The small crew of people people who are the die hard hardcore biathletes trying to get to the next level in Biathlon. This crew consisted of Born Again Biathletes trying to test the waters for a an Olympic BId in 2010 to on one side of the spectrum to members of the US National Biathlon Team , National Gaurd Biathlon Team, to few individuals who have never competed ion Biathlon but have been training all summer and fall i order to become elite biathletes. The tryouts were filled with many challenges first the 2 of the races were moved from Montana to Mt Itasca , then Everybody had to deal with a blizzard and extreme cold. The next race was cancelled to add to the angst. Then we had to endure more snow, wind and extreme cold. Fortunately for the newbies they will have had great challenging races out here and there next races should be alot more pleasant.

There were some grgeat performances by Zach Hall, Dan Campbell, Brian Olsen on the mens side. Sarah Studebaker, Carolyn Bramante, Susan Dunklee on the women’s side. Mark Johnson coming back from Norway had three solid performances also.

I finished just out of solid races every race consistently. Oh well. Now waiting for flights to start a 2 day journey back to Rochester. 

Up in Northern Minnesota adapting to the cold. Preparing to do the North American Series Biathlon Races #2 & #3. These will consist of 5 Biathlon races at Mt Itasca, Coleraine MN. Most of these races are going to be at near zero F temperatures. Planning to to go through some TOKO HF Blue, and JetStream Blue Bloc Rotocorked in.

 Today I used Hotronic footwarmers for the first time. They are pictured above at least the battery they worked well. I skied two hours in a ski suit with no boot covers and my feet did not freeze it was around 5 degrees F with a blustery wind. They consist of a hot plate under the toe area with a flat wire run under the insole which plugs into a rechargeable battery pack. I will definitely get to rate them after this week. 

 Some more ways to stay warm while racing. For the last 2 years for pretty much all races below 20 degrees have used Craft long underwear with wind-stopper Gore-tex. The stuff is indispensable especially when doing Biathlon, where you repeatedly lie down in the snow. So far there has never been a problem with condensation under the wind-stopper material. Definitely thought this would occur when first using  it. For the hands I use TOKO wind-stopper thermo’s, and for the first lop wear the TOKO lobster claw over-mitts from the 232 system over the gloves and discard right before prone shooting.

So far  there is a 2.5km loop fully prepared and groomed with a ton of man-made snow on it. Hopefully they will finish preparing the 3.3km loop by race time Sunday. The 3.3 km loop has an awesome hill on it that has been waiting since this last  spring to test my summer and fall training efficacy. Hope it pans out!!!

           If you build it they will come.

Out in the  Grand Rapids MN Region to contest the the Biathlon Nor Am races here in the next two weeks. It will be very cold during that time. What is amazing is the amount of snow they have made here and how well the grooming is. These are pictures from Mt Itasca in Coleraine MN. The work they have done is monumental. You have to realize that this was all done by VOLUNTEERS on a minimal budget. Canmore, AB spends millions and has a huge staff. The trails are wide and challenging, flow well. Definataly a world class venue. The Biathlon range is a 30 point range. Once they flatten out all of the snow whales there will be 2.5-3.3 km loops in perfect condition.  If they can do this why can’t we have area’s like this all over??? With support like this no wonder successful Biathlete’s come from here.  

Much Thanks to all who made this possible.. Wish I lived out here..