Please note that I don’t mean I want a curse on Craftsbury, a ski area which has a combination of geography and staff which allowed it to host an absolutely incredible race last Saturday despite a profound lack of snow across much of New England. Usually when the alerts come the week before a race detailing possible changes in course it means you are in for a short, rough, and sketchy race, but the crew at Craftsbury put together one of the better marathon courses I have had the pleasure of skiing.

The course did have less climb at the end than the tradition course that finishes on the Common, and that was one thing that hurt me. I had great skis, but lacked the double pole fitness to respond in the last few kilometers. And so, for the fourth time in four years, I lost a race at Craftsbury that I might have won. In 2007 I was outskied by Eli Enman, in 2008 outwaxed by Jan Arne, in 2009 my great race earned me nothing as my brother was there. This year I faced solid competition, but if I had been able to get the kind of sleep last week that I got during Nationals in Alaska, I would not have been dropped.

And so it is difficult to believe that there is not, in fact, some sort of Justin Freeman/Craftsbury Marathon curse that puts me on the podium every year but will never let me win.

But then again, maybe there isn’t and 362 days from now I will finally get to cross that finish line first…

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