US Nationals - Distance

We've had a small group racing in Rumford these last couple days for the distance races at US Nationals. The snow is certainly thin, but there's adequate coverage on the 2.5k race loop. The highlight of yesterday's classic race was a very strong effort by Spencer - he finished 81st out of over 200 of the country's best racers. This was the best classic skiing that I've seen from him so far - very encouraging sign for the future. Today's 30k skate race was a bit absurd - 11 laps, with 101 racers sharing the loop. With 5 skiers starting at widely-spaced intervals, lap counting was a potential nightmare. It went surprisingly well, though - the skiers and I worked together to make sure everyone skied the right number of laps, with a little help from Riley and Dyk Eusden as well. No results yet, but from what I could tell our people skied very well and held their own against the other college skiers in the race. Wilson in particular looked snappy, despite being just 36 hours removed from a cross-country flight. Tomorrow, everyone's taking it easy, and then Wilson and Tim will close out the week with Saturday's skate sprint. Results for both races can be found at the Chisholm Ski Club site (when available).