The roar of the crowd was deafening as I came into the finish chute. Screaming, cheering, cowbells galore!
No, I wasn’t leading the race, but I felt like it! This is the reception you get at the American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, even if you are far back in the pack.
I had a huge smile on my face while listening to the crowd’s roar as I herringboned up the last hill, to the top of the International Bridge, a temporary bridge put in just for this race. I hoped that on the way down the other side I wouldn’t wipe out in front of all the spectators. I didn’t! Then I was charging up the last 100 meters toward the finish line on Main Street to that roaring crowd. Birkie Fever!
What a great day! What a great week! I was finally finishing my first Birkie ski race!
One Big Race, Many Tries
The American Birkebeiner is North America’s biggest 50-kilometer ski marathon race, a point-to-point race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin, with about 10,000 skiers participating in the week of ski races. We had wanted to ski this race for years. Or at least our son Riley and I had. Eric was willing to join us. (Our daughter Montana has no desire to do ski races!)
We first decided to sign up four years ago in 2022. But that year, Riley ended up having to work on a graduate research project the same week as the Birkie. Then in 2023, weather forecasters were predicting a huge snowstorm that was supposed to hit just a few hours after our flight landed in Minneapolis. News outlets were warning that cities and highways would probably be shut down. Eric and I cancelled at the last minute, since we didn’t want to get stuck in an airport with cancelled flights or stuck in our hotel room, unable to get to the race.
The storm wasn’t as bad as predicted, so Riley, who was living in Iowa at the time, drove up the day before the race. He got to ski his first Birkie, though he had to start in one of the last waves. (First time racers start in the last wave unless they have done a qualifying race in the previous two years.) As a result, he had to weave his way through thousands of slower skiers. Despite that, he had a great race and wanted to come back as his time of just a little over three hours put him in Wave 2, a much more competitive wave, for his next Birkie.
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| Riley at the start of his 2023 Birkie |
So, we signed up again in 2024, the 50th anniversary of the race. But last year, instead of too much snow, there was no snow. Still, they managed to pull it off on a 10K loop of artificial snow with citizen racers shortened to a 30-kilometer course. In Fairbanks we had lots of snow, so we said no thank you and cancelled again.
Fourth Time’s a Charm
This year we decided to try one last time, but this would be the final time. If we didn’t make it to the start, we would take it off our bucket list.
Two weeks before the race, conditions were not looking good. Even though temperatures remained below freezing, there had again been minimal snow in Wisconsin. We listened intently to the race updates to see what the plan would be. Another year of loops on artificial snow? A shortened course?
But then northern Wisconsin got two back-to-back storms each with about 4-6 inches of snow followed by cold temperatures. Would it be enough? Just days before the race, organizers announced the race was on. And it was going to be the full point-to-point distance ending up on Main Street in Hayward. We weren’t sure how good the snow would be, but we were finally headed to Wisconsin!More Than the Birkie
But this trip was about more than the race. It was also about experiencing Midwest culture. Riley’s wife Sam is from Wisconsin and she and Riley had compiled a list of things we needed to do.
First up was visiting Mall of America in Minneapolis, the largest mall in the western hemisphere. We flew into Minneapolis on Wednesday where we met up with Riley and checked into our hotel, conveniently located right next to the mall. Then we headed over to check it out and get dinner. Eric had been there once years ago, but I hadn’t. It’s a bit over the top with three levels of stores, lots of restaurants, an indoor amusement park, a 300-foot-long aquarium, a cinema, and a maze of mirrors. After eating and a quick walk around part of the mall, we headed back to our hotel sated in more ways than one. Mall shopping is not our thing. Quickly we had had enough.
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| An amusement park inside a mall? Really? |
But we aren’t totally immune to consumerism. The next morning, we spent almost as much time at Garage Grown Gear, an on-line retail store Riley knew about that sells outdoor gear made by smaller brands. It has its warehouse in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and it lets people come shop. Riley wanted to stop there. Our quick stop ended up lasting over an hour and we all left with several cool purchases.
We finally pulled ourselves away from the city (population 2.6 million) for the 3-hour drive to rural Hayward (population 2,500). Along the way we were able to check off several other items on Sam’s list.
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| Entering Hayward under the temporary International Bridge |
First up, a stop at a Kwik Trip. These gas station/convenience stores are well known in Wisconsin and carry all kinds of Wisconsin delicacies, like cheese curds, breakfast pizza, and cheese breadsticks. Check, check, check. We bought them all. Eric looked for milk-in-a-bag that Sam had told us about, but he couldn’t find any. Yep, they actually used to sell milk in plastic bags. I found out later that Kwik Trip stopped carrying bagged milk a year ago due to declining sales. Oh well. The other item we didn’t get to cross off was a Friday Fish Fry that most bars and restaurants have. We did get local walleye at one bar but missed out on an all-you-can-eat event.
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| Cheese curds and bagged milk - 2 Kwik Trip staples |
The Full Birkie Experience
In Hayward, we stopped at the Chamber of Commerce to get our bibs for the Giant Ski Race. We wanted the full Birkie experience, so had signed up for this fun event, complete with Team Alaska costumes that we brought with us. We already wrote about how that went. Spoiler alert if you haven’t read our account, it did not go well for the Alaskans! Finally, we headed to our AirBnB, a cabin on a lake 30 miles further northwest. I guess a cabin stay on a lake is another Midwest culture thing we checked off, too!
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| Cabin on Lake Delta - our midwest home for a few days |
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| Always fun to ski on new-to-us trails |
The Expo was packed with skiers, volunteers, and vendors. Birkie fever was high and getting higher! We left the Expo and met up with other members of Team Alaska for the Giant Ski Race. We “trained,” cheered on other teams, and finally had our own race. Riley, Eric, and I stayed into the evening to watch the final races before heading back to our cabin.
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| The start of our heat in the Giant Ski Race |
Then it was the day before our big event – the American Birkebeiner. We spent it relaxing at our cabin and going out for another short ski. I had brought both my skin skis and waxable skis and was trying to decide which to use. I skied a 1-mile loop on both and when I was a minute faster on my waxable skis, the decision was made. Even if I had to stop once to wax, my time should be faster on the regular skis. Eric came to the same conclusion. Riley was skating, so he glide-waxed his skis using portable clamps and a picnic table on our cabin’s porch.
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| Relaxing at our cabin |
Finally – The Race!
In the Birkie, skate and classic skiers use the same start, then go on separate courses for about 20km before coming back together for the last 30km. The skate course is 50km, but the classic race is 54km.
About 3,800 skiers were doing the skate race and around 1,800 were doing the classic race. Because there are so many skiers, the races start in waves of about 350 skiers for the skate waves and 200 for the classic waves. Placement in the waves is determined by past finishes in the Birkie or another qualifier race, such as Fairbanks’ 50km Sonot KKaazoot. Eric and I had skied that in 2024, so our times got us better waves. I qualified for Wave 2 while Eric, who didn’t have a good Sonot, qualified for Wave 5 (out of 6 waves) Riley’s time in the 2023 Birkie qualified him for Wave 2 (out of 10 waves). We were all happy to be further up the pack.
The morning of the race was about 15F with a slight breeze and light snowfall. Temps were predicted to rise into the 20s during the race. Conditions couldn’t be much better. We got up early, had a big breakfast then drove 20 miles to the parking area, where we got on a bus that took us to the start. Large warm up tents were near the start and skiers were everywhere. But everything ran smoothly, no long waits for buses or port-a-potties. Lots of volunteers helping.
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| Taking the bus to the start |
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| It was very busy at the start! |
The start line has three stages: the start line, a pen just before the start line, and another pen before that. The elite skiers get to line up at the start line with Wave 1 in the first pen and Wave 2 in second pen. After the Elite Wave starts, the other Waves are moved up with 5 minutes between each wave’s start. For some, the race starts before the start line as people rush forward to get a good position in each pen. It’s a little crazy but really well organized.
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| Skiers line up in their different pens |
So how did our races go?
Riley’s Race
Starting in Wave 2 of the Birkie was a wildly different experience from the chaos that was Wave 7 from my first Birkie. Two years ago, I effectively double-poled the first 3km and did so at a pace much faster than is ideal for 50km. While Wave 2 was still a little crazy, I was able to start skating normally within the first kilometer.
My main goal for this year was to ski fast enough to move up to Wave 1 for next year and I guessed that would be somewhere just under 3 hours. That was achievable so long as I didn't use all my energy in the first quarter...like I did my first year.
With that in mind, I set out to ski all the short, sharp hills at a very manageable pace. At first this seemed way too slow, but by the end of the race I was consistently passing people on the hills.
While I was passing people on the uphills, the downhills were a different story. Years of skiing in the sparse snow conditions of Iowa and New Mexico have clearly done a number on my skis. I'd thought about upgrading this year, but there aren't any Nordic ski stores in Albuquerque, and I also needed new boots and bindings, so I kept with my old equipment. I realized early on that was a mistake. My skis were significantly slower than the others around me to the point that classic skiers, when the two courses merged, were passing me on the downhills.
However, despite the slow skis – and losing my water bottle in a fall at about 20km – I managed to finish with a time of 2:53 and had a great time doing it. I won't find out until later if I made it into Wave 1, but that would have been fast enough from two years ago, so I'm hopeful.
Corrine’s Race
For some reason, I was more nervous than usual for this race. Because it was new? Because of all the crowds? Because I had a personal goal to finish under 5 hours, and I wasn’t sure if I could do that? I don’t know, but I started getting butterflies in my stomach the night before, and it was worse the morning of the race.
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| Looking nervous before the start. I'm in the second road in pink with the leopard skin tights |
Once I started skiing, I was fine. I chose to start on the right which was a mistake. After about 10 meters, the tracks on the right side stopped and we all had to move to the left side if we wanted to ski in a track. I lost a bit of time getting into the tracks and then spent about 3 km jockeying for position in the three sets of tracks that the course narrowed down to. But after those 3-5 kilometers I could pretty much ski my pace with not too much jumping out of tracks to get by other skiers.
I really liked the first 24 kilometers when the classic skiers were by themselves. The course meandered through the woods with lots of short ups and downs. It got a bit more crowded where the two courses came together, but I stayed on the left side in the tracks and avoided most of the chaos with the skaters. Many of the uphills were steep and required most classic skiers, including me, to herringbone up them. Think the Black Loops at Birch Hill. Considering how little snow the area had, the tracks for the most part were quite good. They got thinner with more debris the closer we got to the finish, but my wax was good, and I never had to rewax.
I was back and forth with different skiers during the race, but I was never with the same people for long. It was fun to share in the camaraderie of a long ski and we encouraged each other. Coming into the aid stations (spaced about every 6 kilometers) was amazing. So many people cheering. So many volunteers with water, Powerade, fruit and maple syrup sticks. So well organized. I made quick stops at most of the aid stations, but I never stopped long and kept my momentum going. After all, I wanted that sub-5-hour finish.
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| So much energy at the aid stations |
About 3 kilometers from the finish, the course heads onto Hayward Lake, where spectators were out in full force cheering, many offering whiskey shots. I wanted to stop, but time was of the essence. I knew it was going to be close to make my goal. I double-poled as much as I could on the lake, but my arms were getting tired. I lost time coming off the lake where it was icy and slippery and lost more time herring boning up the International Bridge.
I skied as hard as I could to the finish but ended up 1 minute and 29 seconds over my goal! Close but not quite! But I finished strong, and I had a lot more fun than I expected, plus I felt good all day. All of that is more important than any time goal. I’m calling it a win! And I ended up 5th out of the 15 women in my age group so not too shabby!
Riley was at the finish and got some photos. Then I had just enough time to get changed before heading back to watch Eric finish his race. He started 35 minutes after me and ended up with a time just under 5 hours, even with stopping to take photos and have some whiskey shots along the way!
Eric’s Race
Skiing with thousands of strangers sure wasn’t my dream. Heck, I think the start of the Sonot is too crowded. But I was willing to go as part of Team Troyer. Plus, the Birkie would be good training for another race I care about even more – the Tanana River Challenge 25-miler. (I’m trying to do all versions of the local winter wilderness races.) Despite my reluctance, I figured I would mostly have a good time. And mostly I did.
I was relaxed at the start. I didn’t rush forward, starting toward the back, like I often do at local races. I figured I would have to be patient and go slow while things were clogged up in the beginning. I sure underestimated how long things would be clogged up! I eventually ran out of patience and started skiing on the right side, out of the tracks. Heck, it’s like skiing on snowmachine trails, right? I passed a lot of people that way. Eventually, I was able to get back into the tracks.
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| Eric starts near the back of his wave |
After the race, someone asked me about pacing. Ha! This race was about jockeying for position. I kept catching people and hopping in and out of tracks to get around them. I often had to wait behind slower people and then sprint past them before trying to settle into a pace. Then I’d get behind someone else and the cycle would start again. It didn’t annoy me much, but I sure couldn’t keep a steady pace. I also had to rewax about 20 km from the end, but that didn’t take too long.
I passed a lot of people from my Wave 5 and then I started passing people from Wave 4 and Wave 3. I even passed a few people from Wave 2. There was a little camaraderie, but there were just too many people for that. I saw one guy three or four times and we had some good banter, but mostly I was skiing alone in a crowd, which I didn’t mind at all.
For me the best thing about the race was all the cheers I got from spectators and other racers. I was wearing a large yellow bowtie with polka dots and a pair of board shorts. People loved those! Those cheers had me grinning most of the way.
I had heard about the whiskey shots on the lake, but before I got there, I dropped a pole right in front of some partying spectators. They cheered me on and offered some clear liquid in a shot glass. Why not? It was peppermint schnapps. Yum! And when I got to the lake, I had a shot of Fireball. Yum again! Quite the party atmosphere!
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| Eric skis down the International Bridge towards the finish |
The lake was full of cheering spectators, but the finish chute was unreal. Corrine described it well. A constant roar. I felt like I was winning the Iditarod! And I wasn’t anywhere close to the front of the pack. Dang! I wanted to smile and thank everyone, but that wasn’t even close to possible. I just focused on the finish line and tried to smile as I skied hard.
Again?
Riley is definitely going back next year so he can race in Wave 1. Eric is definitely not going back. One and done for him. But as for me? I’m still undecided but I think I’ve caught the Birkie Fever so maybe. . .
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