Skinnyski Race Team Weekend Recap
By Bruce Adelsman
March 12, 2003
We might as well move the whole calendar back a month. The
last two years have produced some of the best skiing conditions
in March, and this year continues that trend. Even more remarkable
(and unwelcome), it was one of the coldest racing weekends
of the entire season with temperatures never rising out of
the single digits. The Skinnyski.com Race Team was participating
in two races: The Rainbow Rendezvous Deux and the March Madness.
The Rainbow Rendezvous Deux is the second short-notice race
at Rainbow Resort this season, both under the fine direction
of team member Jill Troutner. Rainbow's trail system continues
to gather new fans as more skiers experience the wide trails
and rolling terrain. Maplelag Resort is located less than
20 miles from Rainbow, and thus team members Jay Richards
(one of the owners/operators of Maplelag) and Sonja Bostrom,
who was attending the big Moosejaw Clogging festival at Maplelag,
were able to join Jill for the racing action. All three had
great races, with Jay winning the overall title, and Sonja
and Jill taking first and second, respectively, for the women.
Trophies for everyone! Sonja Bostrom,
Jay Richards, and Jill Troutner
(Photo: Rainbow Resort) |
Minnesota Biathlon and the Elk River crew hosted a short-notice
race on the vaunted Woodland trails last season, with Piotr
Bednarski pulling away from Dave Nelson in the final kilometer
to win. This year was a re-match of sorts, but this time the
dueling was over second place as up-and-comer Matt Liebsch
had wrapped up first. Piotr edged out Dave again, this time
in a near photo finish. Josie Nelson and Margie Tilman wrapped
up excellent second and third place finishes for the women,
and Per Nelson pulled down a top 25 finish against a very
competitive field. (Race team member John Munger was also
ready to compete at Woodlands, but John pulled a muscle in
his arm during the race start and had to immediately withdraw.)
Finally, congratulations to Brian and Abbi May on the birth
last week of their second child, Trond Erik May!
Race Team Results
March 8, 2003 Rainbow Rendezvous Deux
Jay Richards 1st male 10K Freestyle
Sonja Bostrom 1st female 10K Freestyle
Jill Troutner 2nd female 10K Freestyle
March 9, 2003 March Madness
Josie Nelson 2nd female 20K Freestyle
Margie Tilman 3rd female 20K Freestyle
Dave Nelson 3rd male 20K Freestyle
Per Nelson 24th male 20K Freestyle
Team Member Race Reports
Race Report from Sonja Bostrom
This past weekend my family and I went up to Maplelag
Resort for the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers Moose Jaw weekend.
While we were up there, my brother Arne Bostrom, Jay Richards
and I went over to Rainbow Resort to participate in the
Rainbow Rendezvous Deux event. Jay and I did the 10k skate
race and Arne did the 6k classic as his first race ever.
Both races were started in a mass start by a single shot
from the start pistol�or should I say start rifle! Jay and
Wynn Roberts took off hard with Jay eventually pulling away
for the win. I skied most of the race by myself with a competitive
group of skiers following quickly behind. Arne turned out
to be the only male competitor in the 6k classic race and
therefore had his first win in his first race ever! After
the two main events there was also a �family fun� event
that looked like a lot of fun! It included kite building,
sledding, running and of course family fun and skiing! The
chilly weather may have kept some skiers away, but those
who were there had a great time! The course was beautifully
groomed, great prizes were provided, the people were great
and tasty treats were provided by the local Girl Scouts
and Lake Grove Church Youth Group. After the race we went
back to Maplelag to ski on the beautiful trails there, take
a sauna and hot tub, and do some clogging and square dancing
with the Moosejaw group.
Race Report from Jay Richards
This past weekend I did my second ski race of the year
at Rainbow Resort. Like most races, it was the events leading
up to and after the race that feel more like "the race"
-- the actual race is the more relaxing part of the whole
deal.
Rainbow is the closest race venue for me for whether
it be for biking or skiing. I was probably one of the first
ones to ski there when they first made their ski trails.
They have some great hills and the 10k loop makes for a
nice race loop. One of my favorite things about going over
to Rainbow is talking to brothers Doug and Keith Schumann.
Since we basically have the same weather as they do here
at Maplelag, we can totally relate to the snow and weather
and the challenges and excitement it brings to grooming.
Those guys have a keen interest in grooming and it shows.
I was first informed of the race by Bruce during the
Lotvola Cup. With 180 cloggers during the weekend here at
Maplelag, I didn't know if I would be able to find the time
to sneak over and do the race. I was even more skeptical
after receiving 3" of fresh snow on Thursday night
and then seeing more snow (3-5") forecasted for Friday
night. I figured I would be grooming most of the early morning
on Saturday. At this point I did not plan on racing. Well,
the snow was a flop-a-rooney which meant I would only be
grooming the trails I didn't groom Friday morning. The wakeup
call was at 4:45am and I was in the comfort of the heated
cab by 5:15am. I did everything I needed to do with the
big cat then I took out the snowmobile to groom the singletrack
and made a few passes on the skating loop. Man, was it cold.
When I went out it was -7 but when I came in it was -17
so I was on the snowmobile just over an hour battling wind
chills probably around -30. I was pretty numb and in deep
chill so the few thoughts I had about racing went to the
back burner. I eventually warmed up though and about the
time I could feel my toes again my dad introduced me to
Sonja.
Sonja clogging with her mom
(Photo: Jay Richards) |
Bruce told me that Sonja was joining her family for
the Moosejaw weekend but I didn't see her on Friday night
because of their late arrival. My Dad knew about the race
and we looked to be covered in the lodge so he encouraged
us to head over to the race. This was 9:30am. Sonja said
she was going to do one of the workshops then we would head
over to Rainbow around 10:45am. Her brother Arne was to
join us and it would be his first ski race ever!!
We have one of those fun car thermometers and when we
left it was -5. When we arrived it was -4 and a healthy
west wind. The consolation was the sunshine and I am a sun
worshipper and the -20 windchills don't bother me as long
as the sun was a shinin'. During registration I saw Wynn
Roberts and I figured it would be a battle between the two
of us. Wynn is one of the top underclassmen in the state
hailing from the great town of Battle Lake, probably best
known for the hangout "Stubs". He had just returned
from Biathlon Nationals at Lake Placid and figured he was
in good form. At the blast of the shotgun, Wynn and I broke
away by the first hill but Sonja kept us in her sights the
first k or so. Wynn and I took turns battling the wind however,
good that was as we both were running on about the cheapest
gas prices in the state right now. I felt a little stronger
on the hills but I didn't want to make a move until the
middle of the race. Once that point came, I attacked one
of the hills and slowly put a small gap on Wynn and held
that until the finish. After the race Wynn and I skied the
6km loop together and about half way through I realized
the only thing I had eaten that day was a small bowl of
hot cereal. For the first time this year I was getting bonky.
I knew it wouldn't be long until we were back and I indulged
in some BBQs in the maintenance shed and bought three boxes
of girl scout cookies to bring me back to life.
We pulled out by 2pm and were back on the road. Pulling
into driveway, I noticed at the end of the site, the "steamer"
man was steaming out a another frozen septic line. Ahh,
the resort life... No time to change as there was backed
up sewer to mop up. The race was on again.
Race Report from Margie Tilman
I woke up Sunday morning not to the sound of an alarm
but to the sun shining through the window -- it definitely
did not feel like a race morning! With the temperatures
in the single digits however, I was thankful that the race
didn’t start until 1:00 pm. Per and I arrived with
plenty of time to warm up and bump into many friends. I
did have questions running through my mind about why I was
doing this race as the cold temps began to seep through
my layers. One thing is for sure, Woodland Trails is a FUN
place to ski. This course has a perfect mix of climbs and
downhills that always keeps it exciting!
The race started and Corey Coogan took off just as
we all expected. Josie Nelson, Claire Wilson, Katherine
Himes and I skied together for a bit before the group broke
up. After about 5k my fingers began to warm up again and
it didn’t feel so bad to be out racing (except for
the burning in the legs). A train of about eight guys form
the second wave passed me but my attempt to stay with them
failed immediately. I spent much of the remainder of the
race alone, wishing someone would catch me that I could
actually ski with! I was glad when the finish line finally
came, but did not enjoy the cold that hit almost immediately
upon finishing.
This was a great race and cold weather is always better
than no snow, so I am thankful for that! Special thanks
to Minnesota Biathlon for hosting the race and letting us
enjoy those beautiful trails!!
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