So this is the end of the season…
Relaxing with the otters, post 50 km Rendezvous, with Ellen, Emmy and Paige (L-R)
Howdy all,
Turns out the world has been quite a distraction from writing about the last couple races and kept this update a bit delayed. I wonder what will happen next in this crazy time?
I wrote to you last from a cabin in the woods of Cable, WI, the morning of the Birkie Sprints and a few days before the Birkie Marathon. The sprints led to another top 20 in the nation finish! Sprinting was my strength as a junior athlete and I am led to wonder now if that is becoming so as a senior racer as well.
The Birkie Marathon is one of the coolest events in the country. It is the largest ski race in North America with over 12,000 racers throughout the weekend and 10,000 doing the marathon distance. In a mimic of the Norwegian Birkebiener race ending in Lillehammer, Norway, which traces the route of the baby-prince carrying Royal Guardsman who escaped a siege of the royal palace in southern Norway, skiing him to safety, northward through the hills; The American Birkie is a point-to-point 50 km race where you imagine skiing for your life from one place to the safety of another place. The end of the race is down the snow-covered main street of Hayward, WI where thousands of spectators are yelling and cow-belling. Quite the site and sound!
I raced the classic marathon and finished 4th out of a few thousand skiers. (The skate is more popular) And I lost my pole basket about 2km into the classic race, which is actually 55km, 5km longer than the 50km skate course. So I am very happy with that finish, though I can’t help dreaming of the ever-elusive podium if I had use of my other pole for a bit more power throughout the race. Now I’m coming back hungry!
Needless to say, the trip to the midwest proved to be my best results of the season and some of the most fun racing I've had all winter. I am finally feeling like a racer again and feeling competitive on the NorAm circuit.
After a brief stint in Aspen for some recovery and training, I headed up north to the 50km Yellowstone Rendezvous skate race in West Yellowstone, MT. Stopping along the way in Jackson to see my old team before they headed off to Junior Nationals with a record 10 athletes qualifying from Jackson. Very proud of them!
The Rendezvous was another super fun mass start marathon and close enough to elite ski teams to draw them in despite not being a NorAm race. The race went well and I skied to 2nd place, a mere 16 seconds out of first and 2 minutes in front of third. Finally on that podium!!! (Though not a complete field of the US skiers for full disclosure)
The Rendezvous had the added benefit of being a mini reunion of some college mates, making the trip an extreme highlight of the season. In addition to heading back through Jackson and spending time in my former home for some amazing spring training and skiing. Check out the video below for a sample of spring skiing in the Tetons!
And throughout the last 5 days, it has become clear that this is a wrap on the season. All further races have been canceled due to the corona virus outbreak including the season finals in Silver Star, Canada and even the local multi sport race in Jackson, the Pole Pedal Paddle, where I was planning on defending my title.
Though it is an abrupt end to the season, I must admit I am exhausted and ready for a good long rest period after 21 races in three months. And the lingering thoughts of my races finally coming together in time for the finals only motivates me to stay focused and keep training as smart as I can knowing I will be ready for the first races of next season.
Once again, I can’t thank the community enough for supporting me through my first season back after 6 years off. I will send another update in a month of so with a season summary and plans for the upcoming training season.
Happy spring!
-Scott Lacy