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May 19, 2011
                                 Volume 9 - Issue 7
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Mark your calendars for the 39th American Birkebeiner from
Feb.  23-25, 2012!


The 2012 events include the 50K Birkie Skate, 54K Birkie Classic sponsored by Becker Law, 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
  • skijor enthusiasts 
  • 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!

 



2011
American Birkebeiner Trail Run, Relay & Trek

Sept. 24, 2011


The 2011 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. 

 

 

 

2012
BirkieTour
January 21, 2012  
  

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 Distances
Registration will be available this Spring!

Learn more visit
www.birkie.com 



The Birkie:
  39 Years of Inspiring Skiers
to Live Fit, Healthy Lives!

February 23-25, 2012


 In our house, winter is a journey whose destination is the BIRKIE!   

 

"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."


THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who make this race possible!!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the volunteers!


Love skiing with over 8000 of my closest friends.


I love the positive energy of everyone I encounter during Birkie weekend.

~Julie Starks

      

 

BIG THANK YOU to the Birkie staff and volunteers and the citizens of Hayward and Cable for making this wonderful event possible and a BIG THANK YOU to the fans for making the experience of skiing up Main Street second to none.

~Chris Jones


 

Thank you for giving us all something to focus on all winter long!

   

 

Birkie day is the gretest day of the year in my mind, ranking above Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Packer Sundays, Badger Saturdays, opening day of fishing season and even ahead of opening day of gun deer season.  

  

Birkie day is the ultimate Wisconsin experience.

 


The best organized 'signature' sports event I have ever been involved in. Excellent experience!!! Thanks to all the volunteers!!! They are wonderful!!!

 

  

 

 Skier Praise for
2011 Birkie Events!

 

 

Great race again. See you next year!

 

 

Love this event, love the organization, love all the people who are involved. Thanks! Keep up the good work.

 


Birkie is an A+ event and I hope to be back next year!

 

 

A million thank you's to all the outstanding volunteers is not enough. They are the reason the race continues.

 

 

This was my first Birkie and it was AWESOME!!! I will definitely be back next year and many years to come...I want my purple bib!!

 

 

Fantastic job with this year's event! As always, the volunteers were extremely helpful and friendly! I cannot commend you enough for management!

 

 

Extremely well organized, volunteers and locals really make you feel welcome.

 

 

GREAT JOB everyone. Really impressive series of events for three days.

 

 

The Birkie was an epic race! I hope I can be back next year with more experience, more training,  

and better technique.
(And hopefully warmer weather!)

 

 

I love the race and will continue to participate as long as I can.

 

 

Best organized event I have ever done. Volunteers are great people. Well done!

 

 

This was my first year and it will not be my last. It was a great challenge and I am all ready thinking about what I can do to improve
my time for next year!
Bravo and thank you very much!

 

 

Thank you all so much for your efforts. See you next year.

 

 

I really enjoyed my first Korte. Thanks to all the volunteers and event staff!


 

Another great year of Birkie events. Thank you all so much for your efforts. See you next year.

 

 

I would like to thank all who made this race possible and to all the volunteers who gave their time and
braved the cold.

 

 

As usual it was a wonderful race with wonderful volunteers.
Thank you so much!

 

 

This was my first endurance race of any kind, and I had a blast! Everything was great.
Thanks for the memories!!

 

 

Fantastic event - Great people - great organization and lots of fun!

   

 

THE VOLUNTEERS ROCK!   

   

Thanks for a wonderful family event!

 

 

I'm hooked on the Birkie now.
Many thanks!

  Greetings from the Birkie�!

NedZuelsdorff

Hi Skiers and Friends!

 

The Birkie trails have dried out and are now open for mountain biking, as well as hiking and running. Trail work will begin in June and you'll find more Trail News on what we're doing and what is planned below. There will be several trail work days over the summer giving you each the chance to get involved in maintaining and improving this great trail system.

 

We have worked out an agreement with Telemark Resort allowing us use of the facility and trail system for the 2011 Birkie Trail Run and the 2012 BirkieTour as well as the 2012 American Birkebeiner, now just 282 days away! This means that the Birkie, Kortelopet and Haakon 12K races will all use the same courses as in 2011. More than 1,500 skiers are already registered for 2012.

 

We're getting ready for the September "Birkie Trail Run, Relay & Trek". It is a fun event which drew more than 750 participants last year. We expect to have 900 runners and Nordic walkers here this fall to enjoy the event and the area.

 

I hope you have the chance to come to the area this summer and enjoy the Trails whether you're hiking, biking or running. We will have a Birkie booth at the Madison Marathon Expo over Memorial Day weekend, so stop and say "Hi" if you happen to be there.

  

Stay Fit!

 

Ned Zuelsdorff

Executive Director
[email protected]


  Birkie News�

Race Registration Now Open for All Birkie Events  


Race registration for all American Birkebeiner events is NOW AVAILABLE! Visit the  Events Section and select your event from the left hand column. Most events offer online registration as well as printable registration forms.

Reminder to Provide Emergency Contact Information


When completing the paper race registration you will find the Emergency Contact Information on the back of the form as part of the Waiver. Please be sure to complete this information providing a name and phone number.

 

Skier Email Confirmation for the Birkie, Kortelopet & Prince Haakon 


All Birkie, Korte and Prince Haakon registered skiers will receive a confirmation of his/her registration. All skiers of the Birkie, Korte and Prince Haakon may confirm their registration here. Skiers registering on-line can view his/her confirmation in approximately 5 days of completing the process. Skiers mailing or faxing entries can view his/her confirmation in approximately 10 days of mailing the forms.   
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Birkie Ski Training Clinic

June2011ClinicOut There Nordic and the American Birkebeiner are presenting a Training Clinic with instructor and long time coach Inge Braten on June 24-26, 2011.

Inge Braten has been coaching Nordic skiing for over 30 years. From Head Coach of the Norwegian, Swedish and Swiss National Teams to coaching athletes such as Bjorn Daehlie, Vegard Ulvang, Thomas Alsgaard, Marcus Hellner and more.

Space is limited and info is available
here.    

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2011 Birkie Trail Run & Trek - September 24, 2011

The Birkie Trail Run & Trek continues to grow and challenge runners and2011 Birkie Trail Run walkers while providing a fun celebration of fall in Northwestern Wisconsin's great forest land. This year the Birkie Trail Run Events will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2011.

The events include:
       Individual Marathon
       Half Marathon
       5K Fun Run/Walk
       21K Birkie Trek - Nordic Walk 

       3 or 6-Person Marathon Relay

 

Started in 2003, the Birkie Trail Run has offered a variety of fun events to hundreds of trail runners and Nordic walkers each year. All distance events take place on the famous, winding and hilly Birkie trail during the fall, one of the most beautiful times of the year in Northern Wisconsin. And while challenging, the event promises to be a lot of fun for participants and spectators.

 

Learn more about the event or register here.

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Birkie Trail Work

Trail work will be starting in June. We'll be removing downed trees and mowing the trails in late June and early July. There will be several Trail Work Volunteer mornings and evenings planned throughout the Summer and Fall. Send your email address to [email protected] if you'd like to receive notice of these volunteer opportunities.

 

Planned and proposed trail projects for 2011 include:

  • Repairing erosion ruts on the downhill at C25K on the Classic trail likely caused by a "hunter" truck last Fall
  • Repairing erosion resulting from mountain bikes and last year's heavy rains, at several trail locations
  • Mowing the trails in June and September
  • Removing overhanging branches and side brush from the entire trail system
  • Building small warming and storage buildings at the Timber Trail and Mosquito Brook food station areas
     

Birkie Trail FriendsTrail maintenance now costs us $150,000 annually. You may be aware that 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.

Birkie Honor Wall
Another trail fundraiser is the new
Birkie Honor Wall sculpture at OO where you can recognize and honor a current or past trail user or group. Click the links to learn more about both of these programs. The Birkie is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations are tax deductible, so please consider helping.

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2012 American Birkebeiner T-Shirt Design Contest 

 

Next month the American Birkebeiner's 2012 T-Shirt Design Contest will be officially announced. Over the past two years we have received wonderful t-shirt designs from many talented artists. A great prize package will be awarded to the contest winner including a complimentary Birkie or Korte race entry and a VIP Parking Pass to the Start and other items. This year's contest deadline will be August 1st. More information and contest details will be provided in next month's ezine.  

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2012 Race Registration Caps and Deadlines

The American Birkebeiner has set a cap of 9,000 skiers for the 2012 Birkie and Kortelopet races. There were 8,836 skiers registered for the 2011 races. A portion of this registration number will be reserved for foreign skiers. The cap was established as a way to maintain the high quality of the event that skiers desire and expect.

 

An overall registration deadline of January 31, 2012 has also been established for the event. The deadline provides the Birkie organization time to eliminate registration errors and issues, and helps assure that all the needed pieces are in place to again provide a high quality American Birkebeiner event.

 

The registration cap of 400 skiers will be maintained for the Prince Haakon race and the overall deadline registration will also be January 31, 2012.

 

Skier registration will close upon reaching the cap or the deadline. The status of registration for the 2012 event will be reported in the Birkie's Carpe Skiem electronic newsletter as well at birkie.com.

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Become an ABSF Member  

 

Do you ever wonder how the Birkie gets pulled off year after year with great success?  The staff, Board of Directors, a huge network of volunteers  and  the communities of Cable and Hayward pour their hearts and souls into the events every year.  All are integral to the success of the race.

 

The ABSF was formed in 1984 when a group of local business people realized that strong support would ensure the race's future for years to come.  Members are the backbone of the organization because they alone elect the ABSF board.  You can show your support and take a bit of "ownership" in the race by becoming an ABSF member.  Individual memberships are $25 annually, $40 per family and $50 per business.  

 

Becoming a member is easy! Simply click here and print a membership application from our website or select the online membership registration application.  

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American Birkebeiner New Logo

2011 American Birkebeiner Race Video Copies Still Available!  


The 2011 Birkie video by George Desort includes race footage of the top elites in the 50K Birkie Skate and the start and finish of the 54K Birkie Classic race. There is also a chapter highlighting the additional events including the Elite Sprints, Barnebirkie, Giant Ski, Barkie Birkie Skijor and Family Fun Event.

Limited quantities are available. The video is only $24.95 including shipping and handling. Place your  order here. A preview of the video is available at www.birkie.com.
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Lost & Found Items


We have many unclaimed items in our race lost and found. If you are missing anything please contact our office at 715-634-5025 or [email protected] and we can make arrangements to return the item to you. Lost and Found is kept until June 1st. After that time we will donate any remaining items.

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  Birkie� Fever

A Near Knockout Birkie

By Greg Pratt   

 
Greg Pratt Birkie Fever
Photo Courtesy of David J. Owen Photography

This was my 26th Birkie, and something happened that I'd never heard before. It was cold at the start, -9 F according to the announcer, so I kept my warm-ups on until we moved up to the final starting gate with 10 minutes to go. I had a good position in the second row, quickly stripped off my warm-ups, ran over to the side and handed them to my wife. I turned and started jogging back to my skis. I passed behind another skier just as he decided to windmill his arm to warm up (without looking, I might add). 

 

He struck a very hard blow directly to my...continue reading.

 

 

Read more Birkie Fever Stories here


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 [email protected]. 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.
  Birkie� Training

Birkie Training Plan

 

With only 282 days to go until Birkie 2012 it is never too late to get started on your training! The May Training Plan is available here and soon you will find the June plan. The Birkie Training Plan offers an opportunity to learn more about how to train, live, and enjoy the sports that are the Birkie. It is an educational tool that can be used to help maximize your performance and enjoyment of the Birkie Events.

The program will primarily focus on Nordic skiing and will also touch on trail running, Nordic walking, and mountain biking. Information and knowledge for all levels of athlete will be offered. Whether you are a beginner and need info on equipment and what to purchase, or are an upper level marathon racer looking to better your wave placement, we will have something for you. Be sure to check it out!

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 The Birkie
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.Liv
e

Becker Law2009 Birkie Trail Run Half

Upcoming Events


Saturday, August 13, 2011 ABSF Annual Meeting

Saturday, September 24, 2011
Birkie Trail Run, Relay & Trek

Saturday, January 21, 2012 BirkieTour

Thursday, February 23-Saturday, February 25, 2012 Birkie 2012