Suffer Season

Suffering through October and November is a ritual part of the nordic skiers calendar.  Daylight rapidly disappears, roads are often wet and leaf-filled, chill is in the air yet real snowpack seems hopelessly far away.  Meanwhile training volume and intensity gets ramped up and suffering takes on a whole new meaning.

Despite the apparent misery, it is also one of the most exciting times for HURT skiers.  Those in high school are looking forward to the start of their nordic season, new dates are added on the HURT calendar for team training and HURT Laydz sessions,  race dates are being solidified on the NYSSRA calendar , and new team gear and equipment comes rolling in from Mt. Borah and The Sportspage. Not to mention....HURT skiers secretly love all the hard training ;)

October also brings one of our favorite events: SUFFERFEST

It looks a little something like this...

It is the annual attempt by the Barbaric Berserkers of the Nordic Death Brigade to come south and establish nordic dominance.  Each year HURT has to show up in force to beat back the monsters of the north on the highway of hell known as Prospect highway.  Be sure you sharpen your ski tips, put on your fast wheels and prepare for the battle royale!

...only this is actually what they look like.

When: October 27th, 11:00am
Where: Prospect Mountain Highway, Lake George, NY
Details: Race starts at the toll base, ends at the top.  Bring shoes for the hike down and small bag to carry them up. Be there!


REMEMBER:  THE NYSSRA RACE FOR CLUB DOMINANCE HAS ALREADY BEGUN!

The team with the most NYSSRA members by November 1st wins the first "race".  POINTS ARE ON THE LINE!  Make yourself a member today!

From the Castle

Several HURT nordic skiers made there way up for the annual start-of-ski-season event on the Whiteface highway known as the Climb-to-the-Castle.  The press was out and about snapping pictures and snagging interviews and the following pictures and captions tell the tale...

The ex-Director thinking about how much more bovine hemoglobin he can realistically pump into his doped wheels.

Mr. "I will never do this event again" Huneck looking pleased that he nailed the clothing for the weather this year....shorts: warm and sunny at the bottom...ski suit top: windy and cold at the summit.

Owen "was this really my idea?" Putman skiing strong to the finish

We don't know what is going on here, the colors are too dull to make anything out.

HURT men gettin' it done on tough day! (Missing top HURT finisher and SLU stud

Will Frielinghaus...he is doing repeats of the hill.....Congrats to all)

This is the "Ugh...sorry coach...yes, we did come al the way up to Lake Placid with our rollerskis in the car only to stand up here and watch people ski by.  Now, how many pushups do we have to do?" picture.

ex-Director leading the way for the HURT juniors. 

Senior Stud Frielinghaus Shows his Skiing Stuff for SLU

Underdogs?

Can a four-time reigning champion be an underdog?  The HRT newsroom was shocked when the AP Polls were released this week following the annual NY "Welcome-to-Nordic-Season" event known as the NYSEF Climb to the Castle rollerski sufferfest.

The top five preseason ranked teams...

AP Preseason NYSSRA Nordic Rankings: 
1) Peru Nordic - new additions and a strong endorsement from nordic champion/mountain goat/USSAbadass L. Stephen
2) RNR - reloaded and always a lot of Junior talent
3) HURT - we can't kick the champs out of the top 3...yet
4) ADK Vauhti - New kids on the block. Lots of enthusiasm
5) Cayuga Nordic - lots of age group points from this team of nordic stalwarts

(for full rankings of all the nordic clubs visit www.iamwastingtimeatworklookingatnordicskirankings.com)

News has been swirling this off-season that this may be the end of HURT nordics championship run...with a high graduation rate, departure of all the members of famed "Three-headed-monster" (and all its derivations), and the schism caused by the formation of upstart Adirondack Vauhti... this has all left HURT nordic looking leaderless and directionless entering fall rollerski season.  This is not helped by the fact that the brothers-Koziol (Jackson and Travis) seem to look increasing alike...The HRT newsroom spent the last two hours taking to "The Director" about the upcoming season*...

HRT: What are your hopes for the upcoming season?

D: I like sledding.

HRT: Can you recover from the loss of so much team talent?

D: You know whose got talent?  America.  I saw that on TV.

HRT: How has training been going?

D: CHOO! CHOO!

*(There is a chance we may have interviewed the wrong Koziol...we are looking into it.)

How will HURT Nordic Respond?  What will be the new teams identity? How will the new landscape of NYSSRA Nordic be formed this race season?

We look forward to answering all these questions as the season ramps up.  It all starts this weekend at the Fall bi-annual NYSSRA meeting where race dates and season calendars get laid out.  Come be part of the process and help grow nordic skiing in NY.  Visit this page for full details: http://www.nyssranordic.com/nordicskiracing.html.  We'd love to have your input and help.

Another friendly reminder...if you, your parents, brother, sister, dog, neighbor, classmate or friendly neighborhood Olympian has not signed up for NYSSRA and HURT...encourage them to do so. https://www.skireg.com/Net/nyssra-nordic-membership-2012-2013

Stay tuned for information on the upcoming race season and fall training events.  

What the fall brings

Lots of questions are swirling around HURT nation as August winds down and a busy autumn looms.  Will HURT be able to respond effectively to the loss of talented skiers to Adirondack Vauhti? Can they recover with the graduation of many of their top points earners and talented juniors? Will they cement a dynasty with a half-decade of NYSSRA team titles? Can they finally get it together and win the team championship relay? Can the Director cope with the pressure? (photo evidence shows it may not be going well....

(oh dear...)

The answer so far has been simple...we gotta train. hard. and a lot.  If a resurgence is going to come, it is gonna be because new stars are willing to step up to the fill the void.  For HURT, Matt Forshey seems poised to take the bull by the horns to lead the next crop of top talent.  He has already notched some great junior performances on the range of Jericho  and is building some great form into the early season.  If Matt doesn't provide the answer, it looks like a certain dynamic duo will lead the way.  It is unknown who it will be, but HURT has some double-trouble coming down the line....will it be "The Ducli" twins Sarah and Amy?? The "CHAAAAZAM" brothers Adam and Brian? Or perhaps "Tom and Jerry" duo of Owen Putnam and Aaron Huneck?  The season hasn't really started so any number of HURT juniors could find themselves in the driver seat of the teams success.  Surprises are sure to come up! 

Get to training and join us for the season!

(visual approximation of how Aaron and Owen ski together)

Here is a little bit of what we've been up to:

Not Dry Heat

In 2012, HURT nordic hosted a junior ski camp that ended up being during one of the hottest weeks of the calendar year.  So for the last twelve months HURT organizers have been poring over meteorological charts, weather maps, doppler radar and farmers almanacs that would help them pick a nice summer week of good weather, modest temperatures and low humidity.

Needless to say, HURT organizers really stink at being meteorologists.

The 2013 HURT camp was a humid, brutal sweat-fest with temps nearing the triple digits with air so thick you could chew it.  It did not keep skiers from thinking about the upcoming winter and the nordic race season.  The athletes beat the heat and took major steps toward reaching their individual goals of top finishes in JN Qualifers, Junior Nationals, Eastern High School Champs, J2 (U16) championships and club and school races.  It was a week that brought together skiers from RNR, NYSEF, HURT, and unattached skiers from all across the state.

The week was filled with strength sessions, OD skis, technique work, classic intervals, skate sprints, agility on dryland and skis, uphill time trials, mountain hike, and bounding sessions.....all that balanced out with plenty of swimming, splash pads, ping pong, napping, eating and recovering.  We would like to thank again STEWARTS SHOPS who donated ice cream sundaes for our kids and PRICE CHOPPER who donated a nice gift card for food.  We also want to thank THE SPORTS PAGE who continues to support the HURT nordic team and our nordic events.


It was a great week for NY skiing and youth skiing.  Visit our facebook page to view a video recap of the weeks happenings.  Here are a few pics:

summit of Buck Mtn

Our Camp Champions

West Mtn TT

Here are the final results for our camp competitions:

Dryland Speed and Agility:
Tommy Ernst  1:46
Sarah Duclos  1:47
Adam Luban  1:58
Matt Forshey  2:02
Amy Duclos  2:08
Adam Marino  2:10
Brian Chrzan  2:11
John Ferrone  2:12
Adam Chrzan  2:12
Maddi Schriefer  2:17
Owen Putnam  2:24
Megan Kellogg  2:25
Aaron Huneck  2:26
Gabbi Rodbell  2:29
Emily Cromie  2:29
Connor Hyrnuk  2:31
Eric Houk  2:33
Ethan Katz  2:39
Everett Sapp  2:39
Ryan Young  2:57
Maile Sapp  3:01
Ben Francisco  3:08
Eliza Blood  3:13


Uphill Time Trial Run
Ben Anderson - guest  14:44
Adam Luban  15:15
Jason Hettenbaugh - coach  15:19
Matt Forshey  16:44
Connor Hyrnuk  17:07
Aaron Huneck  18:32
Ryan Young  18:33
Tommy Ernst  18:35
Brian Chrzan  18:41
Eric Houk  18:42
Seth Mares - guest  18:57
Jon Ferrone  19:22
Adam Marino  19:41
Megan Kellogg  20:03
Sarah Duclos  21:07
Amy Duclos  21:31
Ethan Katz  22:38
Owen Putnam  22:51
Maddie Schreifer  25:50
Adam Chrzan  27:15
Ben Francisco  28:09
Gabbi Rodbell  29:55
Eliza Blood  32:07
Emily A.  33:38
Maggie Borgos  33:51

Ski Agility Course
Matt Forshey 1:00
Everett Sapp 1:00.13
Adam Luban 1:02
Austin Huneck - guest 1:08
Adam Marino 1:09
Eric Houk 1:10
Connor Hyrnuk 1:10
Ryan Young 1:12
Aaron Huneck 1:13
Maile Sapp 1:14
Sarah Duclos 1:19
Amy Duclos 1:20
Adam Chrzan 1:23
Ben Francisco 1:23
Maddi Schreifer 1:25
Ethan Katz 1:26
Megan Kellogg 1:26
John Ferrone 1:27
Brian Chrzan 1:29
Gabbi Rodbell 1:34
Eliza Blood 1:37
Emily Cromie 1:47

Congrads Grads!

Big going-ons in HURT country this weekend as the team prepares to send off its first group of graduating juniors from high school.  Several of these young men and women have been with HURT nordic since its humble beginnings (when they were forced into service by their parents) but have consistently raced in HURT green, lead their respective high school teams and become powerhouses in NY nordic community.

Congrats to Austin H, Brain H, Emma U, Ben A, Seth M. and 1/2 of Adam L as they celebrate their achievements and look forward to new adventures.  Everyone at HURT nordic wishes Brian and Austin the best of luck as they take their talents to the Maine Winter Sports Center to take the next step in their ski career, and to Adam Luban (skiing for NCAA powerhouse Middlebury) and Seth Mares (up in the U.P. of Michigan), and to Emma (at UNH)  and Ben (some wicked-smaaaart place) as they pursue their goals and find time for snow.

The HURT news team has been to all the graduation/awards ceremonies/recognition banquets/proms/parties/senior days and compiled a short visual approximation of everyones end of the school year.  The following link should sum up pretty much all the June happenings of our recent graduates:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQ5pKg3B1ns

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU ALL!

Cool to see this......

turn into this. 

On to the SUMMER!  

Important news:

1) Sign up for HURT camp! Info is found here: http://www.hurtnordicskiing.com/images/generalcamp%20copy.pdf

 Sign up before June 28th so you can get in on the camp T-Shirt order

2) Team training for adults, juniors, W.I.N.O.S, hikers and any local skiers is on Monday nights at 6pm.  Check the HURT team calendar for details on location because we move around the area from week to week.  If you want to ski fast in the winter, put the time in now!  Join us!

3) Please support the Cole's Woods Investment Project!  We are trying to get a snowmaking system in the trails at Cole's Woods.  It would be awesome to have consistent snow on our home course!  

Support the cause here: http://www.razoo.com/story/Cole-S-Woods-Investment-Project.  If you donate before July 4th, you are entered into a community raffle for some great vacation prizes.  https://www.facebook.com/events/387121071393115/

HAPPY SUMMER FROM HURT NORDIC!

Odd Oddsmakers Odds - "Springtime-Funtime-Fundraising-Edition"

HURT nordic is lucky to be a club team that draws some of the best regional high school talent from area schools.  Despite their loyalty for the high school nordic teams they represent, the HURT juniors know how to support each other and the ski for the green and red standard of HURT nation.

However...there is a fierce off-season competition brewing in Section 2 that just may pit friend-against-friend, neighbor-against-neighbor, and skier-against-skier.

Nope.....not early season time trails.

It's a fundraising competition to raise money to put a loop of snowmaking in the Glens Falls trail system known as Cole's Woods.  The great folks at the Sportspage and Inside Edge have put together a great ski prize package for the Section 2 high school program that can have the highest fundraising average before August 1st.   It's a big prize with a lot more that off-season bragging rights. (although that is worth a lot too!)

Nobody likes off-season competition more than our resident odd-oddsmaker..... he has spent a few seconds analyzing the team statistics and fundraising potential and come up with predictions that are 100% guaranteed to have a slim chance at being right...

Saratoga Nordic: The Blue Streaks lost some senior power to graduation and a lot of their success rides on whether they want to leave a legacy of success.  HURT up-an-comers Adam Marino and Patrick Broderick anchor the returning squad and collegiate bound Seth Mares and Maine Winter Sports biathlete Brian Halligan create a formidable foursome that bring experience and passion for nordic skiing.

Odds of Winning - 7:1 Look for a fast start to their fundraising campaign... but terrible summer traffic in Saratoga and Halligan's inexperience with a stick shift will prevent them from canvasing lots of ground.



Shen Nordic:  Young, enthusiastic and heavily represented by HURT nordic will help this team and nordic community raise some good money for snow guns.  However, Coach PK is heading up this operation and he has a tendency to get distracted by shiny-bicycle-related objects in the summertime.  We'll see if the Ducli, Huneck brothers, Chrzan brothers and Owen Putnam can rally support for a ski trail system that is 9 northway exits away.

Odds of Winning - 5:1 Lots of enthusiasm. Bikes are fun! Shiny! hehe!



Queensbury Nordic: Could be a tough group to contend with.  It would be a hometown course.  It's a nordic loving community and that might be the right recipe for success.  However, Queensbury could be hampered by the droves of kids that are on the roster that could weigh down the team average.  Coach Bob Underwood has so many kids he doesn't even know how many athletes he's got.  Betting folk need to hope he can get the word out to enough kids that they can keep that team average up.

Odds of Winning - 7:2 Modified skiers count too. doh!


Scotia/Glenville and Guilderland: Moderately large size teams, passionate skiers. Good team Leadership from Matt Forshey and co (Scotia) and several dynamic coaches. This could be the winning ticket.  However....miles make it a tough bet.  Will the Scotia and Guilderland community be galvanized enough to raise money for snowmaking not exactly in their back yard, or their neighbors backyard, or their neighbors, neighbors, neighbors, backyard? Maybe they will raise enough money to put a one stop electric tram from Guilderland and Scotia to Glens Falls?

Odds of Winning - 12:1 "MIND THE GAP!"


Johnstown/Johnsburg/Mayfield/Lake George/Canjo/Glens Falls: Small school + big effort = WINNERS! All these schools have a real shot at unseating the section 2 big schools by taking advantage of that ever important team AVERAGE.  A couple big donations from these nordic skiers could leave the big programs scratching their heads.  Look for some surprising results from these teams. Glens Falls HS has some added incentive!

Odds of Winning - 4:1


SPA CATHOLIC : MAJOR DARK HORSE!  1 skier. How much money can one modified skier raise?

Odds of Winning - 3:1 Fortunately for you, he is distracted by baseball.  

Good Luck to all the High School skiers as they try to change the landscape of Nordic Skiing in new York State.  HISTORY IS ON THE LINE!!