Plus…Cold Weather Contingencies and Marathon Series Updates ahead of Craftsbury
On the NENSA Community calendar, the mid-January Monday holiday has traditionally been reserved for the Geschmossel. And-traditions-wise, the Geschmossel has been around longer than most in the nordic ski world. As Northwest Vermont Endurance’s Damian Bolduc wrote in his race recap of the event this week, :”In the context of the event, [Geschmossel] means ‘we don’t exactly know what we have, but we are going to throw together a fine racing experience with what is out there on the day of the race.’ Only a handful of Geschmossels have been canceled throughout its history, so Bretton Woods has been able to deliver something reliably for all this time!”
The 49th running of the Geschmossel came on the heels of a busy NENSA weekend east of the White Mountains, with the Roy Varney Memorial at Quarry Road finishing up two days of racing Sunday. At Quarry Road Sunday, the lead pack in the 10 k Classic Men’s race was populated by the usual mix of intrepid Junior and Collegiate athletes, but also included the notable ‘Bill-Koch’ inspired, long-lean stride of an M4 Master, Justin Freeman. Freeman accented a showing which included a couple of Masters skiers, and foreshadowed that Monday could be a classic showing at a classic race.
At the front of the Geschmossel’s field on Monday indeed was one of Quarry Road’s Masters – as Michael Dillon went for Day 3 in a row donning the Mansfield Nordic colors. In Monday’s race, Dillon was joined by his clubmate Nate Laber, with Laber ultimately pulling ahead to claim victory in the race. Rounding out the podium was Gunstock’s Rob Riley, with the total spread within a minute for the top of the field.
An even closer race would play out to top the Women’s race, with Joann Hanowski (Rossignol) and Sarah Pribram (NWVE) skiing nearly the whole race together to finish with just a 4 second advantage to Hanowski. Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) would round out the Women’s podium for the race.
In the age group results, the Men’s M7 field topped the bunch for turnout, with Stuart Kremzner (Enevoldsen Coaching) reportedly double-poling his way through the course to top a tight battle between Bill Donahue (Gunstock Nordic) and David Herr (Unaffiliated) for the podium.
A 49th running of a race is almost bound to end with an inevitable ellipsis…you’ve got to already be looking forward to the 50th running, and all the history and perspective encapsulated in a citizen race – the only citizen race in New England – which has will have been running for half a century. Before things get too carried away though, let the record show that at the 49th annual Geschmossel, there was winter, snow, racing, and all the good things that go with those things.
Looking Ahead
Race cancellations and postponements – With a polar vortex looking to bear down on New England, a couple of our community race series events, including the MNC Skiathlon and Flying Moose Classic, have made the decision to cancel or postpone to another day (Sunday, February 22nd) when the snow’s still good and the suns sending just a little more love our way.
Skiing in the bitter cold in small doses can offer us a direct shot of something nordic skiers all love – seeing the winter world at its stillest, even most peaceful. When organizers consider postponing or canceling a race due to cold temperatures, they do so thoughtfully, recognizing that certain race formats involve sustained exertion and limited access to warming areas for both participants and volunteers.
Marathon Series Update
The extra rest week should give everyone a chance to really re-charge before the Craftsbury Marathon (hey, could be the year to do both days!) next weekend. Craftsbury has already been putting word out that the long awaited return of the long loops is here! A 23k loop is being explored, and with the cold temps, odds are on it happening!
Marathon Series – A reminder ahead of the Craftsbury Marathon of the Marathon Series rules for accumulating your 3 Marathons for the Challenger Award. Rules are posted HERE.
The full length marathon counts towards Challenger awards for Senior-M6 age groups. M7+ skiers may count either the long distance or short-distance race towards the Marathon Challenger award, and NENSA scores the short-distance race for these Zak Cup Age Groups at these events. Both days of the Craftsbury Marathon may count towards this year’s challenger awards.
NENSA Memberships must be current at time of completing your marathon for it to count towards this year’s award!
More Sights
Results and Rankings
NENSA Results | Results on Bullitt Timing
NENSA Zak and Club Cup Rankings
Preliminary NENSA Rankings for the weekend are updated by 12pm Tuesday on the NENSA Rankings Page. A 48 hour protest period is open until 12pm Thursday. There will be no retroactive scoring of races after this per the Zak Cup scoring rules posted here.
