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Race Results, Overall and by Age

Well, we've got another race under our belt again. Many thanks are deserved for all the last minute efforts made by Dick Fultz and Cindy Olson at Hanson Hills, to get ready for the race with 2 days' notice. Watching Gussie Peterson sprint off the front at the women's start, I knew this would be more a training run for me than a race, after skiing over 100 kms this past week. We finally had snow on the Vasa, after a month's absence, so the temptation to ski was too much to resist.

There were many comments about the chill factor at the start, which was in the single digits, with temps in the high teens, and 10-23 mph winds, but that's been the norm for the past week. We've been grateful for the cold, since it has preserved the little snow we have received in the area. No thanks to the weathermen's forecasts of 3-4 inches daily, with a more realistic accumulation of an inch most days. Know any other jobs where you get paid and err most of the time? Mother Nature is more unpredictable than me! But, they've finally got it correct today, with that blizzard of snow blowing in our face as we finished.

But, back to the race. Rock skis were definitely needed, since the uphills and some other parts of the trail had dirt patches. If only the top racers knew the experience of racing from the back of the pack, behind 80 other skiers, they could appreciate the conditions more. After they've churned up the snow on the hills, it's like mashed potatoes, and with the dirt, it was more of a herringbone hike up, so you didn't trip and fall again. Dick changed the race so we wouldn't travel any trail more than once, which made for a clover-leaf course. As I'd head outback again, I'd reminisce on my first Michigan Cup Marathon in '97. The temps were very cold, and with only a month's skating experience, I counted 35 ascents on that second lap, as the end of my nose began to freeze. Afterwards, I told Dick that there were definitely more than 3 hills on the course! I also remembered taking a skating clinic from the Onthanks the previous Sunday, and bragging to Vicky Asmus that I was going to V-2 the entire course. Well, my expectations are more realistic now, after 6 yrs of racing.

If it weren't for all those wonderful volunteers, who brave the cold to monitor the course and provide timing, we wouldn't be racing. So, here's a big thanks to them for making it possible, again! And, to Spike's for the burger gift certificates. LET IT SNOW!!!