Highlights

CXC Rollerski Cup Returns
October 18, 2019
The second annual CXC Rollerski Cup will roll off this November as a prelude to the 2019-20 ski season. New this season, the Rollerski Loppet held in downtown Minneapolis in early November joins the calendar.

SISU Ski Fest 2020 Is Rolling
October 15, 2019
The SISU Ski Festival, set for Jan 10-12th, is rolling out new updates for the event as they open registration. Read about course improvements and new timing company details. Save some cash, register by Oct 31st to avoid the price hike!

Snow Pass Returns for World Cup Coverage
October 13, 2019
US Ski and Snowboard has announced NBC Sports Gold will be offering full coverage of the World Cup season again this year under their Snow Pass subscription package. The package tentatively has all the stops, including Ruka, Tour de Ski, the Minneapolis stop, and Canmore finale.

Kenyan Posts First Sub Two Hour Marathon
October 12, 2019
Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge became the first marathon runner to break the 2-hour barrier on Saturday morning in a special format event in Vienna, Austria.

Frankowski: Alaska and Beyond
October 6, 2019
Rosie Frankowski is a Twin Cities native, training and racing with APU, and skied for the US at the 2018 Winter Olympics. She is working to compete this season on the World Cup. This introduction article brings us up to speed with Frankowski and how she manages her life balance.

Trail Kids Adventure Trail Running Race #4 Coverage
October 5, 2019
Thursday was the 4th race in the Fall Trail Kids Adventure trail running series. Kim Rudd reported a record number of kids, included a busload of Somalia youth!
Related:
Photoset from Todd Bauer: Trail Kids Fall Trail Running Race #4
Results: Trail Kids Fall Trail Running Race #4

Birkie Trail Run Festival Coverage
September 28, 2019
A beautiful fall day for the annual Birkie Trail Run Festival races at Birkie Ridge Saturday. The marathon race proved to be a blowout as Ben Vaske took the victory in 3:19, more than 25 minutes ahead of the next male. Josie Nelson had an impressive showing in her marathon victory at 3:40, not only winning by 25 minutes but finishing 2nd overall! The half marathon race featured a small pack early on that broke up by midway with Nicholas Tseffos taking the title for the men. The women's half was a much closer affair as Jessica Gravesen-Seis bested Emily Tseffos by 12 seconds for the victory.
Related:
Photoset: Marathon Start - 16 photos, Marathon 3.5 mile - 86 photos, Marathon Finish - 56 photos, Half Marathon Start - 29 photos, Half Marathon 3.5 Mile - 61 photos, Half Marathon 7.5 Mile - 49 photos, Half Marathon Finish - 81 photos, Kids Race - 26 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Birkie Trail Run

Vasaloppet Swedish Mile Recap
September 23, 2019
Thirty-six runners completed the five-and-10-kilometer races in the Third Annual Swedish Mile trail run held at the Vasaloppet Nordic Ski Center north of Mora on Sunday. Taking the titles were Phil Carlson and Amy Oberbroeckling. Read the full recap, view results and a few photos.

Trail Loppet Coverage
September 21, 2019
Very humid and damp conditions made for some tough traction Saturday morning for the Trail Loppet events at Theodore Wirth. Highland Park high school star Mohammed Bati crushed the half marathon field, even after losing one shoe shortly into the race, taking the victory by almost 10 minutes over Brian Gregg with Chris Harvey third. Josie Nelson and Kelly Trom battled for the women's title with Nelson pulling ahead to win by just over a minute, Anna Neumeister third. Seven mile titles went to Jared Genteman and Lacey Bourgois, 5K victories were earned by Saed Aden and Sophia Pung.
Related:
Photoset: Half Marathon Start - 21 photos, Half Marathon Leaders - 218 photos, Early Finishers - 125 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Trail Loppet

Northshore Inline Marathon - 42K Rollerski Race Story
September 18, 2019
Dave Knoop, a.k.a. Nordic Dave, shares his experience racing the Northshore Inline Marathon's 42K rollerski race. Brian and Caitlin Gregg topped the field on a beautiful day of racing.
Related:
Results: Northshore Inline Marathon Rollerski Race

Rollerski Loppet Comes to Downtown Minneapolis Nov 2nd
September 18, 2019
Meet Jessie Diggins and catch high speed rollerski racing on the streets of downtown Minneapolis on Saturday, November 2nd in the Rollerski Loppet - a kickoff event for the World Cup 2020 in Minneapolis!

Midwest MTB Report: Chequamegon Recap
September 17, 2019
Jay Richards posts a big report this week with a full Chequamegon review, including first hand reports from women's champion and Richards himself, a report from Copper Peak Trails Fest, some cool events coming up, and a collegiate MTB report as well!

Bangin In The Brush Results
September 15, 2019
Jakob Wartman and Sarah Grenberg collected victories in the annual Bangin in the Brush trail running race at Korkki Nordic on Saturday.
Related:
Results: Bangin In The Brush Results

Chequamegon Results
September 15, 2019
Featuring a number of changes, including a new finish, the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival saw over 2,250 competitors on the trails Saturday. In the new pro/elite race (held separate from the main event), pro cyclist Alexey Vermeulen took the victory, more than two minutes ahead of Brian Matter with Jorden Wakeley third. Taking the pro/elite women's title was multi-time champion Jenna Rinehart with Leia Schneeberger second, Sara Kylander-Johnson third. In the "regular" Cheq 40, Josh Molnar and Tracy Paradise topped the field. The Short and Fat race came down to a tight four way sprint with Braeden Anderson taking the win. Zoe Camp easily topped the women's field, winning by over four minutes. Watch for a full report from Jay Richards later this week.
Related:
Results: Chequamegon Results

Midwest MTB Report: Chequamegon Preview
September 10, 2019
This week's Midwest MTB report,by Jay Richards, includes highlights from the World Cup final including a first hand recap from Caleb Swartz, a preview of the favorites for the Chequamegon 40, forest road riding in the White Earth State forest in NW Minnesota, excitement for Mpls World Cup ski races and a look ahead to some sweet grass roots events this fall.

Midwest MTB Report
September 3, 2019
Pulling double-duty this week, Jay Richards hosted the Laddies Loppet at Maplelag last weekend and then turned around for a full recap for the Midwest MTB report this week, along with updates on the Copper Harbor Fest, Dakota 5-0, World Championships, some e-bike news, and brief update on Chequamegon.

Laddies Loppet Short Track Coverage
September 1, 2019
A light mist all morning did little to dampen the enthusiasm for the short track racing events in Laddies Loppet at Maplelag Resort Sunday. Season long wet conditions made for some soft conditions and caused some minor course alterations. Eleanor Bacso collected her second title of the weekend, taking the victory in the expert women's race in a tough duel with Zoe Camp. The men's expert race came down to a battle between young and old as Jeff Hall was challenged by two young riders, Calvin Sandberg and Tom Beyer. Hall pulled ahead on the final lap to earn his weekend sweep of the titles.
Related:
Photoset: Kids Comp - 43 photos, Citizen - 39 photos, Sport - 55 photos, Comp men/Expert women - 92 photos, Expert men - 107 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Laddies Loppet

Worldloppet: Diggins Collects 4th Victory at Merino Muster
August 31, 2019
Jessie Diggins collected her fourth title in a row at New Zealand's Worldloppet race on Saturday, the Merino Muster. Diggins was 6th overall, less than three minutes from taking the overall victory in the 42K event held at Snowfarm. Julia Kern, another US Ski team member, won the women's 21K event, finishing 3rd overall!

Laddies Loppet Cross-Country Coverage
August 31, 2019
A perfect fall day Saturday for the cross-country races in the Laddies Loppet weekend series at Maplelag as temps ranged from low 60s to low 70s under a blue sky. Big fields turned out for the events and were treated once again to new sections to ride. In the expert race, Jeff Hall and Eleanor Bacso both formed early breaks and went ahead to take victories.
Related:
Photoset: Kids Comp - 78 photos, Citizen - 97 photos, Sport - 119 photos, Kids Race - 41 photos, Comp/Expert - 183 photos
Photoset: Top Picks (high res)
Results: Laddies Loppet

Mighty Miss 2019 Results
August 26, 2019
Roland Ring-Jarvi reports: Saturday's Mighty Miss paddling race had roughly 60 paddlers participating in three races – 55 miler with 5 boats, 25 miler had 6 boats and 12 mile race/tour saw about 22 boats. Race summary, results, a few photos, and video highlight posted.

Midwest MTB Report
August 20, 2019
Jay Richards Midwest MTB Report this week covers the Cuyuna Crusher, Reforestation Rambler, Seeley Pre-Fat races, and Giants Ridge Grind races and looks ahead to the Minnesota high school racing season, WORS finale, and Maplelag's own Laddies Loppet weekend.

Midwest MTB Report
August 13, 2019
Jay Richards Midwest MTB Report this week highlights on the big Ore to Shore race, Mt. Kato series event, a wild Leadville 100 story, definitions of current mountain bikes, and the usual look ahead to upcoming events.

Ringer Roll Coverage
August 9, 2019
A perfect summer morning Friday for the annual Ringer Roll race at Baker Park as dewpoints dipped into the lower 50s and temps in the low 70s. Caitlin Gregg and Alayna Sonnesyn put on quite the battle for the women's title, with Gregg coming out on top by just four seconds. Alex Kelling secured the top time overall on some rocket Marwes. Photos up now along with preliminary results.

Midwest MTB Report
August 6, 2019
The Midwest MTB Report, by Jay Richards, this week features first-hand reports from the Duluth Bike Festival and the Maah Daah Hey 100, contributions from the Borah Epic, and a number of upcoming races on the calendar.

Price Hike: Birkie Trail Run
August 5, 2019
The annual Birkie Trail Run Festival is Sept 27-28th at Birkie Ridge, just north of Seeley. The event offers everything from kids races to ultramarathon distances. The next price hike is coming this Friday, so register by Thursday night to save some cash.

Lumberjack Run Results
August 4, 2019
A veritable field of skiers topped the results in the 2019 Lumberjack Run in Hayward on Saturday. Nick Ross won the 5K race with a time just over 17 minutes, with Brian Gregg second and Anders Sonnesyn third. Sisters Marit and Alayna Sonnesyn finished first and second for the women, and 5th and 6th overall (their father Steve taking 7th) and Caitlin Gregg third, and 8th overall. Over 260 participants crossed the finish line, making it one of the largest Lumberjack Runs in the event's history.
Related:
Results: Lumberjack Run

Midwest MTB Report
July 30, 2019
The Midwest mountain bike report this week highlights National Championship age class victories for a Minnesota native, how this year's Tour de France champion got his start, and a look at some favorite upcoming events.

Midwest MTB Report
July 24, 2019
The Midwest MTB report, by Jay Richards, this week covers the WORS Colectivo Coffee Bean Classic, a look at the how and why of ultra-endurance athletes, digital dopers, and some upcoming events (and a pre-postponement).

Midwest MTB Report
July 17, 2019
Packed into this week's Midwest MTB report, by Jay Richards, is highlights on CAMBA and Tioga trails, the Welch Enduro, US Cycling MTB Nationals coming up, Pre-Fat price hike, and upcoming WORS and MNMBS events.

River Run Summer Results
July 14, 2019
Eve Graves reports: We had a nice breeze and temps in the 70's Sunday for the Rivet Run/Walk. Alex Kasparek repeated his win with a time of 18:37 while Anna Lahti won for the women in 22:13.
Related:
Photoset from Eve Graves: Rivet Run
Results: Rivet Run

Midwest MTB Report
July 2, 2019
In the Midwest MTB Report this week, by Jay Richards, find recaps from the Lutsen 99er and Duluth Hard Enduro events and previews of the weekend races in the MNMBS and WORS series.

Midwest MTB Report
June 25, 2019
Jay Richards Midwest MTB Report this week recaps the Mount Wirth Loppet, WORS Firecracker, UP Junior MTB camp, big changes for Chequamegon, and the usual look ahead to events this weekend.