Minneapolis SuperTour + Birkie Prep

Hi all, happy Tuesday.

For this blog, I’ll give a brief recap of last weekend’s races followed by some thoughts approaching Birkie week. If you are here strictly for entertainment, feel free to scroll to the Birkie section below.

Getting ready for the action

This past Saturday and Sunday, we had one of the most anticipated race weekends of the year (well for me, anyway): Supertours at Theodore Wirth Park! If you have read any of my past blogs or know me even a little, you probably know that I adore these trails. However, the point of this blog isn’t to go on and on about trail conditions like I have been known to do.

At the risk of sounding like I work for a nonprofit (I do), my takeaway from this weekend is that community is everything.

I happened to have my best race day of my season (first Supertour podium!) in the skate sprint, but more importantly, and probably heavily correlated, I just had a good time with my people. I left feeling happy and uplifted to be a part of this event and sport.

One of the heats - a treat to ski with my teammate Julie!

This weekend, the trails were lined with people from start to finish, including many of my own family and friends. It’s hard to put into words how good it feels when people come together and bring the energy, but this weekend had that special atmosphere.

Good ol' Lisa and Todd

Everyone is a part of it- whether you are striking up little trailside conversations, taking photos, screaming cheers for passing racers, sprinting to the next spot to cheer some more… or a volunteer lightening the mood for racers at the start line, a wax tech hard at work, or an announcer bringing life to the day, you are contributing to a shared experience that is so much more than a ski race.

To everyone who contributed to the magic this weekend, thank you!

BIRKIE

It’s Birkie week!! The American Birkebeiner is legendary, and quite possibly one of the best events on earth. Here are some things I’m doing this week to treat my raging Birkie fever.

• Goin’ up to the cabin early to avoid that crazy snow storm!

• Exclusively drinkin’ maple syrup for every meal leadin’ up to the race

• Sittin’ by a fireplace and bein’ thankful for peace n quiet of the north woods

• Wonderin’ if that snow storm’ll make the trails soft er not

• Countin’ how many more times I gotta do this to get a Birchlegger bib

• Tellin’ everyone I know that I have some Norwegian in me

• Pretendin’ I’m not just here for the after party

• Assemblin’ a shot-ski

• Listenin’ to my favorite song Birkie Fever on repeat til I feel nauseous

GOOD LUCK to everyone racing, and happy Birkie week!!!

Happy toes

North Woods bringing the peace