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Door County Skiers Compete, and
Win in the 2001 Birkiebeiner...
February 26, 2001
by Paul Anschutz |
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During a Norwegian civil war in the 13th century an invading force tried
to capture the infant prince, heir to the Norwegian throne. Two Viking warriors called "Birkebeiners"
(after the birch bark leggings they wore) took the infant child, on their backs, skiing him 55 kilometers to safety.
The young baby grew to become the great Norwegian King Hakon Hakonsson.
The 28th annual American Birkebeiner Cross Country Ski Race was held on Saturday, February 24 racing from Cable to Hayward and covering a 51 kilometer
course. The conditions for this years race were rated "extreme" according to some ski experts.The course
had 4" of fresh snow at 8:00 am. with an additional 2" falling during the event. This situation caused
skiers to work much harder in climbing some very tough hills, on the toughest race course in North America. The
Birkebeiner registered a total of 4,855 competitors, while its shorter sister race, the Kortelopet had 1,690 competitors.
The Sons Of Norway Barnebeiner race for children ages 3 to 13 had 1,300 competitors.
My eighteenth Birkebeiner race was especially a tough one. Battling the 6+ inches
of new snow and relentless hills were a small portion of the problems encountered on the toughest race in America.
After skiing a smooth 15 kilometers to the highest point on the Birkie trail, I knew I was in for a long day. Once
I was at the 2nd food station at the Seeley fire tower, the race became more skier friendly, with fast downhills.
It was only at this point that I realized that the cold, that I had been battling for two weeks wasn't ready to
let me ski a real race yet. I was extremely happy to have some close friends to ski much of the course with. They
kept my mind on the race instead of thinking about of how miserable I felt. I was also very happy with my over
all finish. After attending the awards ceremony for the first time in several years, it dawned on me how many volunteers
are required to put on such a high caliber event - starting with volunteers bussing thousands of people to the
start, keeping everybody fed and safe at the eight different food stations, to the terrific medical staff on call.
Congratulations to Door County potter, Brian
Fitzgerald of Sister Bay who finished
1st in his age class in the Kortelopet (23 kilometers).
Bob Kuehn from Egg Harbor has skied
in 10 previous races says, "I'm OK with the race course change for the Kortelopet this year. The Birkebeiner
Foundation took the Kortelopet racers off the Birkie trail at the 9.5 kilometer mark in order to offer the racers
less congestion, and possibly a better finish location - at the beautiful Telemark Lodge. Bob says he skied with
as few as 25 people from 9.5k. to the finish. When asked if the terrain was as tough as the previous Birkie trail
he explains, "Some of the tough climbs were missing right up until the 22 kilometer mark." He also missed
the excitement of finishing at the former County OO, but thinks it is still a good race course.
In the Women's Birkebiener, Carmen Schroeder a dietician from Sturgeon Bay, finished in 37th
place - second in her age class - a significant accomplishment in an event
of this caliber, improving her overall placement rank from 46th to 37th.
Carmen explains her better finish this year in saying, "I trained more specifically
on trails groomed by the volunteers for the past 2 months.
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Thanks are also due to my wax technician/husband (Karl
pictured left), and my in-laws for helping with me with my very patient children."
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| Leif Hagman started in wave thirteen.
He thought it was more like a century bike tour, making his way through crowds of people. He feels the speed of
the trail was tremendous and he couldn't believe the level of enthusiasm displayed by skiers and volunteers. |
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Leif says, "You need alot of training to compete in an event such as this,"
being an avid cyclist for many years. Leif now plans to use biking as a means of cross-training for skiing!
Fred Wittig, skiing in his 1st Birkie
at age 59, says, " FANTASTIC I can't believe this!" The longest event he had ever competed in prior to
this was a 5k... yes, that's a 5K running event. He prepared for a couple of weeks prior to the race by skiing
in his back yard, Potawatomi State Park. Fred who gave every hill a name on the course, says he almost came up
short of names, but found a way of continuing. He also states that he had more room on the trail after the halfway
point, County Trunk OO, where he also became very happy to make the cut off time allowing him to go on to finish
the event. He called his friends on a cell phone, from the last food stop, where he told them, "Be ready with
the camera!" He also says his body became really exhausted when he began skiing in something he had never
before encountered - snow trucked in to fill the main street of Hayward.
Matt Olson skied in his first
Birkie this year at the age of sixteen.
His first comment, "This is the hardest event I have ever competed in."
I ask, "Would you do it again?"
Mark says, "Most certainly!"
He credits being an avid runner on the Sturgeon Bay High School cross country team, and a mountain bike racer,
with helping him reach the finish - in spite of the toughest hills he has ever encountered. He was also amazed
at the breadth and degree of participation, with competitors from America and from around the world. He knew this
was truly a World class event when he hit the streets of Hayward and heard many different languages being spoken.
As he steadily worked his way to the finish line, he had to contend with thoughts such as, "Why did my mother
let me do this?"
Thanks mom, and congratulations Matt for placing in the top 25% in your age class!
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