It's been quite an eventful fall for Bowdoin Nordic, and we're long overdue for a catch up. Here's a recap of what we've been up to these last couple months:
The full crew came back to campus at the end of August after a LONG time away - I hadn't seen some of these folks in person since March 2020! During that time people have had all kinds of amazing and occasionally challenging life experiences - it's been remarkable to see the personal (and physical) growth that's taken place in the past year and a half. From a skiing standpoint, this group used their time away to train really well - I can honestly say that I've never had a group of skiers train more or better than this team has in the past year plus. So it was really exciting to finally get everyone back together.
After a solid September somewhat disrupted by illness and injuries, we started official practices in early October with fitness testing and tryouts. James and Renae scorched the bike path time trial to lead the team (Aggie actually posted the fastest women's time, albeit on a different date - more on her later). Mia and Elliot had our top erg times - Elliot's was a new team record. Renae broke her own team record in the Morse Mountain run, and Morgan broke the old record as well. James was the top runner for the men, finishing just one second off the team record set by the other James (Crimp '13). James and Renae also set new team marks for combined erg/run times. More important than the individual heroics was the solid performance of the team as a whole - judging by these tests, the overall level of fitness and skiing on our team is quite good, as expected.
From tryouts we went almost immediately into Fall Camp. This year was extra special - we went to a new venue (Brooksville, ME), hosted by the Eysenbachs as well as family friends Bob and Donna Hamill. For the first time ever, I missed a Bowdoin Nordic camp due to a cold and an abundance of caution that we felt was appropriate in the COVID era. This was pretty sad for me, but the team hardly noticed - Leslie and the seniors kept everything running smoothly, with great support from Peggy Eysenbach and the Hamills. The trip started with a long trail run at Frye Mountain, made extra exciting when one of our skiers got a little lost - after some searching, everything ended well, and the crew made it to Brooksville for an easy afternoon roll and a delicious dinner. The next day was our traditional OD hike/run - in this case, a traverse of the peaks of the east side of Acadia National Park. Of course most of the skiers insisted on doing every little peak, so something like 11 or 12 total - they were wrecked but very, very happy that evening. Camp concluded with a long rollerski along the seaside roads around Brooksville - some of best rollerskiing our skiers have ever seen. It was a really fun and productive camp, and it wouldn't have been possible without the incredible hospitality of the Eysenbachs and Hamills - we can't thank them enough!
The rest of October was a blur - trail runs, rollerskiing, beach skiing, gorgeous fall colors, and a wonderful team gathering hosted by the seniors on Family Weekend. Perhaps our best day was the Maine Event hosted by NENSA at Pineland - an agility competition with all kinds of ramps and turns. It was a perfect day and we had a ton of fun competing against Colby and several of Maine's top junior skiers. Our women provided the highlights, with Renae and Aggie going 1-2 and Mia and Grace finishing in the top half as well.
With November now underway, we're doing short, quality workouts with limited daylight during the week, and going big on weekends. Last weekend we went up to Rome for a skate time trial with Colby on some beautiful country roads with good pavement and some great hills. Even though it was just a regular old rollerski time trial in November, it somehow felt very significant - the closest thing we've had to team competition against another college team in a really long time. Between the sunny day, the venue, the camaraderie, and the competition, the skiers had so much fun. Zach took the win for the men, with Elliot close behind; Renae, Aggie, and Greta were 2-4-5 for women. Mia won the classic race - the field size was limited, true, but a win's a win. Thanks to Colby for organizing!
Now we're on the verge of Thanksgiving Camp. The snow situation is pretty uncertain all across the Northeast, but we're figuring it out - whatever happens, we're going to put together a great camp. Stay tuned for more!
