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Mark your calendars for the 38th American Birkebeiner® from
Feb. 24-26, 2011!
The 2011 events include the 50K Birkie Skate sponsored by Becker Law Office, 54K
Birkie Classic, and 23K Kortelopet Skate and Classic races sponsored by Marshfield Clinic of Hayward.
Birkie 2011 also features shorter races, events and festivities for:
- men, women, teens and kids
- families
- the super fit
- the super enthusiastic
- those vowing to get in shape
- those wanting pure and simple recreation
- those wanting to meet like-minded fitness buffs
- those wanting challenge, excitement and fun
- those wanting to support friends, family and skiers from around the world!
From the Barnebirkie to the Birkebeiner...Ski.Run.Live!
Find out more at http://www.birkie.com
or call us at 715.634.5025. We're eager to hear from you! 2010
American Birkebeiner Trail Run, Relay & Trek
Sept. 25, 2010
The 2010 American Birkebeiner Trail Run includes you choice of:
- NEW! 26.2 mile Individual Marathon
- 26.2 mile Marathon Relay
- 13.1 mile Individual Half Marathon
- 13.1 mile Birkie Trail Trek
- 5K Fun Run/Wlak
Learn more visit www.birkie.com or register today for the Birkie Trail Run, Relay or Trek.
2011
BirkieTour
January 22, 2011
Come out, ski and enjoy the Birkie and Birkie Classic Trails and participate in the BirkieTour!
The tour is an untimed, non-competitive, "open-track" event open to skiers age 13 and older.
Birkie & Korte Tour DistancesRegistration will be available this Spring! Learn more visit www.birkie.comThe Birkie®:
38 Years of Inspiring Skiers
to Live Fit, Healthy Lives!
In our house, winter is a journey whose destination is the BIRKIE!
My family and I are grateful and frankly humbled by the enormous dedication of all staff and volunteers who work on the Birkie each year. It's an extraordinary event and is as much a part of our family experience as birthdays and holidays.
"Tony Wise asked me to design a good trail system at Telemark. I spent
14 days there and laid out trails similar to the Vasalopet trails in
Sweden. Later, Marty Hall added more hills. From the point of view of
competitive skiers, it is a very good course."
~ Sven Wiik, Nordic guru, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
"The Birkie has been a factor in my life since the first time I skied
the trail in 1976. My philosophy is to do whatever we can do to foster
participation in the overall event. I want more people on the snow and
enjoying the weekend."
~ Ned Zuelsdorff, Executive Director, Cable, WI
For almost thirty years, it has been a blessing in my life! THANK YOU.
You guys run a world class event. It is the most fun you can have while torturing yourself.
My life is richer because of my experiences at the
American Birkebeiner.
Can't wait for next year!
See you at the start, race you the finish...hoping to have the time of my life along the way!
-Jim Reker
To me the day is close to a religious experience...you are excited but respectful, almost reverent to the course and the challenges of the day.
The people you are skiing with are all comrades on a mission to soak up the day and dig within to see what we all have down deep.
Better than Christmas. I will be skiing the Birkie every year I'm alive on Earth. It's that special."
Praise for 2010 Events!GREAT RACE! GREAT JOB! Loved skiing with 8000 of my closest ski friends!!! Keep up the good work! My 23rd and it was one of the best! Thanks! You do a great job. I am always impressed. Thanks for a great race! You all did an amazing job in making this race, with record numbers, come off extremely well. The grooming this year has been fantastic, and the trail was excellent all year. Thank you sooo much! Great weather, do that every year. The race was very smooth. I thought the organization was outstanding. Congratulations on another wonderful Birkie!! THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who make this race possible!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the volunteers! Have only favorable comments to pass on after my 1st Birkie. Staff and volunteers were helpful and courteous. Carhart meets spandex! Awesome event! Thanks for running a very classy event. As always, a great job! Thanks to all the volunteers. Great race! Great volunteers! Very well organized. Thank you. My first Birkie, I caught the FEVER! The groomers did a fabulous job and my hat is off to them! |
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Greetings from the Birkie®!
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Hi Skiers and Friends!We're
finally getting rain in the Northland, although the grass on the trails had
been doing well before the moisture arrived. The forest has really greened up
and closed in during the last few weeks. Trail work continues.
We've
put together plans for the 2011 Birkie assuming that Telemark Lodge will not be
available, although we and everyone still hope that new owners come in and the
lodge reopens before winter. The alternate plans are outlined below.
We continue
to ready for the September Birkie Trail Run & Trek and the new Marathon Run. It, with the companion Half Marathon,
Marathon Relay, 5K and BirkieTrek Nordic Walk will
make for a fun and challenging event with live music and great food afterward
for all participants. It is a beautiful time of the year to be on the trail.
We
will be at the Nordic Walking Expo event at Hyland Park in Bloomington, MN this
Saturday from 9 AM - 4 PM promoting our BirkieTrek Nordic Walk, so stop and say
hi if you happen to be there. I hope you have the chance to come to Birkieland
this summer and enjoy the Trails whether you're hiking, biking or running.
See
you on the Trails and stay fit!
Ned Zuelsdorff
Executive Director
ned@birkie.com
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2011 T-Shirt Design Contest Announced
The American Birkebeiner
Ski Foundation (ABSF) is announcing their annual contest
to design the official t-shirt for the 2011 American Birkebeiner ski race. The
winning t-shirt design will be the featured retail t-shirt for the event.
"We
have created the t-shirt design contest as another creative way for artists who
love the Birkie to participate in the 2011 Birkie event," said Ned Zuelsdorff,
Executive Director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. "Proceeds from
sales of the official 2011 t-shirt will benefit young skier programs. We hope
that people will consider supporting the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation
and our effort to foster youth skiing by entering the contest."
"It is
our goal to inspire people to live active and healthy lives by participating in
our events throughout the year. More simply put, we hope that people choose to
'Live the Birkie.'" said Zuelsdorff. "We're
looking for this year's design to help people 'Feel the Energy' of the Birkie
and in turn inspire them to 'Live the Birkie.'"
Artists interested in participating in the
contest should....Continue Reading.
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2010 Birkie Trail Run & Trek - September 25, 2010
 This year's Birkie Trail Run & Trek offers some exciting changes and additions. New this
year is an individual Marathon Trail Run to lead off the list of events
being
held on Saturday, September 25, 2010. The individual Marathon joins the
Marathon Relay, 13.1 mile individual Half Marathon, 13.1 mile Birkie
Trek
(Nordic Walk) and the 5K Fun/Run Walk.
Also new this year the 2010 course has been turned around and will now traverse the trail from south to
north, after outgrowing the previous finish area at Hatchery Park, just
outside
of Hayward. The Marathon Run and Marathon Relay will now start at
Hatchery Park, while the Half Marathon Run and Half Marathon Birkie Trek
will begin
at the County Highway "OO" trailhead in Seeley. All events will
finish on the grounds of Telemark Resort. The 5K Run/Walk
will start and finish at Telemark. Even if the doors of Telemark are
closed at the time of the event we will have everything we need to
set-up a great finish area for all event participants.
All participants will receive specially designed technical t-shirt and enjoy food, live music and fun at the finish line. The Awards Celebration will include many door prizes and recognition of overall and age class winners.
Learn more about the event or register here.
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2011 Birkie Poster Available June 15th
Be one of the first to have the 2011 Birkie Poster on display in your wax room. The 38th Anniversary posters will be available June 15th. This year's poster price of $16 includes shipping and handling and can be purchased at the Birkie Online Store or by calling 715-634-5025. Advanced sales are being accepted and orders will be sent soon.
The 2011 Poster was designed by Birkie Skier, Kay Lum of Kay Lum Design and the photographs are those of photographer Mark Milford. Thanks for your great work!
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Alternate Plans for Birkie Activities
On Wednesday,
May 5, 2010, the doors of Telemark Lodge were closed. The Telemark Interval
Owners Association (TIOA) is still working with potential buyers with the hope of
selling the lodge and re-opening the doors. Although the doors are closed, the property, including the trails remain accessible.
As announced this Spring, we have developed a plan in the event that Telemark
Lodge is not available for Birkie Pre-Race activities. These activities
including bib pick-up, the skier expo, race information booth and Birkie
clothing will be available in the large, well-lighted Hayward Middle School
gymnasium starting at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, February, 24th and open all day
Friday, February 25th.
The On-Snow Demo, Junior Birkie and Cheqtel 5/10K Family Fun Event will still
take place on the Telemark property on Friday, February 25th. The Birkie, Kortelopet, and Prince Haakon 12K races on Saturday, February 26, will
again start at the normal start area. The Kortelopet and Prince Haakon events
will still finish at Telemark.
The Welcoming Ceremony will take place on Hayward's Main Street on Thursday,
February 24th prior to the Barnebirkie. The Awards Ceremony will be held at the
Hayward Middle School on the evening of Saturday, February 26th.
"We share a long
history with Telemark and we are deeply saddened by the closure of the Lodge,"
said Ned Zuelsdorff, American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Executive Director.
"We are doing everything we can to reduce the impact on the race itself and
will continue to work with the TIOA to use the outside property for the Birkie Trail
Run & Trek events in September, the BirkieTour in January and many of the
Birkie events in February. If the situation changes and the doors of Telemark
re-open then we will return to Telemark if at all possible."
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Birkie, Korte and Prince Haakon Race Registration Deadline
The first price deadline for the 2011 Birkie, Kortelopet and Prince Haakon events is July 31st. Currently there are over 1400 skiers registered for the events.
The American Birkebeiner Board of Directors set a registration cap
of 8,400 skiers for the 2011 Birkie and Kortelopet races and cap of 400
skiers for the Prince Haakon event. In addition, to
the cap there is also an overall deadline of January 31, 2011 for the
events.
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Birkie Trail News
Birkie Trail Work Day
We
are scheduling a volunteer work morning on the Birkie Trail for Saturday,
July 17, from 8:30 AM until noon, meeting
at the OO warming building. This is your opportunity to help out and maintain
the trail you love! We will be going out in groups to remove debris from the
trail where tree limbing work will be done. We may also be working on other
portions of the trail where we're making repairs. All you need bring is a water
bottle (and holder) and gloves. Let us know if you're interested by calling the
Birkie office or emailing ned@birkie.com.
New Equipment
We're fortunate to be able to
purchase some new trail equipment this year. We are replacing our five year old
trail mower that the trail has just worn out. Think of it, 86K of
Birkie, Birkie Classic and Kortelopet trail at an average of 4 passes at 5K per
hour or 344K and almost 70 hours per mowing. We'll start mowing within the next
few days and again mow the trails in September before the Fat Tire Festival and
our Trail Run event.
We are replacing our older Pisten Bully with
a new...Continue Reading about Trail Equipment and other Trail Work.
Trail Budget
Our Trail budget for 2010-2011 is $145,000. The trail work
and equipment is expensive, but needed to bring you the quality of trail you
enjoy. A portion of our trail expenses are covered by the ski trail fees and
donations, which we greatly appreciate. The Birkie Trail Friends program also helps us significantly. You, your
family or a group of your friends can get together and sponsor a kilometer on
the trail system. Birkie Trail Friends have already sponsored many Birkie and
Birkie Classic Trail kilometers, but several Ks still need sponsors. More
information about becoming a Birkie Trail Friend is available here.
Birkie is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax deductible, so please
consider helping.
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American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation
Membership, Annual Meeting and
Board of Director Elections
The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation is a membership organization. There are membership levels for individuals, families and businesses. Learn more about becoming a member,
click here.
Annual
Meeting
The
Foundation Annual Meeting for all members will be held on Saturday, August 14, 2010 at the Sawmill Saloon in Seeley, Wisconsin.
Time (Subject to change)
On-site Voting*: 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Meal: 6:00 - 6:45 p.m. ($10 per person)
Meeting: 6:45 - 8:00 p.m.
*Foundation members will receive ballots approximately 30 days before
the annual meeting and may vote by mail or drop their ballots off at the
Birkie office in Hayward. These ballots must be received at the Birkie
office by Friday, August 13, 2010.
Membership Status
The by-laws have been amended removing the membership renewal and registration deadline. A ballot will be given to all paid members at the Annual Meeting including those who become or renew their membership that evening.
Board of Director
Elections
Several Board Member terms are expiring this year.
Candidates interested in running for the Board of Directors must submit a
completed Candidate Profile. It is very helpful if you submit
the profile in electronic format. It can be addressed to ned@birkie.com.
In addition, all non-incumbent candidates must submit a Nomination Endorsement form that contains a minimum
of ten signatures from current ABSF members. All application materials
are due in the ABSF office no later
than Friday, July 9, 2009 and are available here.
Interested in running for the Board of Directors, click here
for more information or contact ned@birkie.com
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2011 Birkie Skiers for Cures Supports the National MS Society
 The 2011 Birkie Skiers for Cures fundraising campaign
will once again support the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. To date
Birkie Skiers for Cures have raised over $160,000 for MS and it will be used
for research to bring us closer to a cure for this chronic, often
debilitating disease that attacks the central nervous system, including
the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. You can get started now in
raising funds and find more information here.
Dear Birkie Skiers -
Year after year that I ski the Birkie I am consistently overwhelmed at how wonderful it is to be surrounded by thousands of Nordic skiers and their supporters, all willing (and excited!) to spend a weekend in Cable-Hayward, Wisconsin, skiing the hardest ski race of the season. This year, I was also struck by the generosity of all the skiers who lined up to the start, skied past me during the race, offered water at rest stations, all wearing Birkie Skiers for Cures pins. Although I wish I could have said thank you to everyone that I skied with during the race with a pin on their bib, I was too out of breath. So now, finally back at a resting heart rate - THANK YOU. It was absolutely wonderful to see so many people showing their support for Birkie Skiers for Cures and the National MS Society. It gave me an overwhelming feeling of hope, and reminded me that if this many people are willing to support the fight to find a cure for MS, then someday we will surely reach that ultimate goal.
From a skier with MS who is determined to ski a lifetime of Birkie's, thank you so much for your support of Birkie Skiers for Cures.
Birkie birkie!
Katie________________________________________________________________________________ |
2011 BirkieTour Registration Now Open
 The 2011 BirkieTour will be held on Saturday, January 22, 2011. Last year over 500 skiers participated in this fun, non-competitive event.
Skier registration and more information for the 2011 BirkieTour is available here.
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Thanks for the Memories
By Gina Interrante
 My husband (then boyfriend)
indirectly inspired me to compete in the American Birkebeiner by suggesting
that since I was new to skate skiing that I should start by competing in the
shorter race, the Kortelopet. When I asked him if he started out by skiing the
Korte, he said no. It was then I knew I was determined to skate ski the full
Birkie.
Now keep in mind, I had just moved from Chicago to Southern Wisconsin and had
no previous experience skate skiing and very limited experience cross country
skiing at all but I kept saying to myself, "I think I can."
Well, I had my work cut out for me and we skied....Continue Reading.
Share Your Birkie Fever Story
We know you have a story to tell. Whether you are a skier, spectator or volunteer we want to hear from you. Birkie Fever is a phenomonen that touches many people in many different ways. Share your Birkie Fever with others. Send 300 word essays or short quotes and photos to media@birkie.com. Afraid you can't write? Don't let that stop you. We can take your words and weave them into a great Birkie Fever story. |
What About Walking
By Jay L. Tapper
The majority of readers who visit the Birkie website are skiers
looking for articles to improve their skiing and fitness. Most utilize
endurance activities, (paddling, cycling, roller skiing, running, hiking, etc)
strength, and flexibility exercises as a means of accomplishing these goals.
What about walking? To suggest walking to a skier is like
asking them to take an extra rest day! Where's the burn? Where's the
sweat? Where are the endorphins?
But walking (when done with purpose) should be an integral
part of a conditioning program. Walking improves hip flexibility, movement
symmetry, and aids in post exercise recovery. All are important components for
improving fitness and preventing injuries.
So what are the secrets of
(purposeful) walking to improve fitness and skiing? Continue Reading...Click Here
 Jay Tapper is owner of
ActivEdge LLC. ActivEdge specializes in safety, fitness, and ergonomic programs
for business and industry. ActivEdge also provides personal training services.
Jay is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist.
For further information contact Jay at 218-393-8767 or www.Activedgewi.com. |
SKI . RUN . LIVE
The Birkie is a year-round lifestyle choice for thousands of outdoor
fitness enthusiasts of all levels. From its signature ski race--the
legendary American Birkebeiner--The Birkie has grown into an exciting
array of fitness and recreational opportunities. The 88-kilometer Birkie
Trail system attracts skiers, runners, bikers, trekkers, and hikers,
from casual day-trippers to elite superstars. Located near Hayward and
Cable, Wisconsin, the Birkie is now an outdoor sports mecca, a series of
great races, a fitness destination, and a lifestyle. Ski.Run.Live
 
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Upcoming Events
Saturday, August 14, 2010
American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation Annual Meeting
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Birkie Trail Run & Trek
Saturday, January 22, 2011
BirkieTour
Thursday, February 24-Saturday, February 26, 2011
Birkie 2011
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