American Birkebeiner 2009

March 17, 2009

There seemed plenty of snow and the track has been well groomed, all seemed to be perfect in the preparation for the American Birkebeiner. Then, disaster, it rained for about a week. The previous grooming had fortunately protected the track and although a lot of snow was lost, there was still enough for the complete race. Organisers wisely closed a large portion of the track, to maintain the snow cover that was remaining. This strategy worked and in addition there was a good freeze and some new snow in the week prior to the race. This meant that there was in fact plenty of snow and good tracks for the race. The large number of participants and new snow did combine to make the tracks quite soft and chopped up for the later start groups.

Race day was cool, about -5 deg C and overcast, with just a light sprinkling of new snow. The snow continued and at times got moderately heavy during the race. This year there was the new Classic race with a separate track for over half of the distance. The classic track wound its way through the trees before joining with the skate track towards the end of the course. The skate track was generally wide enough for at least 2 lines of skiers, but in many places was wide enough for 3 or more skiers at once. This was however necessary due to the large number of participants. Spectators were out at many points along the race track to encourage all skiers along. The participants were also very considerate of the skiers, being careful not to block or damage the tracks at all. At the end of the race, the track went across the lake (with a head wind) and then into the town of Hayward, finishing in the main street.

Two Birkebeiners, dressed in traditional clothing and using traditional equipment, skied the entire course, before collecting a child near the end, to create a dramatic finish for the race. The child's mother also skied the entire course in traditional gear.

The American Birkebeiner this year was participating in a fund raising effort with the assistance of Bjorn Daehlie, to raise funds for research into Multiple Sclerosis, with the hope of finding a cure. All participants were urged to think of new ways to raise money during next year's race. Is was good to see that the race organisers and the sponsors were keen to participate is this worthwhile cause. Bjorn Daehlie actually competed in the 54km classic race and at the Birkie Passport holders breakfast he expressed that he was quite nervous about competing after so little preparation, he actually came second by a fraction of a second. The winners completed the 54km classic in 3hr 00min (men) and 3hr 26 min (women) and the 50km skate in 2 hr 11 min (men) and 2 hr 26 min (women).

Some results of IAWLS members are:

Classic race:

Skate race:

This page was last revised on June 12, 2009