St. Olaf Nordic Team

 What? The St. Olaf Nordic Team is alive, and even writing a blog post? Yes. Yes, we are, and apologies from this senior skier for the dearth of blogs. To whet your appetite for an update on the whooooole racing season up to Nationals which are happening this week, here are the sage words of Mitchell and Christopher on the Seeley Hills Classic, a race from the very beginning of the season: Mitchell: To the dismay of the St. Olaf Nordic Team, the MN College Champs were cancelled due to mildly uninhabitable weather. But with some quick scrambling, Chris, Rebecca, Leif, and Mitchell were able to scrape together an exciting weekend of racing. Special thanks to Leif, who channeled his inner soccer mom to shuttle us to Stone Lake, WI in his stylish minivan. Also thanks to the Prokosch family for generously providing us with lodging (14 hours before we arrived) and food (you may want to pick up some more Kodiak Powercake mix). Saturday morning greeted us with cloudy skies and eye-paraly...

Reason no. 683 I love this team: We walk the entire way up the hill from Skoglund, our athletic complex, to the music building in full-on line amoeba form to keep warm. Plus, we're the people who are ridiculously excited to see a few snowflakes, even when they happen during cold, windy, wet intervals that make you "deserve a good race in the winter" according to our brand new coach, Kevin Brochman. It's been a busy fall here at St. Olaf, and we've got a good crew of new and returning skiers on the team this year! The fall was a bit of a transition period as we figured out how to run the team without a coach - and tried to find a coach. With a great deal of much-appreciated help from Tom, our previous coach, and Jake, St. Olaf's alpine ski coach, we did pretty well for ourselves, and as mentioned above, we now have a coach to help make this team even better. Now, we're looking toward snow to see what the rest of this season brings! First, an update on som...

Hey guys! I too am in MA this summer, however it was by no surprise whatsoever, since I actually live here. I have spent this summer driving the launch at a marina next door to my family's house on Cape Cod. (For those of you who don't know, I am a taxi from the shore to customers' boats.) I have been doing a lot of biking this summer, exploring the roads and coasts near my house. Here are some pictures from my latest adventures! The view from Chapaquoit Beach in West Falmouth 'No Access' stairs provide 'Direct Access' to the ocean Xoxo Liza

Hello from Norton, Massachusetts! My summer took a crazy turn when I discovered I was working at the 'other' Wheaton College in Massachusetts, not Illinois. Either way, working for EXPLO means 12 to 15 hour days surrounded by children. Finding time to workout has meant 6:30 AM runs every day and lifting or using the rowing machine on my 2 or 3 hours off. No rollerskiing on the 3 roads near campus, as the paths are not well kept. The job is well worth the time crunch, and being around 6th grade boys all day is a constant state of L1, sometimes L2. I'll have to complete my Challenge of Champions challenges back home, but I'm getting plenty of preparation for the gallon challenge! After strength my only option for food intake is a Walgreen's down the road, and my co-workers (non-Midwesterners) are amazed I can finish a half gallon of milk in 10/15 minutes.      Restrictions on workout time make you really appreciate practice at school, even morning li...

Just like that, the school year is over and our next season is started! After a hectic final few weeks of school, we're ready to do some serious summer training, relaxing, and traveling. Our team goes in all different directions in the spring, some racing in track or the cycling team, others focusing on schoolwork or doing some freestyle training, and yet we still find plenty of time to get together and enjoy some off-season shenanigans. The now-annual Challenge of Champions takes place during the spring and summer, including such honorable events as the backwards 800m steeplechase, the burpee 400, and the Evan Kendall Memorial Single-Stick 5k Race (don't worry, Evan is still quite alive). We also had our yearly Culver's rollerski - there's nothing like breaking out the rollerskis for the first time in order to go get some ice cream (sorry, Allie - frozen custard). The Culver's rollerski! Tom, back row: Jake, Amy. Middle row: Nate, Liza, Nora, Laura, Piper, Jerem...

Our final races of the regular season found us in the annual sardine-mobile to Marquette, MI. After a mix-up with some rental vans, we finally scrounged up enough vehicles to get us to regionals. Saturday featured a 5 and 10 k skate race at Al Quaal. Jake put in his highest placing performance of the season, finishing 4th, with Nels in 30th and Leif and Mitchell in 34th and 35th respectively. Piper showed how far she has come in her first year skiing since high school, finishing a strong 23rd. Amy also showed off her improvements in skate skiing this year, finishing 36th with Nora in 37th and Allie close behind in 38th. Laura and Shelby were 41st and 42nd out of 52. Sunday’s 15/20k classic mass start was a grueling test on the steep climbs of the Teal Lake loop. Jake skied to 11th place, securing his qualifying spot at NCAAs! Jake was St. Olaf’s second NCAA qualifier in two years, after Paige qualified last year. Nels, Leif, and Mitchell battled to 27th, 33rd, and 34th. In the wom...