Weekend Events
July 18, 2018
Jul 20 Downtown Thunderdome - Fixed gear bike racing in downtown Minneapolis, part of the Aquatennial.
Jul 21 Lumberjack Run - Part of the Lumberjack World Championships, 5K running race hosted by the Birkie.
Jul 21 Hilltop Hustle Obstacle Run - Marshall School hosts a fun adventure race in and around the school.
Jul 22 Tri-Loppet - Racing from Lake Bde Maka Ska all the way up to the new Trailhead building, paddling, trail running and mountain biking.
Jul 22 Coffee Bean Classic - WORS series hits Minooka Park for race #7 in the mountain bike series.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Trailhead Building
July 17, 2018
The Loppet Foundation and the Minneapolis Park Board celebrated the new Trailhead building with a ribbon cutting event for the media on Tuesday morning at Theodore Wirth. There will be a grand opening event for the general public schedule for later this summer.
Related:
Photoset: 33 photos

Midwest MTB Report
July 17, 2018
Jay Richards Midwest MTB report this week hits action at BC Bike Bike, the MNMBS series at Lake Rebecca, and Miners Revenge, as well as an eBike race at Trollhaugen, epic coverage from the ANdorra Downhill World Cup, a high flyer over the Tour de France, and the look ahead to upcoming events.

Hopkins Raspberry Run Coverage
July 15, 2018
A steamy Sunday morning for the annual Hopkins Raspberry Run through downtown Hopkins. Daniel Gerber won the men's 5 mile division, clocking 5:41 miles, with Sarah Klecker topping the women's field at 32:17 (and 9th overall!). Photos from photographer Cece Boyle.
Related:
Photoset from Cece Boyle: 109 photos
Photoset from Cece Boyle: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Hopkins Raspberry Run

Summer Rivet Run Coverage
July 15, 2018
Eve Grave reports: Sunday was by far the warmest, most humid, buggiest Rivet Run/Walk of all! With 140 registered and 96 braving the elements on a modified course due to flood damage, everyone survived injury free! The top finisher in the men's category was Ben Schnoor, 19 years old, with a time of 19:21. Top female was Yoshika Woods, 50, in 26:17.
Related:
Photoset from Eve Graves: Rivet Run
Results: Rivet Run

Spotlight: LNR Juniors Development Group
July 11, 2018
Wednesday morning we caught up with the big Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) program at the Trailhead building, following the LNR Junior Development Group. The athletes hit the singletrack at Theodore Wirth for a roughly 20 minute warmup run. After the run, the group donned their rollerskiing equipment and heading over to the streets west of Theodore Wirth for some technique interval sessions with coaches Piotr Bednarski, Reid Lutter, Jenny Beckman and Claire Luby. The quiet roads provided ample opportunity to focus on some technique drills, both without and with poles.
Related:
Photoset: Junior Development Group - 127 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)

Midwest MTB Report
July 10, 2018
This weeks Midwest MTB report from Jay Richards includes a first hand report from the Border Crossing, highlights from the big WORS Cup, some interesting mountain bike articles to pass along and the usual look ahead.

Spotlight: Endurance United Juniors
July 10, 2018
Cece Boyle reports: Tuesday morning, Endurance United's East Metro Summer training group met up at Battle Creek Park for a dryland session. The group led by Liz Peterson and Lili Tapper worked with the athletes to help build a good base while still having fun. The athletes were led through some agility exercises, followed by a game of frisbee. The team then went out for a run with poles along the Battle Creek trails. Even in the humid weather, these athletes looked excited to train.
Related:
Photoset from Cece Boyle: Battle Creek Dryland - 72 photos
Photoset from Cece Boyle: Top Picks (high res)

Web Roundup
July 9, 2018
Mount Marathon - Rosie Frankowski clocks the fastest time uphill time in Mount Marathon race in Seward, AK.
Cross-training - Finn Sisu offers tips on summer training to help maintain your skiing fitness.
Summer Racing - Finland hosts a mid-summer ski race with over 2500 participants, including some World Cup stars.
Two Fast - Cannondale and Specialized both introduce new "fastest" bikes at the Tour de France.
Rear Radar - Forbes extols the Garmin RTL510, a cycling taillight with radar.

Tofte Trek Results
July 4, 2018
Greg Fangel reports: The 39th Annual Tofte Trek 10K Wilderness Run/Walk was held Wedsnesday (July 4th) in cool conditions in Tofte, MN. Well over 200 runners participated in the 10K, One Mile Run, and Kid's Sprint races as a part of Tofte's annual 4th of July celebration. Most runners finished before a line of rain moved through the area. This race, organized by the Sugarbush Trail Association, is known for its muddy conditions, which presents both a challenge and a badge of honor for finishing the course.
Related:
Results: Tofte Trek

Web Roundup
July 3, 2018
Reading List - CXC has posted the "required reading list" for coaches from Rick Kapala.
Indoor Snow - The first indoor ski and snowboard park in North America is set to open next March in New Jersey.
Dockless - Dockless bike sharing is coming to Nice Ride this summer.  Nice Ride is operated by Motivate, which in turn was purchased recently by Lyft.
Making the Grade - States graded based on adults who meet the federal guidelines for physical activity (MN scores well above).
World Champs 2019 - Tickets for the 2019 World Championships in Seefeld, Austria, are now on sale!
I Can Fly - Norwegian star Johannes Klaebo recently took to the skies in an F-16 fighter jet (video blog).

Birkie T-Shirt Contest Voting Underway
July 2, 2018
Designs for the 2019 American Birkebeiner t-shirt have been unveiled and voting is now open. Cast your opinion by July 7th!

Hoigaards Paddle Derby Mid-Point Results
June 29, 2018
The weekly Hoigaards Paddle Derby held their 5th race of the season, with another five to go. Results from the first five events (four as one was cancelled due to weather) are now posted.
Related:
Results: Hoigaards Paddle Derby
Hoigaards Paddle Derby

Midwest MTB Report
June 26, 2018
Jay Richards Midwest MTB Report this week has first-hand reports from the Mount Wirth Loppet, Lutsen 99er, as well as a summary from the WORS Firecracker plus a number of news items including CAMBA and Hayward trail development, and youth stars.

Web Roundup
June 25, 2018
Body Issue - Jessie Diggins is featured in ESPN's Body issue and writes about her struggles with an eating disorder and accepting her body image.   (Photo: ESPN/Dina Litovsky)
Cast Your Vote - Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins are in the running for the EPSY award for Best Olympic Moment!
Intro to Crossroads - Elspeth Ronnander reflects in the Vakava blog about racing and training pressure and life balance.
Elghuffs - Wisconsin native, now on the British Nordic ski team, shares one of her workouts in this feature for FasterSkier.
Ski Show - Norwegian stars score well in the summer rollerski events at the Oslo Ski Show.

4591 Sports Development Camp Coverage
June 25, 2018
Out There reports: Sunday we wrapped up the first 4591 Sports Development Camp of the season - The U16-U18 Camp with Deedra Irwin. With wonderful weather and a hard working small group they all left feeling strong and tired after 2.5 days of great training. Thanks to those whom attended and a huge Thanks to Coach Kris and Coach Deedra for a fantastic weekend. Here are links to some of the pictures from this past weekend.
Related:
Photoset from Out There: Overall, 3K Time Trial
4591 Sports Development U12-U14 July Camp

Mount Wirth Loppet Coverage
June 24, 2018
The new singletrack trails at Theodore Wirth got a real workout Sunday with the Mount Wirth Loppet MTB races. Kids comp races started the day, followed by citizen and sport divisions. The afternoon comp and expert races avoided forecast rain to wrap up the day. Coverage from the citizen and sport races.
Related:
Photoset: Citizen Race - 116 photos, Sport Race - 153 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Mount Wirth Loppet

Salomon: Sophie Caldwell - Why I Joined Salomon Nordic
June 22, 2018
Salomon has a write up from Sophie Caldwell, who finished third in the FIS sprint rankings last season, on why she has made the switch to Salomon Nordic for the upcoming season, joining Jessie Diggins.

CXC: First of 2018 Igor Legacy Camps a Success
June 21, 2018
CXC reports a very productive first Igor Legacy Camp of the season, with nearly 30 youth athletes for the three days of camp at Standing Rocks County Park. Next up, CXC will have back to back weekends of Igor Camps come July in Duluth and Mora, Minnesota. Space is limited and filling fast, so get your registration in!

What's Your Birkie Story?
June 21, 2018
Jessie Diggins shares her Korte story, love for the Birkie and how it helped develop her into an Olympic Gold Medal. Register for the Birkie events by June 28th to avoid the next price hike!
Related:
Video: Jessie, the Korte and her Gold Medal Journey

Loppet TRAIL KIDS June Camp Hosts Four Sets of Twins
June 21, 2018
Fifty youth ages 7-13 and twelve coaches made up the 2018 June TRAIL KIDS camp. Unique this year's camp roster was two sets of identical twins along with two sets of fraternal twins. Over the five days youth enjoyed mountain biking, orienteering, canoeing, exploring nature, rollerblading and playing lots of camp games.

Spotlight: Minneapolis Ski Club Juniors
June 20, 2018
Summer training programs are in full swing now! Wednesday evening we caught up with the Minneapolis Ski Club juniors, under the direction of head coach Kevin Brochman, for a skate rollerski workout on the roads near Afton. The group skied out to Trading Post Rd for a couple of sets of L3 intervals, then moved on to the hills on Valley Creek Rd and eventually 15th Street before wrapping up back in Afton reviewing technique video.
Related:
Photoset: Afton Rollerski Workout - 162 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)

Gear West Yard Sale
June 20, 2018
Gear West is hosting a Clearance Sale this weekend, Jun 22-24th! Save up to 50% off Nordic and Alpine ski gear plus Run, Soccer, Lacrosse, Bikes, Bike Gear and Clothing!

Midwest MTB Report
June 19, 2018
Jay Richard's weekly Midwest MTB Report is up and includes a full report from race #4 in WORS, a report from the Chequamegon 100, the Duluth Enduro Series and the usual look ahead.

Hoigaard's Paddle Derby - Solo Night
June 19, 2018
Hoigaard's Paddle Derby is celebrating the Summer Solstice with their third annual Solo Race Night - this Thursday, June 21st. Everyone is encouraged to find a solo canoe for this one night and since the sun won't set until after 9 pm, there's plenty of time to cross the finish line. New this year for Solo Night they are adding a stock solo boat division paddling the 6 mile Derby course in addition to the usual 7 mile race division.
Related:
Tri-Loppet Training with Rice Creek Boat Club