Craftsbury Ski Marathon

I have always been of the opinion that as athletes, we should constantly try new things, push the boundaries, get outside our comfort zones, and have fun! This couldn’t be more true than when I decided to sign up for the Craftsbury Ski Marathon. Cross country skiing is a wonderful cross training for running, and a way to enjoy the winter months. I had been a cross country ski racer (in a former life), but hadn’t ever raced longer than 15k, and hadn’t put on a race number in about a decade. What better way to challenge myself? Of course, Mother Nature decided I needed an extra challenge – from the time I decided to do this race to the race date, there was only one day with enough snow in a 1-hour radius of my house to ski on – so my training consisted of running and some weights (although I’m sure I got some cross training strength from my constant snow dances!).

A ski marathon is actually a 50k race – and this particular race was the classical technique (which is ‘striding’). The Craftsbury Ski Marathon is one of the bigger ski marathons in the nation, and was serving as the Masters National Championship race this year, so it drew in a highly competitive crowd which included several current and former US Ski Team Members and Olympians.

Due to the snow conditions, the race was altered to 4 laps around a 12.5k circuit, rather than the two large 25k loops that were planned. That meant that the 600-700 racers were all packed onto one small loop, which made things a bit chaotic.

I showed up at 7:30 to pick up my race number, and was instantly frozen, even with so many layers I could barely move. The outside temperature was approximately -8 degrees (wind chill put it below -20). I moved quickly from the car to the registration area, and then jumped on the bus to be transported to the start/finish area. A quick run into the warming yurt, which was a balmy 20-degrees and did little to warm me, and I was applying layers and layers of kick wax to my skis – hoping the temperature would somehow rise up.

It warmed up to -4 (wind chill of -14) at the start, and my sister and I, decked out in more layers than we typically wear unless planning to be stationary, lined up behind the majority of the field. My sister and I had decided to do this together, but we were treating it as a training day – a way to get in a long ski, get to catch up, and have some aid along the way. My only rough goal was to try to ski the 50k faster than I could run it (which should be logical, right?). The cowbell rang, signaling the start, and we were off.

Photo by Jim Rodriques/NENSA

The course was rolling, and went through a mixture of fields and wooded trails. We happily cruised along, staying clear of the pile-ups that were prevalent with 100 people starting together, and only two tracks to ski in. My hands were numb, despite the thick gloves I had on – it took about 4k to warm them up.

After about 4k into the loop, we passed through the start/finish area, and then started the ‘downhill’ section of the course. I could already tell that the hills would be in poor shape by the end of the race, since patches of ice were already beginning to show. We survived the downhill and started the long, gradual climb back up to the touring center. I tried to kick, and tried to kick, and realized that the 10 layers of carefully applied wax were already gone – it was like I was trying to ski on ice. I tried to ‘muscle through it’ for a few kilometers, but eventually my sister and I pulled over for a quick rewax of the skis.

At some point in the first lap, I noticed that my foot felt loose in my boot, and looked down to see that my boot zipper had broken, so my foot didn’t have the stability of the boot outer to control it. There is nothing to be done about this mid-race, so I just had to accept that downhills would be trickier for me, and my control with steep uphills would also be compromised.

The new wax lasted for most of the rest of the first lap, but coming into the lap zone, we peeled off to where my sister’s wax area was to melt some binder wax into my bases to hold the kick wax better. It was frustrating to pull off a race course momentarily and watch skiers going by, but knew that in the long run it was needed to be sure that I could actually use my skis (otherwise it was going to be a long day!).

Photo by Jim Rodriques/NENSA

After the wax job, my sister and I headed out for the second loop. It had warmed up to about -1 at this point, but it felt warmer except for my feet which turned numb as we waxed. I was pleasantly surprised, as we pulled into an aid station, that the volunteers had heated up the drinks – and decided that warm HEED was the best thing to drink. They even had heated energy gels, but I passed on that for another 4k.

I was pleased with my new wax, and my sister and I set off to cruise the lap, trying to catch a few of the folks who got by us during our waxing. We stopped at the aid stations, had warm drinks and gels, and were able to enjoy the second lap. I was happy to be able to feel all of my appendages and to not have any aches and pains. The third lap was equally enjoyable, as we enjoyed the warm treats along the way, the waxing held up (I did switch skis at one point to use up any available wax on the skis), and we were able to chat about upcoming races. I was starting to think ‘this isn’t so hard!’. It had nearly broken into positive temperatures, and the sun warmed us on the open fields.

The fourth lap proved to be as difficult as the first. My wax was starting to wear off, and the aches and pains of not doing any true ski training for this, were starting to pop up. My back hurt, my hands were cramping, my elbows shot pain with every pole plant, and I was starting to get cold. To make matters worse, the course was starting to deteriorate a bit – with ice patches cropping up on all the downhills. I realized that similar to running an ultra, I had hit the time in the race where I start to question why I do this, and if it was worth the pain. Luckily I had my sister with me, so she provided conversation to distract me, and kept me moving forward. I started counting down the remaining kilometers in the race with each marker that I passed. We did stop for another rewax after the downhill, so that I could stride it out through the finish.

Luckily, we were headed up the last hill before I knew it, and headed through the finish lane (not the lap lane!) at last. I provided a bit of excitement for the volunteers as I ‘sprinted’ with my sister for the finish line. She was kind and let me have the win. It had warmed up to 2 degrees by the time we finished, but considering the temperatures we started in it felt downright warm. I think we both paid that evening and the next day for the long ski – aches and pains have been creeping in every time I move, from muscles that don’t get used during running. I feel as gimpy as when I finished my first running ultra.

I learned (or remembered) a lot about ultras (running and skiing) during this event, and was glad for the experience. First, there is no better training for what you are planning to do than actually doing it – my sore body is directly related to the fact that I had only skied about 4 times this year, and never got to classical ski. Second, it was a great reminder that fueling was key – I took the time to take in gels, HEED, and granola bars during the race, and my energy level was even throughout the race. Third, in an ultra event, you always have to expect the unexpected – whether it be wax not working, equipment breaking, extreme weather conditions – and then do your best to deal with them during the race, but not let them defeat you. Fourth, you always have to deal with a bit of pain – everyone is going to ache a bit, have muscle cramps, feel uncomfortable, but that’s part of the experience and part of the sport to overcome adversity. Lastly, I was way down on the results, but for me, to finish is to win – and it is important to not compare yourself to others, only judge yourself on what you know you can achieve and how you personally exceed your expectations. I am proud to have finished my first ever ski marathon.

The volunteers at Craftsbury were amazing, and should be commended for their effort. Even with about 2 inches of rain a few days before the race, they pulled off a course that held up amazingly with hundreds of skiers going over it many times. The volunteers also stood out in the incredible cold for hours – a feat I might not be capable of doing.

My quest to finish a skiing marathon, snow shoe marathon, and running marathon this year is now 1/3 complete. And the bottom line I determined – apparently I am faster at running a 50k than skiing – but I know that I could ski significantly faster if Murphy’s Law wasn’t conspiring against me! Keeps me hungry for next time…