“You now tap into the strength of the original Birch Legged warriors. May you ski with the wind, may you attack off the pack, and may you lunge for the win. But most of all, may you be the one that awakens ready to give your all.”
-Luke Brown, Crosscut Elite Team Member, Birkie Eve, 2021
Myself and several other members of the Crosscut Elite team recently headed to the midwest to take part in the excitement of the great American Birkebeiner ski race. This successful experience for the team began a week before the Birkie, with Ingrid and I travelling back to our home state of Minnesota to hop in on a local CXC Super Cup series race weekend. Ingrid’s coaches from high school with Loppet Nordic Racing kindly offered to support us for the weekend’s races. They gave us fast skis, and we had great races! It was good Birkie prep, and left me more excited for more low altitude racing in Wisconsin.
10k skate at Wirth
Over the week before the race, Ingrid, Scott, Felicia and I all made it safely to the Hayward area. Our coaches, Seth and Cully, arrived before us, and spent an enormous amount of time driving around rural roads to ski every part of the course, testing skis, waxes, and structures all week. Despite it being the coaches’ first Birkie experience, by the time everyone arrived in the area, we were receiving strategic advice on the course from the likes of seasoned Birkie veterans. Our ski testing and pre-race days flew by in anticipation, and before we knew it, it was Birkie day (the first).
The men’s race went off at a competitive pace, driven by a collective desire to escape the threat of broken poles, and a sprint bonus payout 2.5k from the start. I had no sights on either of the two bonus sprints set in the race. Longer races have always been my specialty, and I was in it to prove that by hanging on to the finish.
As we skied through the Wisconsin forests, athletes progressively dropped from the lead pack. In the aftermath of the OO midpoint sprint bonus, the lead pack had slimmed down to fewer than 10 skiers. Last spring I had set a top 10 Birkie finish as one of my season goals, so I knew that if I could do no more than just stay with the pack, I could meet that goal. I felt good though, and was setting my sights higher in the moment. As the remaining kilometers decreased, and the intensity of the race increased, I tried to focus on keeping my technique together and my thoughts calm.
With 6k to go, we hit a substantial climb, there was a big group shuffle, and suddenly Johnny Hagenbuch was several meters ahead of everyone. The race had begun. I was in a good enough position to respond to the attack with a few other skiers. A moment later, we had assertively separated the top 6 group. Five of us skied together in hot pursuit of Johnny for the rest of the race. We all knew we were in the prize payout, a success in itself, but it would be a tight race to earn a spot on the podium, and anyone could do it. We constantly shuffled the lead, making attacks and responses over every remaining hill and transition.
With just under 2k to go, I was leading the pack. I’d rather bet on my grit and fitness than my sprint speed any day, so I took the chance for an early break. I had all the willpower I needed to do it - a level of motivation I haven’t found yet this season - so I went all in. I didn’t know if my move was going well or not, but I do know that we hit a small incline, and suddenly I felt the entire line of core muscles from my triceps to my quads cramp up. Maybe my body had actually hit its absolute limit. Maybe I panicked at the thought of cramping. Either way, I went from second to sixth place in an instant, and lost a meter or so off of the back. I fought to regain the pack for as long as I could, thinking I might get lucky and have a second wind in the finish sprint, but I didn’t regain connection with the pack in time. By the time I could see the finish line, my fate was sealed. Nobody was behind me, I knew I was walking home with some cash and a season goal checked off the list. I skied the last couple hundred meters easy, knowing I had to do it all again the next day. Scott came in not long after me, and Ingrid and Felicia both finished competitively soon after!
I spent the rest of the day trying my best to recover for the next race. We found a sauna, jumped in a frozen lake, and went to bed nearly immediately after dinner. I went to bed knowing I did the best I could to prepare for round 2, but feeling like I was a little in over my head.
I woke up the next day feeling the effort of the day before, but ready and excited for a different kind of challenge from the day before. I figured a competitive finish would be a nice thing, but I ultimately just wanted to ski well and stick to a plan. The race went out hot! It did not take long for me to recognize that sticking with the lead was not sustainable for me. I then dropped my bottle containing my main carbohydrate source, and had to carry on with the knowledge that those sugars would come back to haunt me later in the race. They did. I skied most of the race as well as I had hoped to, working together with Brian Gregg, one of the most experienced skiers in the elite field. Eventually, once my lack of caloric intake set in, I was left alone. Did I mention it was snowing heavily the whole time? With under 20k to go, about 5” had accumulated. I bonked hard, and spent the rest of the race walking through the snow at a painfully slow pace, bonking harder, and getting colder. I did snag a nice bonus place on the finishing results in the last kilometer by passing another skier that had somehow managed to bonk harder than me, but to be honest, it wasn’t really even a race anymore by then. It had become a survival event. One that really set the participant/finisher medals they gave out into perspective for me.
I’ve spent the week since recovering, keeping my training easy and fun. I’m not sure what’s next for the season. Possibly some races in Sun Valley, and possibly nothing! If it’s over, I will be happy with the way it ended on the Birkie trail for myself and the team. If there are more races to come, I’m sure one of my inspiring teammates and friends will be back here to recount the successes we’re sure to have in them.
