Thursday evening we arrived in Bethel, ME to temperatures edging lower and lower below zero. All we knew about Saturday's race was that it was supposed to be cold. Really cold. After dinner the athletes bundled up to walk a minute down the road to play a couple rounds of Lazertag, the only source of entertainment in town. As expected, Evan repeatedly came in first place with his special combination of frontal assault and stealth tactics. Also unsuprising, Lucas usually came in last, as he was more apt to organizing cease-fires and peace negotiations between the red and blue teams.
Friday morning was bitterly cold- somewhere between -10 F and -25 F, but we all put on our best pair of windbriefs and balaclavas for the drive up to Black Mountain. Fortunately the temperatures were creeping up as we apporached the venue, but the wind racing across the stadium still made most of us take refuge in the trees as we previewed the classic course.
Saturday was still about as cold as expected in the morning, with the low of -26 F, but up at the trails it stayed above zero to the delight of the racers who recently returned from Anchorage. The course had a lot of climbing in it, which combined with the cold temps and soft snow made for a challenging race! After the prelims, Burke had 4 racers (Corinne, Janey, Sam, and Lucas) in the top 30 of a very competitive field. In the Quarterfinals, Sam led a pack of Dartmouth skiers up and over the hill, but then was narrowly beat out in the finish to take 3rd in the heat and 14th overall. Lucas also had a very respectable quarterfinal, as he started out in the back of the pack but pushed his way into third by the top of the hill. 
Despite his extremely strong performance, he also did not make it out of the quarters, and came in 18th overall. Corinne and Janey were placed in the same quarterfinal- unlucky because of the lower chances of both making the semis, but also lucky because they could work together during the race. Corinne was looking like a true sprinter as she dominated the other girls going up the hill and picked the best lines for speed as well as blocking. Janey broke away from the pack up the hill and attempted to get around another girl, which was actually a smart move, however it didn't help her in the end and she finished 25th overall. 
In another "Burkies learn their lesson" moment, Corinne lined up at the start of her semifinal heat with her warm-up skis on. Although she still looked like she was in top form from the start, her skis let her down in the slow snow, advancing her to the B-Finals. Proving that it was the skis and not her legs getting heavy, Corinne once again skied great in the B-final and got herself into a mad sprint to the finish with her future Middlebury teammates Kate Barton and Sophie McClelland. She was second by a few inches placing 8th overall!
Sunday was a completely different kind of race in every way. The air had warmed considerably, there was fresh snow on the ground and plenty more coming down as the races went on, the races were much longer (10 and 15k), and they were in a mass start format. The course was divided into 5k laps, which included a generally downhill section for the first 2k, then a long gradual uphill, then two long steep climbs including High School Hill, a name anyone who has raced at Rumford knows. There were mixed feelings about the race after the team had come back through for a cool down. 
Yannick had a very strong race; although he started way in the back lines of the mass start, he was able to stay light on his feet and continually pick off racers throughout the 15k course. Janey also had a stand out performance, placing 26th overall. 
Tomorrow the team is heading over to Lake Placid for a 7.5k classic race on Saturday. This past weekend was another oppertunity for all the athletes to evaluate thier strengths and weaknesses and we have been working through a few minor technical issues this week in preparation for the coming weekend. Stay tuned!
Nancy-Pants and Bambi watch the sprints
Janey and Corinne in the quarters
Sam chugs up the big hill in the prelim
Now that the whole team is back in the East, we are finally skiing together on our perfectly groomed home trails together again. Although jetlagged, our 4 brave skiers from the North were good sports about staying up late enough for a night ski under the brightest moon of the year last night. Yannick, Mitch, and Evan went down to the Bogburn yesterday for the 12k classic race. The course was a true easterner's course- long windy climbs, narrow trails, and almost unskiable downhills- all in all, it was a lot of fun.
Janey has also been kind enough to write up an update on the sprint race that finally occurred in Anchorage. 
We all arrived to the race venue Thursday expecting the worst, another delay or cancellation. At 12:30 the jury made thier final decision that the race was on, the temperature acceded -4 degrees Fahrenheit for the second time in the past two weeks we have spent in Alaska. The race was on, we all bundled up and smothered our faces with Dermatone before leaving the warm chalet. Sam placed 41st in the qualifying round, giving him a spot in the Junior/U23 heats. Lucas placed 98th, not quite making the rounds. Corinne placed 47th and Janey placed 54th, both qualifying for Junior/U23 heats. The heats were scheduled to start with the male quarterfinals at 17:15. We all enjoyed the two hours given to enjoy the warmth of the lodge. As we headed out for the second time lights illuminated the stadium. Women and men heats were finalizing as we entered the stadium. The Junior/U23 heats were pushed back until those heats were completely finished. 
Running around the stadium and doing our best to stay warm to prepare for the upcoming heats we watched Kikkan Randall and Kris Freeman dominate the A Finals. Sam won his Quarterfinal heat and Semi-Final heat qualifying for the A Final Junior/U23 boy’s heat. In his final heat Sam placed 3rd. Corinne placed 3rd in her Quarterfinal heat and 6th in her Semi-final heat qualifying for the B Final Junior/U23 girl’s heat. Unfortunately her pole broke during her Semi-final heat destroying her chances of making A Finals. She finished her last heat 7th Junior/U23. Janey failed to make it past her Quarterfinal heat in a 4th place position due to a pole strap malfunction. Happy to be done and to get out of the cold we enjoyed a lasagna dinner in the lodge for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships banquet and awards before returning back to the Lake Hood Inn to pack up our stuff and head to the airport.
As of last night the race was still in limbo and many athletes and coaches were on edge waiting for the third potential day of racing to be canceled. This morning there was no more or less optimism, as the 1:00pm start loomed in the distance and the temperatures crept up and down near the cutoff mark of -4 F. At 12:00 it was official: the race was on. 
Driving into Kincaid there was more activity on the trails and in the stadium than we had seen in earlier days, and everyone seemed calmer and happier, despite the usual race day nerves. Corinne and Janey both looked solid while climbing the first major hill of the 5k course, especially considering the creaky slow snow on the largely sunless hill. Today was not an easy day of racing by any means; the radio was crackling through out the woman's race about athletes finishing with frostbitten ears, toes, fingers, noses... pretty much everything, on top of the slowwww conditions and burning lungs. And that was the warmest part of the day. Both Janey and Corinne have been working on quick snappy V1 for conditions like this, and coincidentally both looked extremely strong. Corinne ended up in a very solid 82nd place today, and Janey skied into a respectable 120th. In other exciting news in the woman's field, Burke Alum Liz Stephen came in 3rd overall, just 8.3 seconds off the leading time!! As the men set off on the 10 kilometer course the sun began drifting behind the hills south of the stadium. Spectators and athletes alike began feeling the temperature drop almost immediately. 
After seeing the painful aftermath of the much warmer womans race, we lubed up Lucas and Sam with some extra dermatone on their faces and sent them out to warm up. Sam got out of the gate first and took advantage of the late afternoon sun still hitting parts of the course to stay warm-ish, while lucas took advantage of his late start by missing it... oops! It was only by 20 seconds, and its one of those things that you instantly learn from and never do again, so an early season race before College is probably the best time to learn that lesson. Despite his rather frantic race to the start line, there were still some very bright moments to his race. Sam ended up in 70th place today- a little back from where he would like to be, but still a very solid performance.
Thank you to all the voulenteers and officials for putting on an excellent race at Kincaid today, and for the past few days even when the races weren't run! For a complete listing of today's results, click here 
Janey finishes into the sun
Sam near the top of the big hill
Janey at the top of Elliot's Climb
Lucas rounds the turn into the stadium
Corinne watches the boys!
Lucas in the only sunny spot on the course
Happy to be done... but still a bit cold
After the postponement yesterday, there was less surprise today as the race was delayed well in advance of the scheduled start time and then canceled before many of the teams even drove out to Kincaid. The team bundled up and went out to preview tomorrow's skate course- which has been cut back to a 10k and relocated to the easier classic course which doesn't drop down into the abyss known as the "icebox". The sun was still out and the trails were still perfect, but the temperature isn't rising, and people are wondering how long they will have to wait tomorrow until the skate race gets called. At this point the races have been condensed into four days of straight racing- tomorrow is the skate, then the sprint, then the classic, then the sprint relay. whew! Lucas and Sam said they were mentally and physically totally ready to race today, then both acknowledged that they were happy that they didn't have to fry their lungs in the cold. We will keep updating as the week goes on and we hope for some great racing in above-zero weather!
The course was set, the volunteers were out there from 8am this morning in anticipation of a potential 11:30 start, the big thermometer on the stadium scoreboard was turned off, and the sun came out... Alaska style... around 11am. The preparation was amazing and everyone was clinging to the hope that the rolling patches of ice fog would cover the stadium at just the right time and warm the air up to the -4 F needed to legally start. As we all hunkered down in the Kincaid Chalet waiting to hear the official word, rumors of -14 F readings and speculations about how long they would be willing to wait before calling the race were floating around the rooms. The call at 11:30 was a delay until 1:00 when they would decide whether or not the race would start at 1:30. A little before 1:00 the girls started warming up for the second time, only to get cut short a bit later as the start was now pushed back possibly to 2:00 pm. By that time it was looking doubtful that anyone would be racing today, as the sun had already passed out of sight behind a hill and the temp was falling again. When the race was finally called at 1:45 and rescheduled for the same time Sunday, there was a sense of disappointment in the air from athletes, coaches, and officials alike. Its unfortunate that so many races have been canceled across the country because of lack of snow this season already, and now the trails are immaculately groomed but its too cold to race! Interestingly enough, the Anchorage old timers can't recall a single race at Kincaid that's been canceled due to the cold. After the race was called we went out to ski the skate course again- brutal. But it should be a blast to race and just as fun to watch. Meanwhile, despite the cold, it was a beautiful day at the stadium so here are a few more pictures from around the sprint course.
The midday sun over Kincaid Park
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!
This weekend the team made the trek over to Lake Placid for the NYSEF JO-Q 7.5k classic race on Saturday. The cold seems to be following ski racers this season, and this weekend was no exception with race-day temperatures hovering around zero. The trails were well groomed with fast, hard tracks and the Stratton and GMVS teams showed up to race along with the Mid-Atlantic crowd. 
Highlights from the day included Sam's 1st place overall finish, 10 seconds ahead of second, as well as Janey and Corinne's 2nd and 3rd place results (respectively) overall in the girls race! Sam looked especially fast and powerful throughout the relatively flat and rolling course, but it was also clear that Mitch has been working hard on advancing to the next level in his technical abilities which was great to see. 
After the race we stayed around a bit to watch (and participate in) the awards while eating fresh bagels and cream cheese brought down by the McClelland clan, who also braved the cold to watch the races! On Sunday we drove over to Breadloaf and skied with the Middlebury Ski Team in significantly more pleasant temperatures, and then joined them back on campus for a late lunch after the ski. A BIG thanks to the McClellands for hosting us in Keene and supplying us with a post race lunch!!!
Corinne heading to the finish
Jane Train- choo choo!
The boys cheer on the girls
