Hi BSF community! It’s Nina writing to you from Cable, Wisconsin.
Last week, the team traveled to Minneapolis to race the third SuperTour series of the season at Theodore Wirth Park. It was so exciting to return to racing there after competing at Junior Nationals in 2022. The U.S. also hosted a World Cup at Wirth in 2024, which makes it an especially cool venue. I love the rolling terrain and the fact that there are elite race courses built right in the middle of a big city. There aren’t many places in the world that offer that. The location makes it accessible and easy for hundreds, if not thousands, of families and spectators to come out and watch. It’s amazing to see such a large community so enthusiastic about our sport. My cousin and uncle came to watch me race on the first day, and I was so happy to see them when I crossed the finish line.
Our first race in Minneapolis was a 10k classic mass start. Most of our mass-start races are 20k, so it was exciting to do this format at a shorter distance. It was definitely a chaotic scramble at the start, and the pace stayed fast the entire way. Unlike a 20k, there wasn’t much relaxed pack skiing. Instead, it was a constant jostle for position until the pack broke up about halfway through. Mass starts can feel harder physically because you have to try to hang with the lead pack for as long as possible, often resulting in a more front-heavy pacing strategy. At the same time, they can be easier mentally because you’re following the people in front of you rather than setting your own pace and trying to balance pushing hard with staying sustainable. In this race, our team put on quite a show. Emma Albrecht and Reid Goble took wins in both the women’s and men’s races. Emma Reeder had a strong 4th-place finish, and Luke Allan finished 5th.
The next day, we raced a 10k skate interval start on the same course. It had a completely different feel from the mass start. There was more focus on skiing transitions efficiently and working every hill of the course. Since it’s at a low altitude, you don’t have to think as much about pacing conservatively. Instead, you try to make up time everywhere you can and use the downhills to breathe deeply and reset before the next climb. Our team had another impressive day. Our guest skier from the Montana State ski team, Katie Houser, took the win in the women’s race, followed by Emma Albrecht in 2nd and Erin Bianco in 4th. Luke Allan placed 3rd in the men’s race. After many races in frigid temperatures this winter, it was such a gift to race in sunny 40-degree weather. We were able to eat lunch, wax skis outside in the driveway of our rental house, and soak up some sunshine.
After Minneapolis, the team drove up to Cable, Wisconsin, to spend a few days skiing on the Birkie trails and preparing for the American Birkebeiner 50k marathon. This was my first race over 20k, so I was definitely intimidated. It was incredible to see over 10,000 racers of all different ages, along with thousands of spectators lining both the course and the finishing stretch in downtown Hayward. Our team had some impressive results here as well, with Emma Reeder landing on the podium in 3rd place and Erin Bianco finishing 7th. BSF Pro Team alum Hannah Rudd took the win in the classic 50k race, which was exciting to see.
The community support and enthusiasm for the Birkie were unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Families lined the entire 50k course. There were people playing music, spectators handing out shots of whiskey, and organized feed stations every 5k. It was inspiring to see so many people of all ages and abilities participating. It made me excited to race this event again and hopefully make it a yearly tradition. Each race bib had a sticker showing how many times you’ve completed the Birkie, and some people had raced it over 30 times! In the finishing corral, racers received pins recognizing the number of years they’ve participated — such a cool tradition.
Well, that’s a wrap for this blog. It was such a fun couple of weeks of racing in the Midwest. Huge thanks to the coaches and organizations that made these races possible.
Until next time,
Nina
