American  Birkebeiner 2008

March 9, 2008

Good snow, excellent tracks and fine weather characterized the Birkie 2008 on February 23. The temperature at the start was about -18C (no wind) rising quickly during the day to just below freezing. Two 51 km races were announced for this race, one CT and one FT. However, one must choose one or the other since they take place simultaneously. Separate classifications were set up for the two events. The classic race has now its own course on the first 9 km. It is in fact 2 km longer than the FT course. Thus, the CT skiers make a 53 km race; this should be announced in future events.

Separating the CT and the FT tracks in the first part of the race made the traffic more fluid. To this contributed also the staggering of the startwaves. We noticed no congestion along the course.The elite start was planned at 8.20 (delayed 10 min because of road traffic problems), then the 9 FT waves followed with 10 min intervals, whereas the CT waves started 5 min after the corresponding FT wave. After the junction of the CT course with the FT course, classic skiers had one track on each side and these stayed in good conditions. Kortelopet, a 23 km WL Silver race, had also a FT and a CT category. Kortelopet begins and finishes at Telemark Lodge, Cable. Starters of Kortelopet were mixed with the Birkie skiers.

A breakfast for WL passport holders took place in a Hayward hotel. The Birkie tradition is that it is paying, this year 12 USD. This is not a problem for WL skiers who appreciate the quality of the party and the opportunity to meet WL skiers from all around the world. One can bring family members to the breakfast

Some results of IAWLS members:

51 km FT, winner´s time 2.07.09, 3230 finishers:

53 km CT   Winner's time 2.32.25, 985 finishers

23 km FT   Winner's time 0.58.27, 1153 finishers

23 km CT   Winner's time 1.09.20, 751 finishers

 

This page was last revised on April 26, 2008