I just made money in FIS races for the first time in three years! The SuperTour came to New England for the first time in even longer than that, so I had the chance to race against a strong field right in my own backyard.
The elite group wasn’t that big; half a dozen men maybe flew to New England to race, but there were also a number of college skiers who, since they beat me, I can hardly say aren’t racing well. Overall, I think the success of New England’s college skiers against top 10 ranked U.S. skiers shows that EISA is doing something right.
And I really hope that this race becomes a fixture on the SuperTour. Trapps has a really nice course, there was classic weather (blizzard, rain, bright sun, driving wind, all within an hour), there were tons of people out watching the race, there were connections between college skiing, New England junior skiing, and the wider world of skiing, and there was money for me – what could be better!
Anyway, I had an 8th in the 10 km skate and a 6th in the 15 km classic, which combine for a $200 weekend – not bad for hardly any training. And I got a couple sub-100 point races, which means that I will move from 161st in the country to about 60th on the next points list. And moving up 100 spots is always a good thing.
It was a little strange: on both days I lost ground in the last lap. This is so unlike me, especially against a college field, but I guess that is what happens when I remember the right pace to ski at in a race but I just can’t make my body hold it for long enough.
I’d love to share more thoughts but I need to get some sleep.

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