Skinnyski Race Team Weekend Recap: Birkie Story

This year, like years before, I headed to the Birkie excited and with high hopes. Despite the relatively poor snow year in Duluth, I'd trained reasonably well and was feeling well prepared. Visualization is a key training tool and I had visualized ... cruising easily with the leaders of the elite pack, flying by on the downhills on lightning-fast skis, surging into the lead on Bitch Hill, sailing up Main Street with arms high in the air ... nobody said visualization has to be realistic did they! At any rate, I was heading to Hayward to give it my best shot - I was going to take it out hard, hang with the big dogs, and hopefully ski to a strong finish. My first hint of reality hit while warming up ... my skis didn't feel lightning-fast and I wasn't even blowing by people in the warm-up ... oh well, nothing to be done about that now. The second hint came when I learned that we (the citizen elite) wouldn't be starting with the FIS wave ... ok, so no "hanging with the big dogs". Nevertheless, I knew my game plan ... go out hard and push to the end.

With the sound of the gun, I double-poled off the line and soon was sitting mid-pack as we cruised the flats. Expecting the leaders to make a move, I surged hard as we hit the power lines and had soon worked my way up to about 5th place behind Adam Swank, Bruce Bauer, Andre Watt and Brian McKeever. It was certainly a bit odd being in the "lead" pack of the Birkie. With the FIS and factory-team skiers off on their own, 3 in our lead group were from Duluth ... this "international" race was feeling pretty local! Regardless, I was skiing hard and it was apparent that hanging on was going to be tough. I was losing a little ground on the downhills and working hard to catch back up on the uphills. At about the 10k mark, I was sliding off the back and knew I would have to let them go. By the time we hit Fire Tower Hill, they were well ahead and I was on my own. I continued skiing hard, trying to seek out the fastest lines, trying to distance myself from those behind.

I downed an Enervit gel and then grabbed a bottle at OO (thanks Alex!), realizing we still had a good bit of skiing left. I was gradually reeling in a group ahead ... the lead women. Lara Peyrot was up front with her distinctive red jersey and two women following close behind. I latched on for a while. Just before Mosquito Brook, I glanced back and - yikes! - there were a pile of white bibs coming up from behind. I had been caught napping and realized I had to make a move. Surging forward, I gapped the women, but a group of three men (Chip Tabor, Milan Baic, Peter Abraham) closed in. As we approached Bitch Hill, I put the hammer down. But half way up I was just hanging on as Chip made the real move, surging over the top in front. Out onto the lake and the final stretch. The wind-blown trail seemed faster than the fresh snow elsewhere and I pushed hard for the finish. Yet, the gap to the guys ahead wasn't getting smaller. I glanced back, Lara wasn't far behind, but thankfully no white bibs in striking distance. I turned onto Main Street, still going hard but relaxing enough to enjoy the excitement, to drink in the atmosphere before crossing the line.

And so ... I didn't cruise easily with the lead pack, didn't fly by anyone on lightning-fast skis, and didn't surge into the lead on Bitch Hill ... but I did sail up Main Street with my arms high in the air. As we headed to the car a few hours later, finishers were still streaming up Main Street with spectators cheering them in. By the smiles on the faces, it was apparent that the Birkie isn't only about lead packs and fast skis. It's about personal adventures, dreams and the magic of being out in the woods on a fabulous winter day. As for surging into the lead on Bitch Hill ... I'm sure I'll be able to do that next year :-).

Happy trails!