I’ve just returned from the Haywood NorAm Cross Country Canada races held in Duntroon, Ontario. This was the third event in the NorAm series, a Canadian circuit that attracts the best skiers in the country. These races helped choose athletes to represent Canada at upcoming Junior and U23 World Championships.
The event featured three races: Open/U23 women raced a 15 km skiathlon on Thursday, a 1.4 km classic sprint Saturday, and 10 km freestyle individual start race Sunday. It’s hard to believe that 2 weeks ago there was no snow on the ground at Highlands Nordic, as volunteers and race organizers put together a great event. The Thursday and Friday races were cold, extremely windy, and marked by drastic weather changes (Friday went from sunny and clear to a snowstorm with almost no visibility). Thankfully the weather warmed up and winds died down for the weekend races.
I’ve been on many sides of harsh weather at xc ski events (coach, volunteer, race organizer, athlete) and believe that the athletes have the easiest job of the bunch!
I really enjoyed the racing, had fun with my XC Ottawa teammates, and we had incredible wax support from John Suuronen and Peter Rozmovits. The Highlands Nordic clubhouse was warm and welcoming, and served a nice assortment of homemade dishes and treats, including an incredible banana chocolate chip bread.
My races were powered by one of the largest cheering sections out there thanks to a large contingent of Nakkertok Nordic athletes, parents, and coaches who were in Duntroon for the Ontario Cup portion of the event (I coach at Nakkertok). It seems my bib number/seeding did a good job determining my placing – and I was pretty consistent over the different events, finishing 15th in the skiathlon, 14th in the sprint, and 14th in the 10 km freestyle.
Here are some more pictures from the races.
You can read Cross Country Canada’s reporting of the events here: Skiathlon, Sprint, Distance Freestyle
You can read more of Sheila’s racing updates here
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