Lake Placid

After much driving, we're in Lake Placid now - season starts tomorrow with the SLU Carnival. Today was gorgeous and the conditions are perfect! The team is in good health and looking fit - I can't wait to see what these guys can do.

Here are the ladies in the stadium at Mt. Van Hovenburg:

Weekend Racing

Lots of racing this weekend - the last chance for a tune-up before the start of the college season. We had a number of people in various races - highlights were Spencer's 7th place finish at the Jackson Crit and Hannah's 9th at the Bogburn (just 3 seconds from a pair of the coveted Bogburn tights), both against competitive fields with a lot of college racers. Here are some links to results:

Bogburn - Hannah and Rainer

Jackson Collegiate Weekend - Spencer, Erin, and Grace

City of Lakes Pre-Loppet - Niko and Jeff. There's a nice set of photos for this race - check out #86 for a picture of Timmy Piehler '01 in the most horrifically bad race suit ever made, the late 90s Bowdoin race uni.

The real thing starts this weekend with the SLU Carnival at Lake Placid - stay tuned!

Olympic Trials - IBU Cup

This morning was the second race of the Olympic trials, a 10k sprint in Altenburg, Germany. Conditions were rough - windy with several inches of fresh snow on the course. Walt was the 4th American and 69th overall - results here. Not a bad place in a competitive international field, but not quite enough to qualify for the pursuit tomorrow (top 60). His skiing was pretty strong, but ironically it was his shooting that was just a bit off (along with half the field - it was a terrible day for shooting). Without another shot at racing tomorrow, Walt won't have another chance to improve his standings among the US Olympic contenders - sadly, this looks like the end of the road, although no final decisions have been made. The team selections will be announced in the next couple days. I talked to Walt today - he's disappointed by the sudden and somewhat anticlimactic ending to his Olympic quest, but he's coming to grips with it. He trained both hard and smart this year, and he's in the best shape of his life at exactly the right time. "I did everything I could," he said. "In the end, it just wasn't enough." That's tough to accept, but there's also a certain comfort in knowing that you gave your best. There's nothing to regret, and that's a good way to go out. We're all so proud of you, Walt!

Biathlon Trials - First Race

The Olympic Trials got underway today with a 10k time trial - results here. Walt ended up 5th - not a great day. Looks like his skiing and shooting wasn't bad, but the guys ahead of him were just a bit sharper - not much room for error at this level. Selections are based on the best 2 of 3 races, so he'll have a chance to get back into it this weekend.

Biathlon Olympic Trials This Week

Walt has been in Germany for the past couple weeks getting ready for the final round of the Olympic Trials, which start tomorrow. This MWSC press release gives a full description of the trials process. I'll post updates as soon as I know anything - for now, nothing to do but cross our fingers. Good luck Walt!

Sanville Crash

A few of our Minnesotans raced in the Twin Cities Championships last weekend. Chris was involved in a spectacular crash at the start of Saturday's 10k classic (I know what you're thinking, but no, it wasn't his fault). Here's a link to some great photos - watch and enjoy. To find Chris amidst the blizzard of gear and bodies, look for the red boots. Remarkably, he recovered for a half-decent result and then had a great finish in Sunday's skate. Jeff and Dan raced the skate as well - results here.

Hannah also had a good race this weekend at the Mt. Hor Hop - sparsely attended but competitive. Results here.

Happy New Year!

2010 is off to a good start here in Brunswick - we're getting a nice snowstorm as I write this. The early forecasts were pretty exciting - STORM OF THE CENTURY! WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!!!! Not surprisingly, this turned out to be hyperbole, but we're getting snow, and that's good. Modest snowfall so far, but it's starting to pile up - here's the view from my front door:

It's supposed to snow throughout the rest of the weekend, and temps should stay cold next week. Pineland is in great shape, and it'll be even better by the time the storm's over - things are looking good for the team's return to campus on the 11th. In the meantime, there's plenty of training and racing to be done in the last few days of break. I'll post reports when I get them.