Italia and Some History

So I raced my second race here at U23s yesterday. I placed a pretty solid 35th. It very warm 10km classic race. When the womens race ended it was a balmy 24 degrees in the sun. Boiling. I do not think that I have ever been so hot in a ski race before. A big thanks to our amazing wax techs who pulled off some of the best skis I have raced on all year. There were a few girls slipping out there in the sun, but the Canadians were not among them.

Today I decided to take a break from skiing. I already know the race course for tomorrows 15km skate race and my body could use a break from the high altitude at the race site. So a few of my team mate and I decided to go for a run and check out a few of the WW1 bunkers that are barily visible on our drive up to the race site. What a crazy experience.''

The bunkers are huge cement hills covered in dirt and grass. They just look like little hills in the fields but as you get close there are gun holes and little doors that are partially filled in with bricks and dirt. We ran around them and checked out the scene, thinking back to when these buildings were swarming with soldiers.

Of course we decided to go inside and check it out a little more. The five of us stayed very close in the dark confines of the bunker. We thought that it would be just a large open room but with one step inside we realized that it was a maze of tunnels that lead upwards and deep into the ground. With one flashlight, we all stayed within an arms length of one another and ventured in. It was increadibly creepy. It was a lot warmer in the bunker than outside and really quiet. There were ladders that lead down to other floors and stairs that lead up. We found one dead cat that was all dried up and 2D, but no sign of any other animals. The dead cat that I almost stepped on in the dark was enough for me. We negotiated our way back out of the underground maze and headed for fresh air and sunlight.

It was really cool to get to check out such a foreign part of history but I am really glad that I do not have to live down there.

Hopefully tomorrow will be just as exciting!

U23 Sprints

So I just raced my first under 23 world championship race here in Schlinig, Italy this morning. It was a 1.3km skate sprint. I placed 32. I was just 0.68 seconds out of qualifying for the heats. SO CLOSE!!! I am very happy with my race. I raced it to the best of my abilities.

It was so exciting to go out and race today after the amazing performance of the Canadian team junior athletes yesterday. 7/8 of our junior racers qualified yesterday. They set the bar high and all the U23 athletes just went out there today trying to keep up the great performances. 3 U23 athletes qualified (2 in the top 10!). Congrats to Peri, Amanda, and Brent!

The temperature here has climbed to somewhere between 15 and 20 degrees celcius for the last two days ao we are skiing in some unusual conditions. It is pretty weird to cross the finish line and change out of my race suit into a t-shirt and shorts. Apparently it is supposed to snow in 2 days... yeah right.

The town of Mals (where we are staying) is awesome. This is my first world championships where we have actually stayed right in a town. There is a real sense of community. We see all the little kids rollerblading on the cobblestones (it's really funny) to school and comming home for lunch. Our hotel is right above a little bakery. It is pretty sweet. Everyone has been really nice to our entire team and the meals have been fabulous.

I race again on Tuesday. We have a 10km classic race. Tommorow our juniors race their distance classic races. Good luck!

Livigno, Italy (2300m!!!)

Pate and I out for a ski here in Livigno.


Hey Everybody,


Well, I am sitting here enjoying a little downtime. The entire Canadian team went down to Bormio to do a little shopping and sight seeing, but I am sitting here listening to Jack Johnson and doing homework. Lame. I know, but I have to do it some time!


Our trip has been great so far. We are staying just outside of Livigno until Thursday to do some training and acclimatization. The altitude here is unbelivable. Our hotel is well above the tree line! It's nuts. The sun is so strong that I can't leave the building without first applying a layer of SPF 30. The first few days I was having trouble breathing even when I was lying down. I had to sleep with my mouth open.


The jet lag hasn't been to bad this time. Today is the first day that the 6hr time difference is really causing me trouble. I am very tired and hungry at all the wrong times. In a few days the old system should straighten out.


The food has been awesome and the hotel staff have been very helpful and patient as we try to sign language things to them. One of the servers only knows my name out of everybody because he uses me to translate. Apparently knowing english and some french qualifies me for this position. It is pretty funny.


I will try to keep my blog updated throughout the races, but internet access is limited and very slow. It has taken me 40min to load these pictures!



Today's "piste sci". Amazing.

NTDC teammates Butler, Lenny, and Jesse all decked out in their Canada gear.

The February Update

Wow! A lot has happened since my last update. Last time I posted an update I was right in the middle of the World Cup races in Canmore. My world cup experience for this year is now over, but I am ramping up for my next big races: Under 23 (U23) World Championships. As many of you know, these races were supposed to be held in Poland immediately after the World Cups in Canmore, but due to a lack of snow (kind of important in this sport) the championships have been postponed to Feb. 25th to March 2nd and moved to Mals, Italy.

After the change in scheduling, I was going to compete in the Eastern Canadian Championships at Nakkertok Nordic, but during my stay in Canmore I slipped on some ice and twisted my knee very slightly. I wasn’t too worried about it, but when I got home it was still sore a week later and I had trouble straightening my knee and it even hurt when I slept. So after a quick chiropractor/physio appointment I found out that I had bruised or slightly torn the cartilage on the outside of my left knee. I decided to take time off to let my little injury heal. I took 6 out of 8 days off after Canmore just resting, stretching and icing my knee. That might seem a little much to some people, but I didn’t want this to plague me for the rest of my season.

I am happy to say that my knee is back to 100% and I am back into training. I even got to race on Friday night at the Kamview classic right here in Thunder Bay. It was a very well run race and I had so much fun being back on my skis. After three months of being on the road it is nice to be back in Thunder Bay where I can get in some good training before I head to Europe next week.