Ski Team Reunion - Date Change

For those who haven't heard, we're planning a ski team reunion for this summer. Unfortunately, we've had to change the date - it is now June 25th instead of June 11th. We'll have a barbecue from 5-8pm - it should be a fun chance to reconnect with old teammates and share stories and classic photos like this one:


Family members are welcome, of course, including parents - we'd love to have anyone who's a fan of Bowdoin Skiing in attendance. I'll be sending out registration info to alumni shortly - anyone who's not on the alumni list should contact me for more information. Also, Andy Shepard has started a Facebook page with photos and updates. Hope to see you there!

Jeff Bush - Pro Ski Racer

I got an email from Jeff Bush '10 last week, who's been out in Colorado working for an outdoor education program. I'm happy to report that not only has he stayed in touch with xc ski racing, he's winning cash money. Here's the story:

I've been very tempted by the dark side (telemark skiing) here in Colorado and not nordic skiing as much as I should have. However, I got motivated enough to do two races and train a tiny bit for them. This entails one threshold workout and three or four skis total, but it was better than nothing. The first race was the Leadville Loppet, where I entered the 22k. It was a great day for racing and I got off to a solid start, in the lead pack. I skied smart for the beginning and drafted a bunch of different master blasters. Then I would race ahead on the downhills and catch someone else. My tragic error came in the last 3k where I took a wrong turn and lost sight of the skier I was about to pass. I pulled myself together and managed to finish 5th (6th if you count the classic winner), which I was happy about - 1st place in my age group, too, although I was the only one. Other than the turn though it was a very strong performance for me - I skied smart, and even though I was racing at 10,000 ft I used my knowledge of the sport rather than fitness to gain an advantage.

The second race was even more fun - a 600m sprint down Harrison Ave, the main street in Leadville. It was a small event, organized by the HS coach. There were head to head sprints on the snow they trucked in and I got to race in my favorite discipline, the super short sprint. I generally am very modest and try very hard not to sound pompous or arrogant, but there really wasn't any competition for me; there is no other accurate way to describe it. I won every race without contention. It was a fun experience for me, though, because I have actually never won a ski race before, and I also won $50! Not bad for a retired college skier.

It's always fun to hear about alumni racing success. One of these years we'll have to organize an alumni race...

Sugarloaf Marathon

Alec, Riley and Walt raced the Sugarloaf Marathon on Saturday - all 3 of them turned in solid performances. Skiing in his first and only race of the season, Walt skied with the leaders for a long time, and actually made a big move to break away from the pack around 30k - only eventual winner Wyatt Fereday was able to stay with him. Sadly, he blew up spectacularly at 42k - although he struggled mightily to hold off the chase pack, they finally caught and passed him just a couple kilometers from the finish, and he ended up in 7th. Nonetheless, it was an impressive performance from a guy who's trained less than I have this year. Alec turned in yet another strong 50k effort, finishing just a couple minutes behind Walt in 8th - the way these last few weeks have gone, we might have to turn him into a marathon specialist. Riley wasn't far behind Alec in 10th. Congratulations to Alec and Riley for completing the Triple Crown of New England marathons: Rangely, Bretton Woods, and Sugarloaf. Three marathons in 3 weeks is a heroic feat, especially for a couple of first-years with no previous marathon experience. Very impressive accomplishment - well done guys!

Results

A Humble Poem

Steph has turned her poetic talents toward a summary of the ski season:

Kaitlynn and Erin asked for a season recap

So here is a bit of poetic slap

We met at Mac House in the early fall

At first, roller skiing on Maquoit was a haul

Mark joined the team on a whim

We were blessed by his rear, which is far from slim

Scrambling up Baldface in the rain

Together, we learned to usher in the pain

Morse Mountain was our first hard workout

Dinner on the beach was fun, without a doubt

Later, playing Taboo we learned who was smart

And in Reed House we saw the fires begin to start

The following week the season began

Nathan and Tim showed up to drive the van

Fall break in the Bigelows was the best

Sleeping in Tim’s Cabin, the boys had a bro-fest

Back on campus, we ran the Phlail

Felted rocks for prizes, what a fail!

Riley learned that practice required gloves

And, the Beatles impersonator taught him: “all you need is love”

The Lobster Roll at North Haven was hard for some

Frisbee initiation nearly killed the fun

Parents weekend came and went

Scott and Dan gave the team some supplement

Then, we headed to Canada for Thanksgiving break

Spencer and Wilson, much bread did they bake

The abroad contingent finally returned

The freshman’s love, Maren and Erin soon earned

The snow at Foret was a great start

In our video, I had the only speaking part

Our potluck holiday was a meal oversize

An enchilada dinner took the cooking prize

Finally, we arrived at the Christmas Holiday

What would begin were three weeks of play

But back on campus, Nordic beards were showing

Although, there were no girls, at our boys throwing

In January the carnival season did commence

Racing at Lake Placid was super intense

Chris treated us to a lecture about keeping the vans clean

Although, whose oatmeal bowl on the floor was then seen?

The course at Bond Brook made me want to die

In fact, when skiing the down hills I started to cry

Kaitlynn’s top fifteen outdid Wilson’s performance

As a result, a mullet briefly enhanced Tim’s appearance

On Saturday, Nathan taught us to ski with a beam

Thus, the Broomhall Cup went well for the team

Racing Vermont was hilly and hard

But dinner at Kaitlynn’s made it worth every yard

Carnie Crush weekend was certainly a success

Full of photographed skiers in varying states of undress

As if to provide the strength of our team an advertisement

James once again broke his equipment

For the New Hampshire races the boys stayed at my house

Timmy slept in the bed of his potential future spouse

The season wrapped up at Black Mountain in Rumford

Bowdoin was skiing so fast it was absurd

It was Grace's final race of the year

Next fall will not be the same without her, I fear

The season ended where is began

In Mac house we located our final plans

All told, this season has been absolutely insane

But Spring break is here, and I’m off to Spain

JNs Wrap-up and Bretton Woods

Junior Nationals is over, with New England taking a decisive victory. It's been a good week for James. Friday's 10k skate race wasn't his best, but he hung in for a respectable 33rd. In Saturday's 3x3k classic relay, he skied a very good scramble leg and put his team right in the mix with the 7th fastest split time (final team finish was 9th). Overall, a fun experience and a great way to cap off a very successful season.

Full Results

Meanwhile, a few of the boys headed over to Bretton Woods yesterday for another marathon. Alec appears to be some kind of closet marathon specialist - he had another great race, finishing 10th in a field filled with college skiers. Riley skied to a solid 16th place finish. Great work by both guys to complete their second marathon in 2 weekend. Spencer had intended to race, but he suffered a freak cheese-making accident last week that left him with stitches in one hand (this would only happen to Spencer), so he skied part of the 25k with no poles just for fun. It sounds like this same crew is headed to Sugarloaf next weekend for yet another marathon - they'll be up against Walt, who's making a big comeback with his first and only race of the season - should be fun to see how it goes.

50k Results

NCAA Races Live

NCAA Championships got underway yesterday with the 5/10k skate - tomorrow is the 15/20k classic. You can watch a live webcast of the races here. I caught most of yesterday's races - it was pretty exciting to watch the coverage side-by-side with the live timing. Tomorrow's races are mass start, so it should be even better.

JNs Update

Junior Nationals is well underway in Minneapolis. James has acquitted himself well so far - a respectable 23rd in the skate sprint on Monday, followed by a stellar 7th place finish in today's 15k classic (just missed 6th by a boot length - still need to work on lunges, I guess). Today's race was particularly impressive - he was right in the thick of a group of great skiers. I'm pretty sure that today's effort will earn him All-American status, although this information isn't out yet. For what it's worth, he was also faster than all of the J1s, some of whom are pretty nasty. The J1s and OJs had completely separate races, so it's hard to say how different conditions and tactics affected the times - in any case, it's clear that James is skiing at a really high level right now. Great work, James!

Results