Nordic Nation

In this episode, we chat with Hailey Swirbul, who took an alternate path to the World Cup this season, prioritizing her own mental health and aiming to rediscover her love for cross-country skiing along the way. Listen in to hear her discuss the challenges she's faced in transitioning into a professional athlete, along with how the Olympic experience contrasted the Olympic fantasy. She also discusses difference in summer training this year, highlights from domestic racing in period one and two, including a sweep of US Nationals in Houghton, and more. Thanks for listening.

In this episode, Julia Kern discusses season highs and lows, and her resilience in overcoming setbacks as she continues to build momentum in her ski career.

In this episode, we have U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Team Coach Greta Anderson to discuss her first year in the role and the growth and progress of the U.S. development program which feeds the success we now see on the World Cup. We take a look at highlights of the 2022 FIS Junior and U23 World Ski Championships, which took place in Lygna, Norway last February, discuss athletes newly named to the U.S. Ski Team, as well as the initiatives and philosophies within the development program which help these athletes thrive holistically, while taking steps forward in their ski careers.

Jessie Diggins adds her voice to the conversation surrounding the impact and significance of body comments in the media, and awareness of pervasive underlying issues in sport, speaking from the perspective of someone who has experienced an eating disorder and since become an advocate for awareness and support in that realm. She also discusses her season, the 2022 Olympics, and what keeps her going in the sport now that she has earned an Olympic medal of each color and some of the top championship results in American xc ski history.

Though the FasterSkier team would select other highlights from the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, one of the most read articles we produced featured the responses of members of the ski community to a story published on February 8th by the New York Times. In this episode, a panel discusses why these comments are detrimental and voice opinions on how media can better cover endurance sports, while being mindful of the concerns of athletes.

In this episode, we have Sydney Palmer-Leger, Sophia Laukli, and Novie McCabe. Each is a member of the U.S. Cross Country team, and they are also all teammates at the University of Utah (UU), where they are coached by Miles Havlick and Fredrik Landstedt. Laukli and McCabe were recently named to the 2022 Olympic Team and are soon headed to Beijing, while Palmer-Leger will race in the RMISA collegiate circuit for the next few weeks before flying to Norway for the FIS Junior World Championships in Lygna.

In this episode, we have Matt Whitcomb back to debrief the 2021/22 Tour de Ski, including highs and lows, overcoming setbacks, and managing a circulating head cold. We also discuss the cancellation of the Les Rousses World Cup, covid safety in a critical window before the Olympics, and the racing happening in Soldier Hollow during the 2022 US Cross Country Championships.

In this episode, we have U.S. Ski Team members Hannah Halvorsen and Hailey Swirbul along with development team coach Kate Barton to discuss a variety of challenges female athletes of all levels experience during their careers. From social media to pressure, and “balance” to competition between teammates, these women shared powerful insights into their lives as athletes and coaches at the highest level of our sport.

In this episode, we have Jim Galanes to discuss some guiding training principles for masters athletes. If you enjoy the endurance athlete lifestyle, or are juggling a career and family, but still enjoy trying to get fitter and faster as in this fickle sport, this interview has plenty of exercise physiology insight to chew on.

In this episode, we discuss the topic of maternal mental health with Holly Brooks and Calisa Kastning, co-founders of Moms Matter Now and accomplished skiers. Through this platform and the online courses they are building, they hope to provide women with the tools to prepare for the emotional and psychological changes they might experience surrounding pregnancy and into motherhood, and to empower each participant to prioritize her own well-being in order to be the mother, partner, athlete, employee, and more, that she wants to be.

In early July, the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation announced the launch of the Team Birkie professional racing team, led by Caitlin Gregg. In this conversation, Caitlin discusses the new elite group, how she incorporates her daughter, Heidi, into the mix, and what has kept her in the game and going strong after more than a decade and a half of elite ski racing.

If you have the good fortune to spend time in the Gunnison Valley of Colorado, perhaps on Crested Butte Nordic’s extensive trail system, exploring the Elk Mountain backcountry on mountain bike or skis, or taking laps on Mount Crested Butte, you may cross paths with a friendly red-haired resident who is likely moving faster and breathing easier than you are. Known locally as an aerobic machine, 25-year-old Cam Smith embraces all mountain sports as training to support his burgeoning development as an elite ski mountaineering (SkiMo) racer. Originally focused on running, Smith moved from Illinois to study exercise science at Western Colorado University in Gunnison. Embracing everything the school’s mountain sports program had to offer, Smith began trail running, mountain biking, cross country skiing with the USCSA program, and was convinced by his older sister, who was also attending Western, to be her teammate for the 40 mile Grand Traverse ski race from Crested Butte to Aspen. Flash forward through a few years of dedicated skill development and steady progress: Smith was a member of the 2019-20 US Ski Mountaineering Association National Team and won two events at the 2020 National Championships, the uphill only vertical race in just under 20 minutes and the longer individual race which lasted 3 hours 48 minutes. (Because of the pandemic and a lack of qualifying events, a national team was not selected this season.)Smith was selected to compete in the World Championships in 2017 and 2019, racing in additional World Cup races in the 2018-2020 seasons. His best international finishes to date include an 8th place finish in the team race at the 2019 World Championships in Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland with partner John Gaston, and a 7th place World Cup team finish racing with Rory Kelly. Individually, he’s taken 18th in the vertical race at the 2019 World Championships, and 20th in a 2020 World Cup vertical race in Jennerstier, Germany. Alongside his 20-plus hour training weeks (often with astounding amounts of vertical gain), Smith plays a variety of roles within the Crested Butte community, including coaching the masters' performance groups and youth programs at CB Nordic, assisting adaptive athletes on the mountain through the Crested Butte Adaptive Sports Center, and teaching strength and conditioning classes at a local gym. In response to the pandemic, Smith shifted his focus to the well-established local racing opportunities. Instead of chasing a World Cup top-15, he made a goal of setting a new course record on what he calls “The Elk Mountain Classics”: the Gothic Mountain Tour in Crested Butte, the Power of Four in Aspen, and the Grand Traverse. Smith also hopped into two of the CB Nordic town series interval start skate races, winning each. At the time of our call, Smith had checked two of the three course record boxes: dropping the Gothic Mountain Tour record by over ten minutes to 3:37:06, and the Power of Four record by thirteen to 4:15:21 with World Championship partner John Gaston. As cross-country skiers well know, conditions on the day impact the possibility of chasing these records, but the results are nonetheless a testament to fitness and strength. Smith was lucky enough to have the two factors align symbiotically on the day.Given his humble and easygoing nature, he probably wouldn’t tell you about any of this unless you knew to ask.Smith also looked outside athletic development for his season goals. Dedicating his training and race performance at the Grand Traverse to Living Journeys, a local nonprofit that holistically supports individuals with cancer and their families during treatment, Smith set out to raise $15,000. This goal has already been exceeded; however, if you’d like to support his cause, you can donate here. It also turns out Smith and his partner for the Grand Traverse, Tom Goth, set a new course record in 6:06:24. In this conversation, Smith shares more about his development from mountain-sport-newbie to national champion. We also discuss how he still includes nordic skiing to support his SkiMo training, and how a versatile approach to yearly training paired with some sport-specific blocks could serve masters athletes focused on premier races like the Birkie.Thanks for listening.