dialed in.

The directress(es) liked what they were looking at and the videos and pics were meant with ample amounts of child-like glee.  But more work needs to be done by all.  

Here is a picture that shows some key points of double poling/striding technique.  Some have 2, others got 3 shots going by.  Keep working at it!

May Day - final day of rest

Perhaps you are a person that fosters a sacred grove of trees, or a Druid who participates in oak worship. Or maybe you are a Scotsman who forms community circles and dances around your fire.

Or perhaps you are an activist in a battle with corporatist society who is continually trying to establish permanent, unbreakable industrial work discipline. And today is your day to revolt.

Either way....it is May now and it is the start of your Spring training.  Sharpen the rollerski tips, break out the training log - April break is over!  The Directress(es) have had a busy month laying out plans for the off-season and there will be lots of opportunities for juniors and masters to get their fill of HURT training.  Doesn't matter if you are a U16, Post-grad or M8; we should have something for everyone.  Team training will start up on Mondays at 6pm for the next few months.  First session will be at SPAC and you should come prepared for rollerskiing, technique work, strength session or trail running (weather depending).  HURT camp is coming back to Queensbury on July 14th-19th and registrations are already being sent in.  This year's camp is sure to be the biggest one yet and you will want to reserve your spot before it closes out.  Coaches from the Saint Lawrence nordic ski team will be joining the coaching staff at this year's camp to take a look at some top talent and you will want to be ready for them.  There will also be some two-day training opportunities with some Olympic level skiers for athletes up in North Creek so you will want to keep your eye open for details on that.

Bottom line....enjoy your dance around the May pole today..... tomorrow, it is game on for WINTER 2014-2015.

Besides.....
Directrix PK has already done more pushups than you today!

GET AFTER IT!

April 12th! Scramble Time!

Despite the warming temps Saratoga Biathlon Club still reports that they have SNOW! let’s race! Come to the second annual HURT Easter Scramble, on Saturday, April 12th.  Although we will be racing in Day, we want to make this a fundraiser for the Friends of Cole’s Woods.  They are working hard to improve the grooming and trails in the park by purchasing new equipment and fundraising for improved infrastructure. This event will begin at 10am. 

Here are the rules of the game:

• All skiers will ski the a 4K loop.

• Along the trail there will be 4 baskets of Easter Eggs. You have the OPTION to collect up to 2 Easter Eggs at each basket. (total 8 eggs per skier* see below)

• Each egg has either a time bonus OR a time penalty. You must carry your eggs in someway over the whole course. If you bring and use a traditional wicker Easter basket to carry your eggs you will subtract 3 minutes off your 5K time.

• For every Spring/Easter themed item you wear on your body you will be able to subtract 10 seconds off your race time.

• The race will be FREE! but you can make an optional donation and ONE HUNDRED percent of your race fee will be donated to the “Friends of Cole’s Woods” and will go to the project fund.

• For every dollar you donate on top of your race fee you can subtract an equal number of seconds off your race time.

• This will be a unsanctioned-ski-at-your-own-risk family fun ski. Bring your kids and family!

• Winner will receive a prize pack and chocolate-bunny-shaped-prize! 

   By request of the Directresses there are some additional Rules that all should be aware of:

  1) *plundering one's eggs directly from there basket is not allowed, however if an egg has been dropped along the trail it can be picked up by a trailing skier and added to their skier total

  If you are a skier attending from the Peru Nordic Masters...

  1) Any animals adorned on your body should not be recently slaughtered and/or at one time alive.

  2) There is a maximum 2 oz of external blood per skier rule....this is a family friendly ski event.

   

  Event page

  
  

   

Directrix(s) Deliver 2014 Championship

With a mid-season change in leadership there was some doubt as to whether HURT nordic would have  the cohesion necessary to bring their fifth straight club championship title.  With two weeks to go and team registration low for the NYSSRA Championship weekend, organizers were struggling to find answers.  However, nothing gets peoples attention like a wailing baby, so up stepped Joey Jane PK to rally the group.  Co-Director, Anna Y stepped up from there (giving hugs to anyone wearing green and white since they all kinda look like "daddy") and the team showed up in a big way.

The Directrix brings out a great group of HURT LAYDZ

Not only did the HURT faithful show up to ski, but they showed up to work, bake, cook, organize, set up, run the biathlon range and basically put on a truly championship weekend in Lake Placid.  Special thanks to everyone who helped out to make the weekend such a big success.  On orders of the Directrix(s), Chris Y took the lead on running registration and being chief of race while being sidelined for a few weeks.  He was missed on course, but the event could not have happened without him.

Saturday's club relay was exciting to say the least!  DPK lead the way with the fastest classic split of the day although he and Cameron struggled on the range in the final leg and fell out of medal contention. The team of Ed L. and Tim H. faired well on the day following the sharp shooting of Tim who is second guessing many of his life choices and wondering what could have been if he had trained more with a rifle.  He noted that Norwegian biathlete O.E. Bjorndahlen is something like 78 years old and still winning medals.  Bob and Heidi mixed it up in the mix relay and posted some fast times in both the skate and classic legs. The big thrill of the day was the emergence of Gina H and Bernadette O. as a true force to be reckoned with.  They teamed up with Ethan Katz and Eric Hamilton and had a great time!  Basically...the classic, classic, skate, biathlon format made for some interested strategic decisions and ultimately the race was totally in doubt until the shots were fired and penalty loops were skied
....And everyone had a lot of fun.

Sunday brought perfect blue kickwax conditions, falling snow over a firm and fast track.  The field of 60+ racers was competitive and geared up for 3 loops of the Inner Loop and East Mountain.  The finish was on a dramatic climb out of the stadium up main street. The racing was fierce and near the front a chase group of DPK, Eric Seyse and Liam Mulshine (and ultimately Jan Wellford) formed which brought on many sharp attacks, lead changes and quality racing.  The four were unsuccessful in bringing in the very talented Nick Underwood and Paul Allison but the race for the third podium spot was an exciting one.  Bob Underwood skied to a top 10, followed by HURT skiers Owen Putnam, Cameron Lewis, Tim Huneck, Patrick Broderick, Ed Luban, Heidi Underwood, Roger Henry, Eric Hamilton, Richard Dixon and Sherry Dixon. Great results were posted by all athletes and full results can be seen here: 

At the end of the racing HURT nordic once again solidified the coveted CHAMPIONSHIP BANNER!  5 in row!  Next year, proposed changes to the system will make things a bit tighter, so be prepared for a tough title defense!

Rounding out the weekend were races in Biathlon, Ski-O and a Try-It for charity race.  HURT skiers were entered in all events and it goes to show just how dedicated our skiers are to this sport, their team and ski racing in NY.

(HURT organizes their first ever biathlon race....championship caliber!) 

We interviewed one of the Directrix(s) after the events on Sunday during her first family ski about the succcess of HURT nordic and all the amazing people who make up this team.

HRT: Do you have any thoughts on your teams success and the dedication they have to nordic racing?

D(x): blurrbubrbubuu  blurgg wahf wahf glug blrlub blurbl blurb (spew)

HRT: (We believe this to mean she is proud of everyone)

We want to thank Tom Williams and Sisu Racing for doing such an amazing job on timing all the races.  There professionalism and expertise was wonderful and we look forward to working with them in the future.

Stay tuned for a possible Spring race and information about our Summer offerings, information from the NYSSRA Nordic Spring Meeting and upcoming developments for the team.

REVOLUTION!!

Mid-season turmoil! The Director is ousted!  A coup of epic proportions!

The anemic performance at yesterdays mini-marathon by team HURT has done in the once proud and uber-confident Driector Koziol.  But the following grievances have been cited against the Director...

1) The top 10 points earners in the NYSSRA Championship series features only 1 HURT athlete.  unacceptable.

2) It has been reported that the mighty Brian Halligan was given two pairs skis from the Director prior to his triumphant return to Saratoga Biathlon Club where he was supposed to set his sights on the mini-marathon course record.  The result....not one, but two pairs of inadequate bindings.   

3) Once Halligan crashed out of the race (twice) DPK was unable to maintain the pace set by the powerful Tornianen and he was content to drift back in a race for second and third with Stan-the man- Hatch.  This tactic has been deemed unacceptable by the standards set forth in the original team manifesto.   

4) The total points by HURT in the mini-marathon was not even good enough to bring them into the top 3 of team points totals.  Unacceptable. Only three athletes competed under the HURT standard. 

5) The Director has done a very poor job on controlling his media empire designed to bring coverage of weekend racing.  Unacceptable. 

6) The System of Patriarchy that has dominated HURT nation lo these many seasons has been deemed unacceptable by the masses.  Ladyz rule.  

7) It has been found out the recent 2014 version of the HURT race suit was untested prior to competition this year.  Shani Davis is not happy his new HURT suit is not up to standards.  

So what happens next?  Director is out. Time for HURT to flip the script. With three weeks left in the season there is still a chance for HURT skiers to get in the top ten and solidify dominance in the team points competition.  

Dual-Directoresses have risen up on the momentum of the masses and snatched power from the Director and thrown him out of his ivory tower. Look for a much more hands-on and far more demanding style of leadership. 

All Ye of HURT nation...your new leaders.... Anna Y and Josephine "Joey" Jane PK.  

 

Your presence is demanded at the Cookie-Clash and NYSSRA Championships.  Be there.  And bring a clean diaper.  

February Push

To date, the winter weather and racing season has been a tricky one for the HURT faithful: snow conditions have proved challenging at times, NYSSRA calendar races have been cancelled or postponed, Junior ranks have seen a lot of turnover from seasons past, and the rise have Adirondack Vauhti and Peru's top speed have had a lot of people questioning HURT ability to match speed and be relevant contenders.

The current Director has yet to been seen at NYSSRA races this season and many are wondering if his days are numbered. Not to mention masters ranks have been battling sickness and scheduling conflicts all season long.  Despite the fact that HURT has only 2 top points earners in the NYSSRA top 10,  many team members have stepped up to get out and race and grab points where they can....enough so that in the team competition it looks like they are once again poised to grab top honors.  A lot depends on the February push...

With February come fresh snow (a lot of it) and some of the best races of the season.  ADK Vauhti kicked the month off strong with a skiathlon event at Garnet Hill.  The 2 x 8K race featured fun tactical racing that put a small but race-savvy group against a deep Peru lineup and the fast skiing Vauhti team.

The trio of DPK, MDH and T. Huneck battled it out for strong finishes, with DPK leading the way and grabbing a podium spot...fighting tooth-and-nail with Tornianen and Wellford the whole way.

Up next this month comes the highly anticipated Empire State Games.  This year it features a distance skate race and two sprint events as a classic 7.5K on Sunday.  Lots of points, pride and glory are up for grabs.  The Ducli twins (through coercion, bribery and trickery...mostly) have been able to round up a massive junior field and for the price of lodging, pizza and some muffins are hoping to stack the juniors field with some major points earners.

The HRT newsroom is sending a full team of photographers and videographers to document the weekend.  For some in HURT nation, the weekend is overshadowed by the arrival PK heiress who is expected to grab top honors in the U0 age category (which also brings meaning to "February Push").

Rounding out the month bring the fan-favorites..."The Mini-Marathon" the "Tourathon" the "Shen Classic" and of course the "Cookie Clash".  Any combination of these races will have HURT skiers primed and ready for the championship weekend in March.  Stay tuned for more pictures, results and maybe a movie...

(sorry about the lack of movies this season, thus far...)

Ready to "Dual"

Father Huneck skiing strong

Pummeling by Peru

Although many NY skiers spent the last 10 days wondering if winter weather and ski racing would ever return to their neck of the woods, it is clear that some have found ways to keep up their fitness, motivation, and speed.  This past Saturday, thanks to the herculean effort of Bob Underwood and the Queensbury ski community, the Queensbury Invitational ski race was held in Lake George for the high school and NYSSRA club racing communities.

With a little more than a month before the NYSSRA championship races, a clear message was sent, and it was not the message HURT nation wanted to hear.  The Blood Thirsty Brigade from Peru made it clear that despite their current team points deficit they are in for the fight and are stacked with speed.  After Peru grabbed the top 4 spots of the men's race (Allison, Wynn, Newell, Wellford) and grabbing valuable points in the women's race (Zullo), HURT faithful were left scratching their heads and questioning Director Koziol's grand plan.  Top team points on the day went to Peru which tightens the gap leading into races next week.

It is clear that work needs to be done...

A new hope... the weekly workouts on Wednesday have taken on a new twist that should boost motivation, get the team skiing fast and challenge skiers to push their thresholds of pain and lactate. 

This Wednesday:   Ks for MLK

In honor of the great skier*, nordic combined athlete*, social activist and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.,  HURT nordic dedicates its Wednesday Workout in his name.  We are reminded of his great words...
*not historically confirmed

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their kickwax, but by the quality of their kick."

The event will  work as follows....Each skier will reach into a bag a draw a color of kickwax at random.  Options will range from Polar up to Swix 70 and have to ski the interval loop for a time using that kickwax.

Be sure to join us at 6pm for the race.  Please check the team calendar or Facebook for the location on Tuesday night.  We are going to wait and see which location will have the best snow before making the call.  Let's hope some of the flurries in the forecast add up to accumulation.

Huneck Grabs Cup Lead

Tim Huneck had the first token selected at random from the Director's Cup and thus was declared the winner of the New Year's Resolution Race. Here are the full results:

1. Tim Huneck
2. Dave Paarlberg-Kvam
3. Aaron Huneck
4. Cameron Lewis
5. Sarah Duclos
6. Amy Duclos
7. Owen Putman
8. Chris Yarsevich

In the race, skiers completed a lap of the 1.2 K course at Queensbury High School. They then tried to ski each successive lap faster than the one before. For each faster lap, skiers received a token that was placed into the Director's Cup and chosen at random by the Queen. The Queen was selected for this important role because she is next of kin to the Director, has no vested interest in who wins (other than seeing the Cup leave her house), and most importantly, possessed the only hand among those assembled that fit into the Cup.

Stay tuned for the next event in the Director's Cup series scheduled for next Wednesday, January 15. Location and type of event dependent on weather and the whim of the Director.