Distance Nationals- The 30 and 50

The 15k/30k pursuit race on Friday was a real eye-opener into the world of long distance races for both Sam and Corinne, neither of whom had ever raced anything that long before.  In the women's race, Corinne skied a smart classic leg, focusing on staying relaxed and smooth so she could really put the hurt on during the skate leg.  After changing skis she passed some more girls in front of her who went out too hard and ended up the 4th junior in the event; a very solid performance overall.  Sam, who before the race had never raced more than 15k, also looked very relaxed during the classic leg and was right in the mix of juniors, however he was skiing on his "warm" skis for the skate portion due to a travel mishap with his "cold" skis, and he ended up with extremely slow skis for the whole 15k skate leg.  Despite the result, it was still a decent race for him, as he had a strong finish and definitely didn't blow up at any point, which is the goal for anyone's first real distance race.  

Sunday's race then topped the pursuit for the title of "longest race ever" for both the athletes.  In addition, the one 5k lap and six 7.5k laps were on the hardest course I've ever seen for a 50k race- just barely under the FIS limit for climbing meters per kilometer.  Corinne was definitely tired from the 15k still, and although she skied well, she dropped off a pack of girls early in the race and skied alone for the next 25k, which is no easy feat.  Sam also ended up skiing alone most of the time, but he was skiing his own race and didn't bonk, while at the same time passing a few guys who for most of the race were almost 10 minutes ahead until they lost steam.  It was still an exhausting ordeal, as anyone who has skied a 50k knows, but the degree of difficulty on this course made it even worse.  Needless to say none of us had any trouble falling asleep on any of our flights yesterday.  

Thanks once again to John Estel and the amazing volunteer crew who worked without rest all week to put these races on, it was a great race series to end the season on a high note!

I'll also post pictures from the distance races as soon as possible, I was busy waxing so I put my dad in charge of the documentation, now I'm just waiting to see them!