“YOU’RE BETTER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE – YOU CAN DO MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU CAN.” – Ken Chlouber (Founder of the Leadville Trail 100)

Yea!! I finished the 2015 Birkie as a classical skier!! It took me about 7 hours to get it done but I finished. The Classical course was 55 kilometers or about 34 miles with somewhere between 3000 to 4000 feet of vertical. In the above picture I am standing at the highest point on the trail, which is about 1700 feet at this point. Not the mountainous hills of Colorado, but don’t let that fool ya – there is a lot of climbing. You could not have asked for better weather. It was a cold day but not unbearably so. The starting temperature was about 10 degrees and it climbed up to about 15 during the course of the race. Throughout the day there were clouds, sun and even a little extra snow at times, but the wind was nonexistent!! That was truly the best part – no wind. I was a little worried earlier in the week when temperatures on Thursday morning were down in the minus 20 degree range and below. When it gets to that point I have to ask myself – “Why am I doing this!?”

There were skiers from around the world at the race and of every ability level, from the Olympic Athlete to the recreational skier like myself. My favorites were the men and women that were 70 years old and older doing the race. These racers were my inspiration to keep going when things got a little tough. Pretty amazing to see these guys moving along the trail. I hope that I am still able to do something of this magnitude when I am that age.

In order to get the full spirit of the Birkie I believe a little history is important. The race is named after the Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet, a cross country ski event in Norway which commemorates an important historical incident in Norwegian history. In 1206 a group of Birkebeiner party soldiers, who fought for Sverre Sigurdsson and his descendants in the Norwegian civil war, smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway’s King Hakon Sverresson from Lillehammer to safety in Trondheim. This event took place in 1206. For Norwegians, the survival of the child Hakon (he was named after his father) led eventually to the end of civil war in Norway. Hakon succeeded to the Norwegian throne in 1218. His reign lasted for a successful 40 plus years and is considered to have been Norway’s golden age. The painting below honors this historical event and is called “Skiing Birchlegs Crossing the Mountain with the Royal Child.” It was painted in 1868 by Norwegian painter – Knud Bergslien.

The commemorative Birkebeinerrennet ski event in Norway has been held since 1932. In the Norwegian event, skiers still carry packs symbolizing the weight of an 18 month old child.

The American Birkie was started by Wisconsin promoter Tony Wise in February of 1973. The race is held every February and now attracts about 10,000 skiers each year.

Well that is about it for me this week. Time to get some Alpine Skiing in before the snow melts and to continue training for the Quad Rock 50 in May. But before I go I would like to give a huge THANK YOU to all the volunteers that helped to insure the success of the 2015 American Birkebeiner. They are without a doubt the unsung heroes in an event of this magnitude.