US Nats in Anchorage: Before the Sprint...

There is excitement and uncertainty in the air as we gear up for the first race of 2009; the trails are in perfect shape thanks to the many hard working "Green Grunts" of Kincaid Park, however the giant stadium scoreboard keeps flashing -15 F in the mid-day sun which has everyone on edge wondering whether we will see the -4 F needed to start tomorrow morning. Everyone has their own theory on how the temps will be handled tomorrow- some think they will start the race around noon and compress the heats down, possibly eliminating the U23 heats, others think they will race the men and women on different days, and a few are pretty sure the officials will tuck the thermometer into an armpit for a few minutes and then race anyway. No matter what, the real challenge is staying focused whether the race happens on time tomorrow or not. Today the crew got out and tested their race skis in the cold, checking out the course one last time and picking best lines. Everyone is healthy and excited to race, so hopefully tomorrow everything will go as planned and we will post again after a successful race day for Burke!