Kyle Bratrud: Telemark Chase

Another race weekend is in the bag! After returning from almost a month at altitude, I was a little unsure how much fatigue I would be carrying around this weekend. My legs were a little heavy Friday and Saturday, but I worked with the energy I had. 

Saturday was a 15k skate mass start, and for the first time ever that I can recall, I got to start bib 1! The race played exactly the way I had hoped, a steady pace was set and then up Mt. Telemark the first lap, I pushed the pace close to max in order to thin the pack as much as I could. I was able to recover the second lap and remain in the top few spots and then on the last lap I was able to get a slight gap and held that till the finish. I always enjoy mass starts because my team is so strong and it is fun to ski with guys like George Cartwright and Erik Soderman, knowing they will always be there at the front. I was also very excited to see my good friends Jake Brown and Paul Schommer finish 3rd and 4th respectively.

I was exhausted Saturday night and woke up Sunday feeling so tired. After warming up, I began to feel like myself again and then striding up Mt. Telemark twice may have been the most fun I have had ski racing this year. There is something about making myself feel so crappy that is rather intriguing. That is probably why I enjoy ski racing so much! I was very satisfied with my race. Of course, finishing 2nd by 1.4 seconds makes me play the race back in my head searching for areas that I could pull a second back, but I can’t dwell on the past! I am excited to sleep and get ready for next weekend in Minnesota!

I must give a shout out to my teammate and friend Sam Elfstrom, as he raced the classic race on my skate poles and returned them in one piece! Awesome results Midwest!

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.