The third race at U.S Nationals was a 20 Kilometer Classic Mass Start. The distance course here in Houghton has a lot of rolling terrain, some long climbs, and some fast, fun downhills. All around, the BSF Pro Team had a great day, landing three athletes in the top 10 (Mariah 6th, Reid 7th, Graham 8th), and Hannah in 11th. Here are some thoughts on the day:
“Hello from US Nationals in Houghton, Michigan! This has been an eventful week with three US National races. On Monday there was a 10k individual skate, Wednesday classic sprint, and today a 20k mass start classic. The weather here has been cloudy but not too cold luckily. Overall as a team BSF has been trying their best and there have been some noticeable results. Sarah came out with a 4th place on the first race of very strong competition. For the classic sprint we had Graham and Logan qualify 4th and 10th respectively, and most of the team qualified for heats on that sprint day which is impressive! And today we had 3 top 10’s for BSF- Reid 7th, Graham 8th and me 6th. The rest of the team was not far behind and everyone seems satisfied with their efforts! Today was definitely the best day of the week for me. Racing at sea level can take a little longer getting used to as someone who feels most comfortable at altitude. The competitive racing here has been strong and fast, and especially when it is US Nationals on the line! Luckily on my side the 20k was towards the end of the week and gave a little time to get into sea-level mode. I was happy to keep my bib place which is typically my goal when I race! Tomorrow is skate sprint day and I think BSF is hyped and ready to give it all for the last race here in Houghton. Next up after that is then super tour races in Cable, Wisconsin! I hope everyone is enjoying time on snow and out on the trails :)” - Mariah Bredal
“I went into today’s race very relaxed and with no pressure. My season hasn’t started off the way that I was hoping, and the results have been pretty far off from the goals that I have set for myself. Today I started the race with a fresh mindset, not focusing on my past races and results and simply on the course in front of me. The race started out a bit chaotic as one could imagine a 70-person mass start would. There were quite a few crashes, pole breaks, and tangles happening around me but I tried to stay relaxed and smooth as I navigated my way around them. As the pack began to spread out I was positioned around 10th place and remained in a similar position throughout the race. I skied a lot of the laps with my good friend Margie which helped a lot. I ended up crossing the line in 11th place, which was one of my better Super Tour finishes this season. I definitely know that I can be faster, and want to be placing much higher, but today I am proud of myself for starting the race relaxed and staying strong through all four laps” – Hannah Rudd
