The Birkie Trails have already been covered with light snow several times when October felt like Winter was coming early. But this weekend's 60 degree weather has provided a pleasant reprieve allowing projects to be completed both at home and on the trail.

I hope your preparations for winter and the ski season are going well. I had a chance to attend the MadNorSki club meeting this week, and talk with some of the 200+ very excited members who were there. It was a lot of fun and the excitement and anticipation of the upcoming ski season were contagious.

We already have more than 4,500 skiers registered for the Birkie and Kortelopet events as we continue toward our capacity of 7,500 skiers for the 2010 American Birkebeiner. Just a reminder that our next registration fee deadline is November 30. So sign up now, make the commitment, and save a few dollars.

• Post Race Food and Refreshments
• Participant T-Shirts and Pins
• Worldloppet Credit
• Bus Transportation
  

Thirteen youth cross country ski programs will get a boost this winter thanks to funding from the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation (ABSF). The Foundation recently awarded $12,000 to programs around the country targeted to youth skiers.

"We received applications from 24 programs and awarded funding to 13, most of which are new or expanding programs to foster more kids getting involved in cross country skiing," said Ned Zuelsdorff, Executive Director of the ABSF. "We're hopeful many will get hooked on cross country skiing as a way to get outside, stay active and promote a healthy lifestyle."

To date, more than $143,000 has been awarded to 153 ski clubs and organizations throughout the United States. ABSF Young Skier Grants support...continue reading, click here.

We have recently obtained several pieces of needed equipment to help us maintain and groom the Birkie Trail, thanks to generous donations from several businesses:

• Polaris has donated a Ranger 4-wheeler, side by side utility vehicle to the Birkie and is continuing their sponsorship of the event. The new Ranger joins the Ranger 6-wheeler Polaris previously donated. The Rangers are invaluable in helping us with the trail maintenance work.
• Hayward Power Sports provided us with a Scandic 4-stroke snowmobile at a greatly discounted price. The new Scandic joins our fleet of three similar 4-stroke, more efficient and powerful light grooming machines. We use Scandics to groom early in the season when snow depths are less.
• Timber Ford Mercury, Hayward, provided the Birkie with a replacement, pre-owned 4X4 Dodge truck for trail work at a very good price, and has become a Birkie and Birkie food station sponsor. Curt Beilke, General Manager for Timber Ford Mercury, and his wife both volunteer as EMTs at the Birkie finish line.

Thanks to these businesses for their strong support of the American Birkebeiner.

Links are: 

www.polarisindustries.com

www.haywardpowersports.com

www.timberfordmercury.com

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The 2009 Birkie challenged both my body and personal convictions in a way I never expected. Two weeks before "B day" the flu found me. I was still hoping for a big recovery and another placing in the top 100 of the elites just as the previous year, but life had a different plan.

My hope was high at the start line, a super course was before me and I had trained for it. I skied at a controlled pace from the gun and took fluids, everything was going as planned.

Then, just past OO my hopes changed.......continue reading, click here.

This training plan provides guidelines for what should be done leading up to the race so you have a great event from start to finish. Whether you start in Wave or Wave 8 our goal is to provide you with fundamentals for developing the endurance and strength necessary to participate in the Birkie or other ski events this winter.

Our sample training plan provides different intensity levels. It is important to work on those intensities and challenge your body so when you ski up the beautiful hills of the Birkie, your body knows how to tolerate that effort and recover efficiently when you ski down the hill. If you think about the Birkie, it's a combination of hard intervals (uphill), recovery (downhill) and flat sections (steady pace). We will incorporate all three elements in the sample training plan.

Intensity Levels

Intensity levels based on, continue reading click here.

About the Birkie®

From February 25-27, 2010, more than 7,000 fit, colorfully-clad skiers from all walks of life and from around the world will descend upon the Wisconsin northwoods to participate in the 37th anniversary American Birkebeiner, a cross-country ski race that weaves more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) along a hilly, heavily wooded trail from the Telemark Resort near Cable to the finish line on Main Street in downtown Hayward.

For some, it's serious business. The Birkebeiner is part of the Worldloppet, a circuit of 15 Nordic ski races held on four continents. The race attracts a top cadre of professional racers from 19 countries, including past and present Olympians and those competing in the International Ski Federation standings.

For many hundreds of others, though, it's an annual celebration of personal endurance and outdoor enthusiasm. Since its inception in 1973, 'The Birkie' has grown into the largest cross country ski marathon in the nation. While pros may complete the course in about two hours, legions of weekend warriors soldier on in triple that time. Citizen skiers can compete in the full race or sign up for 23 kilometer Kortelopet or one of our many other events.

You don't even have to click into skis to join in on the party. An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 spectators line many portions of the route, and it seems all of Hayward is there cheering at the finish line. Equipment demos, citizen sprints, family fun races/tours and other events round out the weekend.

Ski . Run . Live