Iowa City Ski Racing WAS Here!!!

Ski Racing 2011

2011-02-05T10:35:00.002-06:00

Well everybody, if you did not yet know, Steve has decided to retire from ski race promotion. There may be some Iowa City ski races in the future, snow allowing of course, so if you are interested keep informed by checking here http://iowaski.blogspot.com/ or maybe http://www.geoffsbikeandski.com/.

If someone wants to organize races and take over this blog page to handle updates and results that is ducky, just lemme know and it is yours. It's been fun - see ya out shooshing!

Herkabeiner Results

2010-02-28T13:01:00.021-06:00

Whatta day for a ski race! 19 people at the start of the 1st Herkabeiner.
Impressive for the day after the Birkie.
8 laps of 3k each played out like this:

1st: Jason Beerends 1:18:33 skate

2nd: Guillaume Girard 1:21:30

3rd: Finn Kolsrud 1:22:10

4th: Kevin McConnell 1:25:40 :)

5th: Tom Scholz 1:25:51

6th: Grant Hedley 1:28:00

7th: Norbert Koenigsfeld 1:31:25

8th: Brent DeGeus 1:32:48

9th: Jim Troepkea 1:33:09
10th: Jack Piper 1:33:37

11th: Megan DeGeus 1:33:54

12th: Ryan Nenninger 1:35:20
13th: Katie Ouellette 1:36:20

14th: Brett Griggs 1:36:30 (and he groomed the trail last night!)

15th: Jack Noble 1:41:00
16th: Doug Bottorf 1:47:30

17th: Kyle Williams 1:51:56 18th: Robin Williams 1:51:56

19th: C.T. Kruekeberg 2:08:30 classic

Everyone skated but for the mighty C.T. We took in $87 more in donations for that new grooming sled and it was great that people brought out gatorade, muffins, Pop Tarts, orange segments, etc.
I got as many pictures of you all as I could, but with handing out the drinks, keeping track of the laps (sorry Jack!), ringing the cowbell, and getting the finish times (sorry again, Jack!) I did not get a good picture of everyone. I tried...

Thanks to ATLAS for the free drink cards and 30th Century Bicycle for additional prizes. That wraps up ski racing organizing for me for this year. If anybody wants to have more they have to organize, because I am out. It was fun, thanks to everyone who came out for the events and all the behind the scenes folks!

The Herkabeiner!

2010-02-25T11:16:00.002-06:00

Rumors. Speculation. Hearsay. BEGONE! True. Fact. Honest.

The Herkabeiner will be a mass start ski event at Ashton this Sunday, Feb 28th!

Pick your technique! Start at 9am from the shelter! 25k!

Finn is designing some kind of crazy course, but expect to get familiar with the ground you ski, yes.

No entry fee, but donations to keep the trail grooming sleds running are gladly accepted. Tell your friends. Tell people you don't know. Come on out to Ashton this Sunday Morning!

Questions? email geepickle (at) gmail (dot) com

Results, 2-23-10

2010-02-23T21:00:00.007-06:00

Mass Start Mania! Couldn't help myself. But let us start at the beginning. It was really cold and windy out there tonight. Just lookit this picture here:

See? That is cold! As go time approached racers were few. Morale at race HQ was low. Then, headlamps in the distance...
13 racers in all, we had a quick talk and decided that mass start was the way to go to avoid a mass hypothermia/frostbite event. So we did it. Oooo-la-la! Here is what happened:

1st: Finn Kolsrud 19:09 1st lap 9:15 (skate)
2nd: Jason Beerends 20:29 1st lap 9:44 (skate)
3rd: Guillame 21:24 1st lap 10:33 (skate)
4th: Jeff Barnes 21:24 1st lap 10:33 (skate)
5th: Todd Gillihan 21:33 1st lap 10:33 (skate)
6th: Grant Hedley finish unknown 1st lap 10:42 (skate)
7th: Hodge 23:40 1st lap 11:24 (skate)
8th: Jim Troepka 24:04 1st lap 11:45 (skate)
9th: Steve Dodge 27:06 1st lap 13:29 (skate)
10th/11th too close to call: the Eppens 32:04 1st lap unknown (classic)
12th: Cable Greay 33:51 1st lap 14:25 (skate)
13th: C.T. Kruekeberg 36:40 1st lap unknown (classic)

I missed a few times, but nobody seemed to mind, and the finish order was accurate. I think. Bags of frozen fruit donated by 30th Century Bicycle, along with some waterbottles & such. $30 more collected for the new snowmachine fund, might be able to spring for that custom paintjob! Big thanks as always to you racers for coming out, Brett Griggs fer grooming, Brian Deutschendorf for the timing equipment, and Touch the Earth for the lantern, cones, first aid kit, etc.
I am starting to believe that an 8 lap mass start Ashton event this Sunday is a real probability. So start to spread the word, I will post a real race alert here with real details, but for now just plan on 9am Sunday Feb 28th. The Herkabeiner!

2-23-10 Race

2010-02-23T07:45:00.003-06:00

Racing tonight, 3rd week in a row for the tt! I always believed it could happen. All the same details, 7pm start, pairs, pick your partner if you want and pick your style if you are able.

Headlamps Strongly Advised!

Donations Strongly Accepted!

I hope some of you Birkie tapering folk will still come out, it would not be the same without you.

The skate course has been changed a bit, we will be going clockwise tonight so we will see how the skate / classic times might differ. Hope to see you out!

2-16-10 Results, Notes, Errata...

2010-02-17T06:16:00.007-06:00

Morning everyone, sorry the results did not get posted last night, but I was pooped!

It was a beautiful night out under the smiling crescent moon, but it sure was windy... Mark Guthart came out to do the timing and we had 20 racers.

> 18:28 - Gardar Signrrosen (skate; 9:10/9:18)
> 18:38 - Brian Eppen (classic; 9:20/9:18)
> 19:10 - Jason Beerends (skate; 9:22/9:48)
> 19:23 - Finn Kolsrud (skate; 9:35/9:48)
> 19:27 - Jeff Barnes (skate; 9:35/9:52)
> 20:34 - Wayne Fett (skate; 10:05/10:29)
> 20:52 - Guillaume (skate; 10:20/10:32)
> 21:40 - Grant Headley (skate; 10:45/10:55)
> 22:00 - Brian Abbott (skate; 11:05/10:55)
> 22:25 - Jim Troepka (skate; 11:11/11:14)
> 22:30 - Kevin McConnell (skate; 11:00/11:30)
> 22:56 - Hodge (skate; 11:10/11:46)
> 23:06 - Kim Eppen (classic; 11:32/11:34)
> 23:11 - Geoff Perrill (skate; 11:38/11:33)
> 24:05 - Meghan DeGues (skate; 11:53/12:12)
> 25:51 - Cara Hamann (skate; 12:43/13:08)
> 27:35 - Jack Noble (skate; 13:57/13:38)
> 31:15 - Cable (skate; 14:35/16:40)
> 31:59 - Robin Williams (skate; 16:05/15:54)
> 33:19 -  C.T. Kruckeberg (classic; 16:30/16:49)

Super fast time from Garder, Brian Eppen turned in his usual blazing fast classic performance, and took the best finish line crash award for the second time in his career! The Barnes / Kolsrud pairing was the most competitive of the night, just 4 seconds seperating them at the finish. Kim Eppen again did her part to make sure that all classic ski race prizes wind up in the Eppen house, 2 nice 6 packs to go with their pile of trophies.

The donation box had a good night, too, with around $120 stuffed in there. Thanks for donating, that is all piling up towards a new grooming sled. Big thanks as always to all of you for racing, Mark Guthart for his steady and cheerful timing, Brett Griggs for the grooming, and 30th Century Bicycle for prizes.

With so much snow on the ground and the forecast looking favorable I am hopeful we can have another tt next week, and plans are being made for a season ending, daytime mass start event on Sunday Feb 28th. Day after the Birkie, 8 laps, 24 k, the Herkabeiner!

Stay tuned...

2-16-10 Race Is Go!

2010-02-16T09:28:00.005-06:00

Don't be grumpy, tonight we race!
7pm, Ashton, Headlamps Strongly Recommended, 2 laps, counter-clockwise, paired starts, the usual. Big sign in board format again, hope to see you there!

4 1/2 Minute 35k Skate Race Video

2010-02-13T11:17:00.002-06:00

Saw this video on the Silent Sports page.

City of Lakes Loppet 35k Freestyle from Scott Brown on Vimeo.

Could we someday aspire to having a long mass start race in Iowa City? MNRA would be an awesome venue, with no sidewalk or tunnel skiing, although that does look pretty cool.

2-11-10 Results

2010-02-11T21:31:00.006-06:00

It was an awesome night for ski racing so we did it. 15 skiers signed in on the big board - to the results then!

Place - Name - Overall Time - Method

1 Finn Kolsrud 18:50 (skate) 19 minute barrier falls to Finn's mighty thighs!
2 John Stanec 19:05 (skate)
3 Brian Eppen 19:22 (classic -1st mens)
4 Dave Swanson(?) 19:31 (skate)
5 Jason Beerends 19:34 (skate)
6 Greg Duethman 19:36 (skate)
7 Guillaume 21:25 (skate)
8 Grant Hedley 22:27 (skate)
9 Jim Trepka 23:00 (skate)
10 Kim Eppen 23:03 (classic - 1st womens)
11 Hodge 23:38 (skate)
12 Jeff Barnes 23:45 (classic)
13 Brent DeGeus 24:27 (skate)
14 Steve Dodge(?) 27:01 (skate)
15 C.T. Kruckeberg 33:23 (classic)

The Donation Box was overflowing with good will and dollar bills, $93 raised tonight!
Finn shows off his 1st place (and nicely handcrafted I must say) trophy, while Grant laughs at him because he won a gift certificate to ATLAS.

Thanks for coming out everyone, thanks to Paul Sueppel for helping out, to Brett for the grooming, Brian Deutschendorf for the timing equipment, and most importantly, the snow, just for being there.

Ski Race 2-11-Nite!

2010-02-11T10:56:00.003-06:00

Ashton 7pm start. TT format, paired starts, pick your technique.

No entry fee - DONATIONS NEEDED! Them grooming sleds don't fix themselves!!

Tonight there will be a sign in procedure ala the grand tours.

Big board with start times and pairings, you sign in where you want to start and who you want to ski with. Put your style down, too, much help for the organizers.

Headlamps strongly recommended!

The usual schwaggy prizes, homemade trophies, good cheer, low-fi vibe. Hope to see you out there, and don't just tell your skiing friends, drag them out there and let's have a ski race!!

2-9-10 Race Postponed 2-11-10

2010-02-09T11:05:00.002-06:00

Due to too much (insert groaning sound here) snow falling too close to race night and the potential for afternoon windy conditions the grooming can not be assured and so we are postponing tonight's race until Thursday night. 7pm.

Honest.

The most people we have ever had show up for the tt series is 30, and the New Year Mass Start had 36, so with 2 days notice and a damn near guarantee that a race will in fact happen lets see if we can beat that total. Clear your calendar, adjust your schedule, hire a babysitter if you have to - come race on Thursday night!

Basically Ashton is an icy mess

2010-02-02T06:03:00.002-06:00

No ski race tonight. (2-2-10) Full Ashton assessment.

Still early February at least, might get to have a couple more...

No Race 1-26-10

2010-01-27T08:20:00.003-06:00

Hey there, ski racers, not enough snow to give you all the quality night ski race experience you have come to expect from the well oiled machine that is the Iowa City Nordic Ski Series.

Rest up and go do the Iowa Games races this weekend in Dubuque!

General Information

DATE

Saturday, January 30

DEADLINE

Early Registration Deadline
($20 Entry Fee includes both Classical and Freestyle)
Postmark: Friday, January 15
Online: Friday, January 15

Late Registration Deadline
($25 Entry Fee includes both Classical and Freestyle)
Online only: Monday, January 25

Pre-Registration is preferred.
On-site registration will be accepted with a $25 fee.

SITE

Mines of Spain State Recreation Area, Dubuque (located south of Dubuque at HWY 61/151 and HWY 52)

TIME

10:00 AM Classical and 2:00 PM Freestyle

No Race Report

2010-01-20T07:06:00.002-06:00

Well at least 2 of our steady Iowa City ski-folk brushed aside the "sanctioned" cancellation last night. Anyone else have results they should like to share? Thanks Sean!

Hi Steve and fellow skiers,

Well, there was a race tonight. The race was unsanctioned, unfair, and unfreakinbelievable! We two (Finn and Sean) held a screaming time trial smack-down.

I can see why the race was cancelled: it was too fast.

Finn talked me into doing the time trial, but then I upped the ante: new time trial distance: 4 laps. Either 4 laps or nothing.

Deal.

I was not feeling good, I didn't get enough sleep last night, I didn't stretch, I am worried about my students, I skied with my heavy training poles, and my hat was askew: those are all the excuses I could muster.

4 laps
Sean: 39:56 (9:32, 19:40, 29:57, 39:56)
Finn: 36:55

Overall Podium:
1st: Finn K
2nd: Sean S

40+ Podium:
1st: Sean S

20+ Podium:
1st Finn K

Tonight was the fasted conditions I've ever seen at Ashton.

Peace,

Sean

No Race Tonight 1-19

2010-01-19T09:44:00.002-06:00

Sorry folks, no go tonight. Go ski if you are into it, we just can't do a race with the snow the way it is.

MNRA was groomed, so console yourselves with that.

TT Results 1-12-10

2010-01-12T21:24:00.005-06:00

A great night for ski racing and spectation! I brought my camera but in all the fuss forgot about it. Oops. Thirty skiers! No doubt lured by the very nice hand crafted trophies up for grabs? To the numbers, then:

Place - Name - Overall Time - Method

1 Erik Lei 19:10 (skate)
2 Gardar Signrrosen 19:12 (skate)
3 John Stanick 19:27 (skate)
4 Paul Denninger 19:30 (skate)
5 Jason Beerends 19:45 (skate)
6 Finn Kolsrud 19:45 (skate)
7 Wayne Fett 20:20 (skate)
8 Todd Gillihan 20:21 (skate)
9 Brian Eppen 20:25 (classic) (1st- m - classic)
10 Sean Scanlon 21:15 (skate)
11 Kevin McConnell 21:54 (skate)
12 Brian Abbott 21:56 (skate)
13 Jim Trepka 21:59 (skate)
14 Brent Degeus 23:27 (skate) WAX!
15 Charlie Ritter 23:40 (skate)
16 Jeff Barnes 23:52 (classic)
17 Cara Hamann 25:09 (skate) (1st-f-skate)
18 David Bartells 25:27 (skate)
19 Jean Gilpin 25:52 (skate) WAX!
20 Steve Dodge 26:04 (skate)
21 Cable Grey 27:28 (skate) WAX!
22 Kim Eppen 28:03 (classic) (1st-f-classic)
23 Grant Headley 28:20 (classic)
24 Doug Bottorf 28:24 (skate) WAX!
25 Paul Sueppel 29:28 (classic)
26 Nick Ski 30:51 (classic)
27 Sandy Kessler 31:26 (skate)
28 CT Kruckeberg 33:12 (classic)
29 Kyle Williams 37:18 (classic)
30 Robin Williams 37:52 (classic)

if you wish to protest these results, good luck with that, & sorry for any and all spellings gone awry

Huge thanks to all who came out to race, and to Brett for running the synchros, (and doing the grooming). The cash donation box was overflowing with goodwill, between the mass start race and tonight's tt $313 has been raised to keep the groomers grooving! If you see a WAX! next to your time above you won one of the Geoff's ski tunes, you can pick it up at the shop. And Erik, you left before collecting your very nice handcrafted trophy, you can pick it up at 30th Century Bicycle, or maybe at another race?

Hope we get to do it again next week!

There were some Pearl Izumi Lobster gloves picked up in the parking lot, if they are yours they are at Geoffs!

The Frozen Spoils

2010-01-12T12:50:00.004-06:00

I'm not saying you should cheat...

I'm just saying bring your A games tonight, cause' the trophies are pretty sweet!

Thanks to the Rock Lobster for being such a pole busting monster and donating his shrapnel to the cause.

It Is On!

2010-01-11T15:56:00.002-06:00

Okay folks, conditions are perfect for tomorrow night. So bring your A game and sense of humor and let us race!

Tuesday, January 12th at 7pm

2 laps

donations begged for (Please, we may not get to have many races, but the grooming goes on!)

pick your poison: classic or skate

Headlamps STRONGLY advised

You must sign a waiver

Until tomorrow, then, rest easy!

Any questions just email me at geepickle (at) gmail (dot) com

No Go...

2010-01-07T14:52:00.002-06:00

NO RACE TONIGHT, SORRY CHUMS...

Next week looks like a slam dunk, though, so don't thrash yourselves too badly over the weekend, save a little!

Let Us Eat Wait

2010-01-07T11:12:00.002-06:00

We got a pile of snow, temps are good, and I have a stopwatch in my pocket. What is to stop us now? Maybe ungroomable conditions and high winds drifting the course all up. A recon team has been dispatched to Ashton (I think?) to assess, call on racing will be made by 3 this afternoon. If no race go ski or snowshoe or whatever anyways, as always.

Stay tuned!

Take the Ski-Heads Bowling

2010-01-05T09:12:00.000-06:00

We here at ski race world HQ understand there is some kind of collegiate sporting event involving an oblong ball made of pigskin going on tonight plus it is going to be really cold (more so for us standing around running the syncros than you lucky racers) so we are going to go for Thursday this week, call will be made by noon on said Thursday.

Please believe we really just want to have races, not postpone them, but there is much to take into account, so as always, just go out and ski your two laps and have fun, because that is the name of the canteloupe.

Mass Start Mania!

2010-01-01T19:16:00.004-06:00

Today the 2010 Iowa City Ski Race Season double poled off the line and straight into the wind. Fine snow conditions, really cold temps, and a sizeable field (for 2 days notice, even) made the day a total success. Finn Kolsrud busted out the fancy pants and showed how skate skiing is done, narrowly holding off the indefatigable Brian Eppen and his slick as flourocarbon glide wax classic technique for the outright win and the 72 slices of American Cheese!

Brian and all the classic skiers may have skied further (farther? Scanlon, a little help please, sir!) but that is one for ski race historians of the future to debate, not for a mild mannered ski blog writer to contemplate.

Full results are posted here.

Hope the Tuesday tt series can get going soon, keep yer tips crossed!

New Year's Mass Start Ski Race!!!

2009-12-30T10:06:00.002-06:00

Short notice, but quit yer complaining, the race is not till next year...

New Year's day, 2010, 1pm 2 lap Mass Start ski race at Ashton!!

Details to follow as soon as we get it all worked out, maybe a Geoff's Bike & Skeedo division for special prizing?

Getting Results

2009-12-23T11:43:00.002-06:00

Alright, the numbers are pouring in like the freezing rain is out.

First up, Brian Eppen cracked out a clockwise classic loop in 9:29, just holding off a hard-shooshing Kim Eppen who crushed her classic loop in 10:56! Wax was reported to be "dialed" and the Rock was called out!

Matt Hartman, skated two laps, 27:30, and did the laps counter clockwise.

There you have it, our podium!

Hope we get to have a real race someday...

Control Your Skis!

2009-12-22T10:00:00.002-06:00

Well folks, sad but true, no ski race tonight due to triple threat alert conditions! One, it may be all nasty weather for travel. Two, holiday week leads to depleted staff at TTE and many other conflicts. Three, I got invited to dinner and, coming to skiing from a bike racing background, I love a free meal.

So, as always with our humble ski series, keep your expectations low. We will have one someday, probably...

And by all means, if the weather holds and you are un-obligated? Get out there and ski, time 2 loops, and send me your time and we can put it on the blog and everyone will know what a fast skier you are!

The Saddest News. Ever.

2009-12-14T19:33:00.006-06:00

While we have all been busy waxing our skis and carbo loading for the first Iowa City ski race of the year the weather has been busy wreaking havoc on our finely groomed course at Ashton.
So, we are going to postpone the first event until conditions improve. Sorry. This is skiing in Iowa, get used to it. If you want, and I highly recommend it, move North. Or, go out tomorrow night anyway and ski two loops. Time yourself, email your time to me and I will post results here.

Last year we had to postpone the first one, too, and things still turned out alright, this year we are starting a month earlier, so we will get there. We are going to switch to a Tuesday or Thursday format, in an effort to have more options to get some racing in, so don't let this get you down, troopers!

The Skinny On The Ski Races

2009-12-10T15:46:00.002-06:00

Anticipation is high, ski racing is nigh!

Well, maybe, we will make a call after the weekend, but we are hopeful with the snow we have and the weather forecast we can start next Tuesday, Dec 15th.

In general, this is how things will go.

Tuesday nights, Ashton Cross Country Course, 7 pm start this year to ease the rush of the many bike shop employees that come to race / volunteer.

Two loops, pick your technique, paired starts.

You must sign a waiver!

Headlamps highly recommended!

No entry fees, but there will be a donation box, all proceeds go to keep the grooming sleds tuned and fueled.

Modest prizing, Geoff's kicked in some great schwaggy goodness last year, I will make some trophies, plaques, somethings again, too.

If the course gets hit by a sunspot or that rascally groundhog with the flamethrowing tank or super windy sub zero temps? We will cancel by noon of the race day on this here weblog, so keep checking.

All in all, this is not some big high stakes event like a Two Bee pie race so keep your expectations low and your heart rate high and lets ski! Not sure how many events there will be, but last year we missed out on some good skiing by waiting too long to start so this year we are going to barrel out the gate and just see how it goes.

Questions, suggestions, big cash dollar prize donations? email me!
geepickle (at) gmail (dot) com

Let It Snow, Let Us Race, Let It Snow!

2009-12-09T06:57:00.002-06:00

Okay people, the snowing is on. In fact this post is written on top of a photo of current conditions. White out, that be. So if the snow is groomed and the wind does not blow it all away we can get to the ski racing soon.

Stay tuned for details, but it is looking like Tuesday nights, likely the same shpiel as last year, but with great interest and expectation we may be able to get a Saturday race together, too.

You All Ready For This?

2009-12-04T16:45:00.004-06:00

It snowed in Iowa City last night!

I know at least one person strapped the sticks on and skied a backyard lap.

Get ready, it is coming.

More of the Same

2009-02-16T09:09:00.002-06:00

Hot enough for ya? Too hot for skiing, that is for sure. Unless you are Dar.

Better luck next week...

You Already Know

2009-02-09T20:40:00.002-06:00

Ski racing? Not tomorrow in Iowa City, my friends. I propose a new format until more snow flies. Meet at CGP at 6:30 on the 2 wheeled contraption of your choice and power townie till the cops come. First one arrested wins?

I hope none of you are blaming me for starting a ski series thus assuring that we will have no snow by the transitive property. We all know, of course, that all the snow melted because Doc Hopson finally bought ski stuff.

No Racing on Tuesday February 3rd

2009-02-02T20:09:00.005-06:00

Due to the rascally groundhog what popped outta his hidey-hole and turned his flamethrowing tank on our unsuspecting race course at Ashton, we are going to postpone tomorrow nights race.
Hopefully we will get another proper dumping of the ol' white gold to revive our spirits as well as the racing!

This super cool photo is one of a few over here, we'll get there, just be patient!

Race # 2 Results & Report

2009-01-27T20:48:00.013-06:00

It was another fantastic night of skiing and heavy breathing at Ashton tonight! We ran the loop counter clockwise and look what happened. Jeff Barnes, a.k.a. the Rock Lobster, tore up our midwestern tundra Canadian skate ski style in a cool 19:06! Brian Eppen again led the classic charge with a combination of brute facial hair and
gratuitous double poling, stopping the clock in 20:38! Kim Eppen put the screws to the Women's Classic field once more, taking the win with a time of 23:36, which garnered her second place overall in the classic field. Cara continued her domination in the Women's Skate with another graceful glide home in 27:08. And Chad Lambi defended his Stone Ski award, but still shaved minutes off his time at 44:19.

Three more people than last week and there were some really close finish times, so close we are going to do the next race as a mass start so we can get some sprint finishes!

Place - Overall Time - Name - Method
> --------------
> 01. 19:06 -Jeff Barnes (Skate)
> 02. 20:22 - Paul Deninger (Skate)
> 03. 20:25 - Dave Swanson (Skate & he rode his bike over!)
> 04. 20:38 - Brian Eppen (Classic)
> 05. 21:44 - Jim T (Skate)
> 06. 21:46 - Todd Gillihan (Skate)
> 07. 21:49 - Bruce Timmerman (Skate)
> 08. 22:10 - Tom Sulentic (Skate)
> 09. 23:36 - Kim Eppen, Phd (Classic)
> 10. 23:38 - Matt Hartman (Skate)
> 11. 23:42 - Hodge (Skate)
> 12. 24:21 - Finn (Classic)
> 13. 25:17 - Sean Scanlon, Phd (Skate)
> 14. 25:32 - Wayne Fett (Classic)
> 15. 27:08 - Cara (Skate)
> 16. 27:29 - Joe Hetrick (Skate)
> 17. 27:42 - Mark Wiechowski (Classic)
> 18. 29:17 - Norb! (Classic)
> 19. 31:07 - Cable Gr(e/a?)y (Skate)
> 20. 31:49 - John Pemberton (Skate - 1st time ever)
> 21. 39:14 - Kyle Williams (Classic)
> 22. 39:15 - Robin Williams (Classic)
> 23. 44:19 - Chad Lambi (Classic)

Brian ran the stopwatch and the Rock rolled

Oh yeah, the first ski race raised $70 which will help keep the grooming machines working, tonight we brought in about $60. Thank you for your donations and keep em' coming!
It was a blast, thanks for playing, lets do it again next week!

Looking Good For Tomorrow

2009-01-26T07:26:00.004-06:00

The snow is still here and we might even have some more so lets do this race thing again!

Tuesday night, January 27th at 6:30, 2 loops.

Be there or be marked absent - no pin for you!

Photos From the First Race

2009-01-22T08:17:00.008-06:00

As I said, I forgot my camera, but Nick Martin did not, and before he strapped on his skis for 2 laps he took these photos of what went on out there. Here we are at the registration table, skiers frantically filling out forms as Mark and I attempt to put together a start list.

Here I deliver the pre-race instruction and pep talk to Joe and Doc Tom, who would later give a very cold me a ride home in his warm truck. Thanks Tom!
Next time we will probably try to get some shots of actual ski racing. Thanks for getting these, Nick and I will bring my camera next week.

Ski Race #1 Is In The Books!

2009-01-20T20:16:00.003-06:00

Well we did it. I forgot my camera... 20 skiers came out tonight for the first ski race in Iowa City in over 20 years as near as we can recollect anyways. The full results shall be forthcoming once Mr. Guthart has compiled the small bits (HUGE thanks to you Mark!)but I can report that Finn blistered that course and possibly one of his heels skate style in 20:16! Brian Eppen went all Bjorn Dahle with his classic style, collapsing as he crossed the line to finish his race in 20:20!!

Egad, what a time we had. Hope to see you again next week if the snow holds!

News flash, the results just came in from Mark, here they are, last name will be filled in as they become available:

Place - Overall Time - Name - Method - Lap Times
> --------------
> 01. 20:16 - Finn Kolsrud (Skate)
> 02. 20:20 - Brian Eppen (Classic)
> 03. 20:40 - Greg Duethman (Skate)
> 04. 21:29 - Paul Deninger (Skate)
> 05. 21:45 - Wayne Fett (Skate)
> 06. 23:03 - Brian Deutschendorf (Classic)
> 07. 23:20 - Brian Abbott (Skate)
> 08. 24:20 - Kim Eppen (Classic)
> 09. 25:09 - Kevin McConnell (Skate)
> 10. 25:23 - Jim (Skate)
> 11. 26:15 - Hodge (Skate)
> 12. 26:39 - Mark Simons (Skate)
> 13. 27:20 - Chris Eastburn (Skate)
> 14. 27:52 - Doc Tom (Skate)
> 15. 29:06 - Cara (Skate)
> 16. 31:37 - Sean Scanlon (Skate)
> 17. 33:30 - Nick Martin (Classic)
> 18. 35:22 - Joe Hetrick (Skate)
> 19. 40:18 - Jack Noble (Classic)
> 20. 47:10 - Chad Lambi (Classic)
>
>
> Lap Times
> -------------
> 09:55 - Finn Kolsrud (1st Lap)
> 10:00 - Brian Eppen (1st Lap)
> 10:16 - Greg Duethman (2nd Lap)
> 10:20 - Brian Eppen (2nd Lap)
> 10:21 - Finn Kolsrud (2nd Lap)
> 10:24 - Greg Duethman (1st Lap)
> 10:28 - Paul Deninger (1st Lap)
> 10:42 - Wayne Fett (1st Lap)
> 11:01 - Paul Deninger (2nd Lap)
> 11:03 - Wayne Fett (2nd Lap)
> 11:08 - Brian Deutschendorf (1st Lap)
> 11:35 - Brian Abbott (1st Lap)
> 11:45 - Brian Abbott (2nd Lap)
> 11:51 - Kevin McConnell (1st Lap)
> 11:55 - Jim (1st Lap)
> 11:55 - Brian Deutschendorf (2nd Lap)
> 12:01 - Kim Eppen (1st Lap)
> 12:19 - Kim Eppen (2nd Lap)
> 12:48 - Hodge (1st Lap)
> 13:00 - Chris Eastburn (1st Lap)
> 13:!8 - Kevin McConnell (2nd Lap)
> 13:19 - Mark Simons (2nd Lap)
> 13:20 - Mark Simons (1st Lap)
> 13:27 - Hodge (2nd Lap)
> 13:28 - Jim (2nd Lap)
> 13:49 - Doc Tom (2nd Lap)
> 14:03 - Doc Tom (1st Lap)
> 14:20 - Chris Eastburn (2nd Lap)
> 14:26 - Cara (2nd Lap)
> 14:40 - Cara (1st Lap)
> 15:48 - Sean Scanlon (1st Lap)
> 15:49 - Sean Scanlon (2nd Lap)
> 16:26 - Nick Martin (1st Lap)
> 17:04 - Nick Martin (2nd Lap)
> 17:33 - Joe Hetrick (2nd Lap)
> 17:49 - Joe Hetrick (1st Lap)
> 19:15 - Jack Noble (1st Lap)
> 21:03 - Jack Noble (2nd Lap)
> 22:43 - Chad Lambi (1st Lap)
> 24:27 - Chad Lambi (2nd Lap)
>
>

Tuesday, tuesday, TUESDAY!!!

2009-01-20T07:19:00.005-06:00

Tonight, January 20th at 6:30 all the big questions will be answered! Like do we know how to put on a ski race? And just how much did the Eppen's ski last weekend? Come on down to Ashton where we will find out and race some skis!

Check back here for results, photos, reports and so forth.

Headquarters

2009-01-17T21:45:00.002-06:00

Okay everyone, this is going to be the place for the big ski race news. Race dates, postponements, new sponsors, photos, results, etc. Right now I venture to say things are looking good for this Tuesday's races, but this being Iowa and all please stay tuned.

Welcome!

2009-01-17T20:38:00.002-06:00

Greetings everyone, I am happy to announce that we are ready to go on a regular ski tt series here in Iowa City at Ashton! The first event, snow willing, is to be held on Tuesday, January 20th at 6:30 pm and, snow willing, will continue every Tuesday at 6:30 until February 10th. Check here for final word every week. We may have to skip a week here or there but we hope when the snow finally clears to have held four events total. So bust out your funkiest special ski outfit and come join us!

This is a new venture and we will learn as we go but here is the skinny:

2 skiers will go off together to ski two full laps of the Ashton course, depending on number of entries we will do either minute or 30 sec intervals. You can pick your partner or not, we are trying to be flexible to encourage everyone to come give it a try.

We will time you and let you know how you did. Best classic / skate skiers out of the female / male racers will likely get a tangible prize to go with their pride.

Pick your style, work with your partner or not. Two skiers can relay if they like, whatever you want to do. Race twice if you are really fast. I would love to see a skijor entry!

There will be NO entry fee, but we will have a donation box to support the trail grooming efforts.

You will need to sign a waiver.

Headlamps recommended for all skiers!!

Schwaggy prizes generously provided by Geoff's Local Motion Bike & Ski and ATLAS/Eco Lips so far. I made some trophies. If you want to donate prizes let me know!

Questions? Suggestions? Tell me at geepickle (at) gmail (dot) com

Please spread the word!