Kyle Bratrud: Long, Cold Weekend

We just finished 4 races in 8 days. Saying I am tired would be an understatement. Friday was a 10k classic interval start. I was able to ski it similar to my other classic races this year, starting slow and building into it. It felt good and I learned a lot about a pair of skis I haven’t used much this year. I ended up first by 13 seconds.

Sunday was the 10k skate interval start. After hearing of the passing of Igor Badamshin, I wasn’t sure how to feel Sunday.  My motivation was gone. Igor coached me while I was at CXC and always had something worthwhile or funny to say to me. Igor was the kind of guy that helped everyone and never once asked for any sort of recognition. It is because of Igor that I chose to get serious about skiing and he will be in my thoughts forever.

All that considered, Sunday was a decent race. I froze my hands at the beginning (it was very cold and I wore race gloves), and with the fatigue my legs had, I never felt I was able to V1 very well. It was awesome to see Paul Schommer ski so well! He is a great guy and I always enjoy competing with him when he’s at his best.

With the weekend over, I am looking forward to getting some volume in and preparing for Conference and Regionals. This will be the final push for NCAAs in Utah in early March. My 21st birthday is also coming up on the 9th which I am pretty stoked about!

I want to wish my friends/teammates luck over in Italy as they prepare to race at Worlds. These talented young men and women include Nichole Bathe, Rosie Frankowski, Adam Martin, and Ben Saxton to name a few! Also watching my teammate Sam Elfstrom get his first top ten in the CCSA (he should have been top ten twice, but he fell the first race) was pretty cool!

That’s all I got for now, go USA!

About the author... NCAA All American Kyle Bratrud is entering his third season as an NMU Wildcat under Sten Fjeldheim. Spurred on by his World Junior participation last season, he is pursuing his dreams of making it on to the US Ski Team with everything he’s got. As a college athlete, Kyle will be sharing his thoughts, training, and racing experiences as he travels and competes around the college circuit and hopefully beyond.