Rangeley and Utah

It was a proud day for Bowdoin at the Rangeley Lakes Loppet - Jackson and Hannah Miller won!  Very impressive showing in a grueling race against a quality field.  Our team has always done well in the March marathons, especially Rangeley, but these guys took it to a new level.  Jackson made a break partway through the race, knowing that he wasn't likely to win a sprint finish - he opened up a gap and was able to hold on for the win.  Hannah took the opposite approach - she took it out at a restrained pace and gradually picked off the competition, ultimately winning by a comfortable margin.  Alec also had a great race - he was fourth, not far behind Jackson.  Overall, a good effort by everyone - I'm really proud of these guys, and I wish I'd been there to watch it all unfold.  Much thanks to Deb and Ron Aseltine for hosting the team the night before the race!

I had a good reason for not making it to Rangeley - James, Kaitlynn, and I are in Utah for NCAAs.  We got up super early yesterday for our flight out of Portland - after a very long but smooth journey, we made it to our new home at the Zermatt Resort in Midway.  We went for our first ski today - there's not a ton of snow here.  It was actually a bit grim driving up to the venue - grey skies and brown hills, with lots of mud and slush.  The course is holding up well, though - there's a very tough base of artificial snow on the 5k race loop.  This is the backup loop - the A loop is no longer skiable.  Still a nice course with some fun twists and turns and many tough climbs, including the notorious Hermod's Hill.  The sun came out just as we started skiing, so it was quite a pleasant morning.  The next few days should be nice as we get both the skis and the skiers dialed in for the races.