Rangeley 2012

Last weekend we continued our annual tradition of racing the Rangeley Loppet, with Drew, Alec, Jackson, Erin, and Shelby all taking part. This race is a fun way to wrap up the season, and it's a great experience for the skiers. It's good chance to practice tactics, fueling, and pack racing, and also to get comfortable with a 50k - the longer distance helps put our 15/20k EISA races in perspective. This year featured perhaps the deepest field I've seen in this event - lots of college skiers and a few fast seniors and masters. It had snowed a few inches the night before and was snowing on and off that morning, even switching over to ice pellets at one point. Even though the course had been groomed a few hours before the race, high winds had blown dry powder all over the course. It was slow, sloppy skiing, and the lead pack went out at a very relaxed pace, allowing Alec and Jackson to settle in and cruise for the first several kilometers. By the end of the first lap, Jackson was still hanging in there among a group of 10 or 12 pretty elite skiers. With the course now well-packed by a couple hundred skiers, things sped up considerably, and the pack gradually splintered. Remarkably, although he skied alone for much of the 2nd lap, Jackson was able to keep a steady pace and pick off a couple other skiers in the final kilometers to finish 9th overall and 2nd in his age group - an impressive performance, especially for a 50k rookie. Alec skied a good tactical race, working with a 3 person chase group to pick off places as the 2nd lap went on - he ended up second in a 4-man sprint to claim 12th place overall and 3rd OJ. Shelby also brought home a sweet age group medal - she skied a steady race in her first 50k ever, finishing as the 13th woman and 3rd OJ. Drew paced himself well - when I saw him at 45k, he was pushing the V2 well into the lower section of a long climb, and I thought, "Who is that guy?" (he was wearing his Ely race suit, so I didn't recognize him at first). He had a huge grin on his face and was really flying - he passed several racers in the final 5k to finish in style. Erin had a pretty massive bonk - when she saw me late in the race, she was feeling woozy and stopped to tell me about this strange tingling feeling she was having throughout her entire body. I was a bit concerned that we'd be carrying her off the course, but I kept this to myself and told her that it was just a little bonk and she'd be fine. Oddly enough, this seemed to reassure her, because she took off and skied strongly for the last few kilometers. It was a nice display of determination and a fitting way to finish her Bowdoin career. Overall, a good showing by our team and a fun day for all of us.

RESULTS

With that, we're done with team races and practices for the year - sad but true. Still plenty of winter left, though - in fact, we have more snow at Pineland right now than we've had for the past 2 months. There's lots of skiing and racing to be done for the rest of the month - I'll keep the post-season updates coming as always.