By Gavin Kentch
This year’s American Birkebeiner is going to happen, with events starting as early as next Wednesday, but there are going to be some caveats involved. For one, the race will now occur over a 10-kilometer loop composed almost entirely of manmade snow. For another, the Elite Wave will cover the whole 50-kilometer distance for the skate race, but no one else will. All races will be staged out of the Birkie Trailhead.
A picture is worth a thousand words; here’s a screenshot from Monday night’s webinar explaining what race day will look like on the fourth Saturday in February:
That’s skate waves one and two starting at 7 a.m., and covering three laps of the 10km course for a 30km. Then the Elite Wave women’s race starting at 10:30 a.m., with the Elite Men starting 15 minutes later. They will each do five laps for a 50km.
Skate waves three through ten will start at 1 p.m. and following. Expect some sugary snow by that point, if I know anything about manmade snow subject to high amounts of traffic.
The Elevator Shaft portion of the course will be used by Elite Wave skaters only; it will not be included on the course for the 30km skiers.
Earlier in the week
Most other Birkie Week events will occur as planned, in a generally recognizable format. Wednesday will be the open track day: three laps for the Birkie, two laps for the Kortelopet, and one lap for the Prince Haakon. Thursday will be a bonus day for open track skiers who may wish to ski with less congestion, plus the Junior Birkie and the Para Birkie.
Friday is Kortelopet day, with a scheduling twist: classic races will be held in the morning, the tracks will be groomed out, and skate races will then be held in the afternoon.
Saturday is 30/50km skate day, as noted above.
Finally, Sunday is classic race day: a 30km race for all waves.
All this information comes from tonight’s webinar, which is embedded above. More information should be available from race organizers soon; stay tuned.
