Sprints and Relays
Part of being an all-around good skier is the ability to adapt to different styles and lengths of racing, sometimes within the same weekend of racing. Skiing a 15/20k and racing in a sprint heat take different technical skills, amounts of speed and power, and race attitudes, but both demand the same amount of effort. So it's important to switch up race formats when possible.
Last weekend the Varsity made the 8 hour drive to race at Al Quaal in Marquette, Michigan. Saturday we raced sprints, with a qualifier then semi and final heats. For a few it was a learning experience, and everyone was able to focus on technical or strategic aspects of the races. Nora and Paige both qualified for the heats in 16th and 18th, respectively. Nora raced a tough semi and finished 17th, and Paige made it through to the B final, finishing in 9th. Sprints are a good chance to push your body to the limit and experience speed you normally wouldn't be able to reach in a distance race, which makes them fun.
Sunday, we got to race relays. It's always fun to match teams directly up against one another and see how things shake up. Relays are also a chance to learn to race head to head with a few people at once, but they're different from a mass start because you're in it not only for yourself but also your team. With that said, relays give skiers a chance to push our sport from the individual realm to a team one. You depend on your teammates to come through. The men's team was 13th, and the women were 7th.
RESULTS
Skate Sprint
Classic Relay
Our D-Team also got to experience sprinting this weekend! At St. Olaf! We got bombarded with snow this weekend, and Sophie had the idea to hold a sprint time trial on campus for the D-team. (Results below). They're headed to the Madison sprints next weekend. The sprint time trial made for some fun and friendly competition.
Last weekend the Varsity made the 8 hour drive to race at Al Quaal in Marquette, Michigan. Saturday we raced sprints, with a qualifier then semi and final heats. For a few it was a learning experience, and everyone was able to focus on technical or strategic aspects of the races. Nora and Paige both qualified for the heats in 16th and 18th, respectively. Nora raced a tough semi and finished 17th, and Paige made it through to the B final, finishing in 9th. Sprints are a good chance to push your body to the limit and experience speed you normally wouldn't be able to reach in a distance race, which makes them fun.
Sunday, we got to race relays. It's always fun to match teams directly up against one another and see how things shake up. Relays are also a chance to learn to race head to head with a few people at once, but they're different from a mass start because you're in it not only for yourself but also your team. With that said, relays give skiers a chance to push our sport from the individual realm to a team one. You depend on your teammates to come through. The men's team was 13th, and the women were 7th.
RESULTSSkate Sprint
Classic Relay
Our D-Team also got to experience sprinting this weekend! At St. Olaf! We got bombarded with snow this weekend, and Sophie had the idea to hold a sprint time trial on campus for the D-team. (Results below). They're headed to the Madison sprints next weekend. The sprint time trial made for some fun and friendly competition.
1. 1. Amelia (1)
2. 2. Emily (2)
3. 3. Gretchen (4)
4. 4. Kelsey (3)
5. 5. Sophie (5)
6. 6. Amy (6)
7. 7. Rachel (7)
8. 8. Julia (8)
9. 9. Ruth (9)
1. 1. Kai (1)
2. 2. Nate (6)
3. 3. Robert (2)
4. 4. Cole (4)
5. 5. Anders (7)
6. 6. Paul (5)
7. 7. Eli (3)
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