Way back last Fall, the morning of the Greylock Rollerski climb found New England looking as quintessential as it could be. Stark reds and yellows mixing with the Earth-tones which would soon overtake them. It was Fall. Yet, as the wheels of ski community members rolled over the finish-line at the summit a few hours later, they made tracks in the snow. The winter of 2026 just wouldn’t wait.
On and on from then on, it was good old fashioned New England winter. Snow, cold, and a hint of a thaw, and skiing. Miles (and kilometers) to go before you sleep-type classic.
Every year, as the NENSA community lines up some thirty races of all types, in all places, there is a bet that we’ll maybe get a winter like this one. In 2026, after some wavering and close calls, we hit the jackpot.
The idea of the NENSA Community Race Series is premised on the idea that it will celebrate those that can turn the conventional relationship with such a winter on its head. From fast-rollicking sprints and 10 k races, to events where you ski until only one remains, through to relays where you go until you have to pass the torch, literally, to the next generation.
Those represented in our Zak Cup Winners, Marathon Series Challengers, and Club Series Champions didn’t just show up to race throughout the winter. They made the most out of what being perched in this particular pocket of the universe gives to them. A community, built and maintained by those who love to travel into the stilled quiet of a winter woods on their own, and then push through them, time and again, together.
Congratulations to the BIG winners of a BIG winter, our Zak Cup Overall and Age Group Winners, Marathon Series Challengers, and our Club Cup Champions
Club Cup Champions: Northwest Vermont Endurance
At NENSA Club Relay Championships bib pickup, there was confusion from skiers of all ages at bib pickup. “I’m on the NWVE team,” they’d relay. To which the Craftsbury volunteers would exclaim, “There are 6 NWVE teams!”
NWVE has a simple organizing principle around which it pursues racing. If there is a race, they’ll be there. No matter the distance. The size of the field. Or where in New England. Through their persistent dedication to pushing across all settings, they put together another Club Cup winning campaign across all NENSA programs this season.
Zak Cup Winners: Jessie Donovan and Nathan Livingood
The Zak Cup season began at the Quarry Road Opener on the first week of December, and ended at the Long Haul Loppet in Jackson, NH on the third weekend of March. Between those two points, some 1,600 unique skiers participated in at least one race, of any kind.
The Zak Cup is a huge community undertaking. After crunching numbers all winter, we get a final ranking which speaks to skiers across all age groups who show up for something that no ranking really captures. A love to race. Congratulations to our overall winners, and to our age group winners as well!
Zak Cup Top 3 Overall
Womens
| 1st | Jessie Donovan | Frost Mountain Nordic |
| 2nd | Sarah Pribram | NWVE |
| 3rd | Jessica Snyder | Cambridge Sports Union |
Mens
| 1st | Nathan Livingood | Unaffiliated |
| 2nd | Nate Laber | Mansfield Nordic Club |
| 3rd | Rob Riley | Gunstock Nordic Association |
Age Group Winners
Womens
| SR | Kelsey McCrum | University of Maine Farmington |
| M1 | Mariah Cleveland | Unaffiliated |
| M2 | Audrey Magnan | Craftsbury Ski Club |
| M3 | Jessica Snyder | Cambridge Sports Union |
| M4 | Jessie Donovan | Frost Mountain Nordic |
| M5 | Angeline Andrew | Maine West |
| M6 | Sarah Pribram | NWVE |
| M7 | Jane Henry | Ford Sayre |
| M8 | Ann Burnham | Cambridge Sports Union |
| M9 | Lisa Doucett | Cambridge Sports Union |
Mens
| SR | Nathan Livingood | Unaffiliated |
| M1 | Michael Dillon | Mansfield Nordic Club |
| M2 | Owen Lennz | Mansfield Nordic Club |
| M3 | Nate Laber | Mansfield Nordic Club |
| M4 | Justin Freeman | Holderness Nordic |
| M5 | Rob Riley | Gunstock Nordic Association |
| M6 | Jeff Palleiko | Gunstock Nordic Association |
| M7 | David Herr | Unaffiliated |
| M8 | Nathaniel Lucy | Mt. Washington Nordic Ski Club |
| M9 | David Roberts | Nonstop Nordic |
| M10 | Everett Ingalls | Unaffiliated |
Marathon Series Challengers
The NENSA Marathon Series Challenger award is awarded to skiers who complete 3 or more Marathons throughout the winter.
Womens
| Jessica Bolduc | NWVE | 4 Marathons |
| Ann Burnham | Cambridge Sports Union | 3 |
| Lisa Doucett | Cambridge Sports Union | 3 |
| Jane Henry | Ford Sayre | 3 |
| Sarah Pribram | 3 | 3 |
Mens
| Damian Bolduc | NWVE | 7 Marathons |
| Bruce Katz | Unaffiliated | 7 Marathons |
| Daniel Baumert | Unaffiliated | 5 |
| Michael Dillon | Mansfield Nordic Club | 5 |
| David Herr | Unaffiliated | 5 |
| Dhyan Nirmegh | NWVE | 5 |
| Victor Golovkin | Freedom Trail Nordic | 4 |
| Nathaniel Lucy | Mt. Washington Nordic Ski Club | 4 |
| Jeff Palleiko | Gunstock Nordic Association | 4 |
| Colin Pogue | Unaffiliated | 4 |
| Rob Riley | Gunstock Nordic Association | 4 |
| Anders Vikstrom | Bedford Cross Country Ski Club | 4 |
| Robert Burham | Cambridge Sports Union | 3 |
| Thomas Clayton | NWVE | 3 |
| Russ Cone | Unaffiliated | 3 |
| Andrew Craighead | Ford Sayre | 3 |
| Frank Feist | Cambridge Sports Union | 3 |
| Mark Lena | Maine Nordic | 3 |
| David Roberts | Nonstop Nordic | 3 |
Scenes from a Winter of Community Racing
