This Saturday was cross country running day in Fairbanks at Birch Hill.  Former FXC athletes Ian and Heather started the day off strong at the UAF races against Central Washington.  Heather as a first year had an especially great race taking third overall behind two UAF teammates.  Next up were the high school races hosted by Lathrop.  Pat and Kipp had strong results in the men’s race while Skeeto, Hannah, Megan and Lizzy had high scores in the women’s race.  The final race of the day, the Seekin’s Golden Heart Trail Run was hosted by FXC and went extremely smoothly with all the help from parents and athletes.  There were options for all ages with a closely contested 1k race actually won by a girl for the youngest children.   A bunch of the devo team raced in the 2.5k race including an age category win by Joe Bue.  The 5k race featured a competitive field and quality commentary from announcer Peter Leonard.   A couple of the Comp racers who didn’t race earlier in the day competed in this event with another age category win by James Lily.    In summary, great job to all the competitors and many thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors.

Here are a couple of pictures I was able to snap in between my timing duties but I’m sure there are a lot of better ones out there that we might post soon.

The leaders in the 2.5K race

Joe Bue picks up merchandise from Woolly Rhino, Beaver Sports and Hot Licks

Following the races a bunch of the comp athletes finished off the day with a strength session to keep in touch with the upper body through the running season.

Megan doing strength under a wedding arch left at Birch Hill- Strength gets repetitive sometimes and needs a little spicing up...

Town Race 1 today:

The masses: always a cool sight

Overall for the group it was a positive day.  At this stage of the game, there is still much to be worked on and it is merely a piece of the puzzle of these young athlete’s careers.  Results are rarely as important as coming away from each race knowing something that can be improved next time, allowing each race to be a point to be built from, and not an end in and of itself.

The event felt a bit more special with the teams up from Anchorage (Thanks!).  Here are some of the better photos I managed to take during the excitement.

Joe gets a little off balance around the corner at the top of the ramp. Max follows close behind.

The women's lead pack after one kilometer or so

Men's winner, Raphael Wunderle from UAA

Jacob

From an Email I just wrote to the Devo crew, but good advice to all:

Finally at this time of year, particularly with the traveling that occurs around the holidays, we are often more susceptible to illness than normal because of the introduction of new pathogens into our environment.  Having watched many athletes struggle with sickness for extended periods of time in the winter (sometimes months) because they never give their body a chance to recover, I want to encourage everyone to skip training or races and take time off if they are sick.  Compounding this in Fairbanks is the fact that we have lots of cold, dry weather which when combined with respiratory infections, greatly increases an individuals chances of developing Exercise Induced Asthma.  Having seen a couple of athletes over the past two years work with EIA, I can assure you that it is a nuisance to deal with.  In the Handbook of Sports Medicine and Science of Cross Country Skiing, put out by the International Ski Federation (FIS), I have a sentence highlighted from the chapter entitled ‘Medical Aspects’ written by Ola Ronsen, MD:

“If one particualar piece of advice should be emphasized it must be the precaution of not exercising in cold weather while having symptoms of respiratory infections - even for several days after the fever and fatigue has passed.” (p.121)

And a little further thought (not in the email):

Often times people ask about cold weather masks for training.  Personally, while I don’t have one (yet) I think they are a good idea.  The same chapter mentioned above, also mentions that the risk factors “contributing to EIA are: high intensity of exercise, exposure to cold and dry air, respiratory infections, allergens and dust, air pollution, fatigue and stress.” (p. 122)  While I (a ski coach, not a pulmonary medical specialist) don’t think training with a heat/moisture exchange mask is a miracle cure-all or a replacement for avoiding other risk factors (such as training in polluted areas (like the valleys at certain times during the winter), or ignoring the above advice about resting or training inside when recovering from illness), it seems logical to minimize the risk factors involved.  While the masks have only been available overseas in the past, Beaver Sports has begun carrying them this year for about $45.  At the very least, breathing through a neck warmer or balaclava on the coldest days is highly recommended.

We’re looking forward to some great tours with the Devo program this year, hopefully a bunch more trips and treks than we managed to do last year.  Here are some shots from our first one around White Bear at Birch Hill - not the most exotic locale, but a good way to start preparing for some longer skis in more exciting places.  Still tough to beat a nice long tour on good snow, with warm temps and lots of sunshine!