The NYS Rollerski Champs: On November 19th, HURT nordic held the first NYS Rollerski Championship in Saratoga State Park. We caught up with promoter and co-organizer Brian Halligan after the race for the first of many hard-hitting interviews this season.*
*by "caught up" we mean we approximated what it would have been like to talk with the interviewee. But whatever...the definition of journalism has become pretty fuzzy in recent weeks
HRT: So Brian, how was the race and what gave HURT the idea to host this event?
BH: Well Chuck, Kingston Nordic used to host a rollerski race for years and we looked to tap into that late November enthusiasm but bring it north a bit. We loved the major swag from that race and tried to get some of that here as well.
HRT: We knew that event well. It was truly a special event. It must have been hard to duplicate the flat-fast course, full-speed 180 degree turn in the final stretch, the errant soccer balls from nearby fields, and oncoming traffic that Kingston was famous for. How did you manage to compensate?
BH: Well, we contacted Greg M. to consult with us and help with our organizing effort. We can't thank him enough. Despite our closed roads and pristine pavement we held 2 great races (5K Classic and 10K freestyle) were able to get donations from Toko, Polar, Concept 2, Accelerade, US Ski Poles and Rudy Project so that helped. The fact that we had Saratoga sulfer spring water to serve helped us really make this event unique. We hope to carve a real nice pre-Thanksgiving tradition up here.
HRT: We heard your shout-out to the event on your new podcast at kickzonemedia.com, did that help bring out the massive crowds to the event?
BH: Not that I know of, but I do know from my extensive podcast analytics that the number of people in Minnesota who googled airfare rates from Minneapolis to Albany increased by 2300%. So that is something.
HRT: We heard your shout-out to the event on your new podcast at kickzonemedia.com, did that help bring out the massive crowds to the event?
BH: Not that I know of, but I do know from my extensive podcast analytics that the number of people in Minnesota who googled airfare rates from Minneapolis to Albany increased by 2300%. So that is something.
Check out pics below and results here:
HURT Nordic Thanksgivng Camp.....in NEW YORK: On November 25-27 HURT held their first (hopefully annual) junior nordic ski camp in North Creek, NY at the Gore Mountain Ski Bowl Park. Aided by some early season cold temps, a little natural snow, and a great snowmaking system, HURT was able to get some solid on-snow time on the 1.7K loop that was blown in. We "caught up"* with campers during the Thanksgiving potluck on Saturday night to ask how things were going....
*See above
HRT: Hi, Nino and Dan....how is camp going? Is it as good as expected?
N: Yeah...it is great to be on snow and great to be here with a bunch of my teammates from school. The skiing has been pretty nice. Not as deep as we would like...but it is a good start. It is sweet to be up training with HURT skiers from other high schools. It mixes it up a bit from our normal practices. Thanks to Coach Tomb for letting us stay at his place and it is great that all the coaches worked so hard to make camp happen. It is a blast. What's burning? Is that the turkey? Or did someone leave a terrarium heat lamp on a rug?
HRT: ummmmm......gotta go. We hope to see you at the North Creek Nordic Fest in two weeks! Register now for the weekend races
Here are some pics from camp:
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