Race Weekend #1: Bolton and Craftsbury

Race season is here. Its that time of year when all the anxiousness and anxiety of waiting to see how 7 months of training will pay off finally dissipates in 3...2...1.. and you're off! The first couple races essentially remind an athlete how to race, but in many ways they set the stage for the entire season. This weekend we raced at Bolton on Saturday and Craftsbury on Sunday to simulate an Eastern Cup weekend of back-to-back races. Corinne had this to say about Saturday's race:

On Saturdays, 6:30AM departure times suck. But hey, that's winter and we're starting to get used to it. For some of us, the Bolton Opener was the first race of the season. Despite the bitterly cold temperature, the sunshine and fully covered trails were a blessing after this past week of flighty weather (New England's infamous 'Wintery Mix'). The course was great - a 20 minute 5k made up of two laps of an all up-then down 2k loop, and a 1k lollipop to the finish. After catching up with some Mainers (Bates, Colby, Bowdoin, Gould, etc.) at Great Glen last weekend, it was fun to race with some fellow Vermont skiers (UVM, Middlebury, and other Vermont High Schools). We look forward to racing tomorrow at the Craftsbury Opener!

A 7:15 departure on Sunday gave everyone a little extra rest after Bolton, but it was still a pretty quiet ride over to Craftsbury. When we arrived at the trails we found a well groomed race course with hard tracks despite the warm weather and lack of snow we have been experiencing lately. The snow was pretty abrasive so the kids put plenty of kickwax on their skis in hopes that it wouldn't strip before they were done with the 10k course. Because the loop had multiple long steep climbs, proper technique and skiing in control was essential for success on that course. I was watching on one of the more brutal climbs during the second lap, and it was clear that our athletes were all focused on staying light on the skis and kicking efficiently. By the second lap people were starting to get tired, but as their technique suffered and they started slipping, they would remember to get back on top of the skis and kick up the rest of the hill. It was definitely a promising start to the season for everyone- especially Yannick, who showed us once again that hes a tenacious kid with a big motor when he needs to be, coming in fourth place overall! Now the hours start to drop off as we recover from the weekend and gear up for the next- the first Eastern Cup at Trapps.

Thank you to the Bolton and Craftsbury race crews for putting on such high quality and fun races this weekend!!!

For results from the Bolton Season Opener click here and for results from the Craftsbury Opener click here