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Definitely the luckiest race of my life!

By January 8, 2011 No Comments

I’m so psyched on today! Not only did my little sister Mackenzie get to race her first Mesabi invite race (the biggest high school race in the US – Go Stillwater!!!), I got to experience the best sprint race of my life!

(pictures from Erik Fagerstrom, Ian Harvey, and Fasterskier).

The day started off well with a good qualifier; results are linked HERE. CXC put a number of skiers into the heats, and although I was getting pretty nervous after qualifying first, I tried to chill out in the 2.5 hours we had before the rounds.

The rounds went well, and I found myself with all sorts of jittery nervous energy, pulling up to the start line for the A final. I knew what I needed to do; get out fast, be in second place throughout the race until the final downhill into the stadium where I could draft and slingshot around. I started the final exactly how I’d visioned it, and I was super psyched to find myself in second place through the start of the lap.

However, my plans changed quickly when I tripped and fell on the final uphill before the downhill into the stadium. I saw the whole heat pass me by as I scrambled to get up and get going. Fortunately for me, five girls on a long gradual downhill provides an excellent draft and with some crazy no-poles skating and a lucky gap between skiers, I was able to scoot around and race the home stretch neck and neck with Sophie Caldwell. We both lunged at the line and neither one of us knew who’d got it, but I was so happy with the day it really didn’t matter at all!

The whole race reminded me of a quote my high school coach Kris Hansen loves: “Never, never, NEVER give up”. Even if something crazy happens, you never know how it’s going to end up so you’ve gotta keep trying!

I’ve looked up to a lot of the girls in my heat and it was sweet to race side by side with them!

Audrey Weber likes the lineup! The U23 team got named at the banquet tonight. We also got a chance to thank the volunteers who made this race series possible. It was cool to see how the course improved day after day and it wouldn’t have happened without a ton of help. Thanks to the Chisholm Ski Club!

Now I’m looking forward to helping with the Fast and Female event tomorrow, before heading home for some great training and time with my family.

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