Masters – FasterSkier.com

“Like Riding a Bicycle”: American Birkebeiner’s Popp to Push Worldloppet Forward

Luke DykowskiJuly 17, 2024

“If you’re not pedaling, you’re going to fall over.” Last month, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation sprang into registrants’ inboxes with a summer announcement: Ben Popp, Wisconsin native and ABSF Executive Director since 2013, had been elected President of the Worldloppet International Ski Federation. Replacing Finland’s Juho Viljamaa, Popp will serve a four year term, effective immediately. He already has the regalia to prove it. The Federation’s gavel, a relic of the Tony Wise...

Community Feature Masters News Regional / Local

Letters to My Younger Self: Murray Banks on Embracing Opportunity and Living Life to the Fullest

Rachel PerkinsApril 11, 2022

Editor’s note: This is the third essay in our series, “Letters to my younger self.” Lauren Fleshman provided the modern locus classicus for this genre, while John Wood and Adam Verrier kick-started the series on FasterSkier. When the private school at which my husband teaches offered him a sabbatical for the 2020-21 school year, we quickly began to fantasize about the ski town(s) in which we’d spend the following winter. A February 2020 trip to...

Community Masters News Racing

Worldloppet Race Calendar Set: A mix of Virtual and In-Person Events

Jason AlbertJune 18, 2021

This week the Worldloppet released its official race calendar for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 race seasons. On the upside, for the time being, there are opportunities for in-person Worldloppet events. All this, of course, depends on the status of the pandemic in specific countries and associated travel restrictions. As many skiers know, the loppet series is global, spanning from Southern Hemisphere races in Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina, to Northern Hemisphere races in North America,...

Biathlon Masters Racing

An Excerpt from “Nordic Warrior? A Midlife Crisis in Biathlon” By: Craig Wiggers

FasterSkierOctober 2, 2020

Craig Wiggers is a biathlete based in Ithaca, New York. Below we have a brief intro from Wiggers and an excerpt from his book, Nordic Warrior? A Midlife Crisis in Biathlon. As the title suggests, Wiggers came to skiing and biathlon midlife. His experience and anecdotes reveal a universal truth: it’s never too late to be fearless and try something new. **** My journey into Nordic biathlon as a southern raised, middle-aged, New York transplant...

Community Masters

One For Your Bucket List: Crested Butte’s Alley Loop Marathon

Rachel PerkinsMarch 17, 2020

Rounding the final turn off Butte Avenue toward the Slate River Valley at the start of the second and final lap, I had my eyes peeled for a ride. There: the man dressed in a Birkebeiner-esque sweater with suspenders fastened to his Swix pants just beyond the — is that the Jamaican bobsled team? This is Crested Butte’s Alley Loop, titled a “Birkie qualifier with a twist”, a moniker that falls far short of capturing...

Canadian Nationals Masters Racing

Masters Racing: Getting Lapped At Nationals

Gerry FursethFebruary 17, 2020

A middle of the pack master would have to be an idiot to sign up to race 50km against the best skiers in North America on a FIS-approved World Cup course. The top skiers will be fresh from World Cup Finals in Canmore and competing for important titles, national team selection, and future World Cup starts. With 2020 Nationals combined with US SuperTour Finals, the field will be deep. So why is my name on...

Masters Racing Resources

A Beginner’s Guide: The Boulder Mountain Tour

FasterSkierJanuary 13, 2020

Sponsored Content A certain amount of pre-race nerves can be beneficial. A sharpened central nervous system can rev the body for a 34-kilometer skate race. But the jitters can distract. There’s the possibility of low-quality sleep. Time wasted on variables out of your control, or, perhaps, beyond your budgetary control — cross-country ski racing can get pricey fast. In this guide, catering to BMT neophytes, we attempt to take the edge off and foster fun...

General Masters News Racing

Skiers Running Fast: Four Skiers Break 3 Hours in NYC Marathon

Gavin KentchNovember 4, 2019

View this post on Instagram Teamwork makes the dream work! So fun to run the @nycmarathon with @lizhillstephen and @idasargent . We all ran for @aktiv_usa , just appreciated a great day running with humanity and all got UNDER 3! #bettertogether #aktivagainstcancer A post shared by Kikkan Randall (@kikkanimal) on Nov 3, 2019 at 12:43pm PST FasterSkier previously reported on four boldface names, former Winter Olympians all, who were planning on racing the 2019 New...

General Masters News

After 31 Years, Bob and Nancy Gregg End their Run

Jason AlbertSeptember 18, 2019

The Master Skier and The Master Skier Annual Ski Journal was for 31 years an anticipated read. However, it’s grassroots origin story begets the polished journal it became when Bob Gregg at 77 years old and Nancy Gregg, 73, announced in August their publication was no more. Having lived in Michigan for many years, Bob Gregg was racing at the 1986 North American Vasaloppet in Traverse City. The storied Tom Kelly, the U.S. Ski Association press...

General Masters News Racing Travel

Masters Minds: Life at 71 on Two Artificial Knees: 2019 World Masters

FasterSkierJuly 23, 2019

Editor’s note: John Wood is a septuagenarian racer who lives in Eagle River, Alaska, outside of Anchorage. Four years ago he wrote a first-person Masters Mind piece for FasterSkier detailing his return from a full knee replacement to winning his age group at the American Birkebeiner classic race 18 months later. This article provides an update on what happened next, including competing at the 2019 Masters World Cup in Beitostølen, Norway, following a second knee...

Community Masters Places to Ski Travel

Race-cation: Erik Bjornsen and Marine Dusser on Iceland and the Fossavatn Ski Marathon

Rachel PerkinsMay 16, 2019

While many skiers were blowing the dust off of their rollerskis, hitting the track or trail, or looking for crust to cruise on May 1st, Erik Bjornsen and his wife Marine Dusser were previewing the race course for the Fossavatn Ski Marathon, or Fossavatngangan, in Isafjördur, Iceland. While it might seem odd to begin a new season by racing a 21 k followed by a 42 k just two days later, Bjornsen and Dusser...

General Masters News Racing

Masters World Cup Wraps up in Beitostølen

Gavin KentchMarch 18, 2019

BEITOSTØLEN, Norway — Team USA led the participation numbers while Russia topped the medal table in the 2019 Masters World Cup, the annual competition for skiers aged 30 and over that wrapped up in this mountainside hamlet on Thursday. Roughly 1,000 skiers from 26 different nations, from the predictable (Norway, Finland) to the unexpected (Thailand!), made their way to the Oppland region for seven days of competition and up to four races per athlete, three...

Lifestyle Masters News Opinion

All I Want for Xmas is a New Wax Bench by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings

Jason AlbertDecember 24, 2018

General Juniors Masters News Racing Travel

A New Start For the Methow Valley in its Quest for a Signature Race

Jason AlbertOctober 23, 2018

Washington’s Methow Valley is the literal end of the road in winter. There’s one way in from the south. There’s route 20, a sinuous side spur plunging down from Omak in the Okanogan Highlands to the Methow’s eastern edge. Otherwise, travel by car terminates just beyond Mazama — the small town nestled in the valley’s north. The Methow’s charm remains its solitude and mellowed pace. Despite the wifi and cell service, there’s the real...

General Lifestyle Masters Racing Regional / Local

Why Skiing and How I Survived the Summer: Part IV

FasterSkierAugust 23, 2018

In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), titled “Part III” update in February. Here’s the latest on his summer. *** There is an old saying in teaching that “the three reasons why I teach” are: June, July and August. As a teacher, I have the benefit of getting my summers...

Masters Resources Strength Workouts

Wednesday Workout: Masters Strength at Sovereign (with Videos)

Gerry FursethJuly 11, 2018

VERNON, British Columbia — There are a lot of master blasters who are training hard all year. There are a lot less that progress from one season to the next. This strength program is designed to help one group of masters ski faster as they age. Eric de Nys, the program director and head coach at the Sovereign Lake Nordic Club (who previously

General Masters News Racing

Masters World Cup: Day 6 Balmy Finale

FasterSkierJanuary 26, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Freestyle marathon skiers took to the hills of Theodore Wirth Park for the final day of the 2018 Masters World Cup, in a warm way to wind down the championship week. With sun and temperatures upwards of 40 degrees Fahrenheit by noon, skiers had quite the slog over the 10 k, mostly manmade loop. As Minneapolis native Kitty Earl-Torniainen, 50, described her experience in the 30-kilometer freestyle, “[The course] was nice and...

General Masters News Racing

Masters World Cup: Day 5 Train Roadblock

FasterSkierJanuary 25, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — Masters World Cup organizers had to make a fast change on Thursday partway through its classic distance races when a train parked itself on the course. “We had a lot of plans going into this race,” 2018 Masters World Cup Chief of Competition Nels Dyste explained. “We had plans for road crossings, we had plans for snow, we had plans for low year snow, plans for high snow. Unfortunately, the railroad did not...

Biathlon Biathlon Canada General Masters News Racing US Biathlon

Wednesday Rundown: Masters World Cup; Open European Champs

FasterSkierJanuary 24, 2018

2018 Masters World Cup (Minneapolis, Minnesota): 4 x 5 k relays Matt Liebsch, 34, anchored the winning relay of the youngest men’s age group (AG 1) at 2018 Masters World Cup on Wednesday, crossing the line in 45:57.2 minutes (the fastest relay time of the day) and teaming up with fellow Americans Christopher Harvey, Mark Johnson and Zach Varty. Two teams competed in that age group’s 4 x 5 k relay, with Italy finishing second,...

General Masters News Racing

Masters World Cup: Day 3 Snowy Doubles

FasterSkierJanuary 23, 2018

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — After a dearth of snow and two days of unseasonably warm weather, winter decidedly returned to South Central Minnesota for Day 3 of the Masters World Cup. Snow started falling at Theodore Wirth Park at about 10 a.m., and continued throughout the day, with accumulations around six inches. With a close eye on the forecast, the competition jury decided Monday morning before races — which included morning classic races followed by afternoon...

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