From Bob Baker, RACE  DIRECTOR, here are the rules.    

All participants will only be allowed to participate in the race that they are registered in.  If a participant decides to change their race distance, they must check in at the bib pickup and make the change before 9:30am.  They will be reassigned a new bib for their chosen race distance.  They should not wait till the last minute.  Once race day bib pickup is complete, participants will only be timed based on their final race selection before the start of the race. 

SO, for example:  a 30 km participant decides they are feeling great and continues on to finish the 50 km, they would be disqualified, same thing if a 50 km participant decides that they have had enough and finishes at the 30 km point, they would also be disqualified.      

SIMPLE  RULES……Participate in only the race you are officially signed up for….  PLEASE…  this is a great and FUN event, there is no need to confuse everyone involved.    PARTICIPATE   IN  ONLY WHAT  YOU  HAVE   REGISTERED   FOR…..  

When late registration ended at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, 23 March 2023, 191 skiers had signed up for the 36th Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot. Eighty-seven skiers selected the 10 km course, 53 will embark on the 30 km course, and 51 will start the 50 km course.

Day of race bib pickup is at Rikka’s Roadhouse (small building next to the Timing Building) from 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. only.

We look forward to seeing you on the awesomely groomed trails on Saturday. Mass start for the 10 km event is at 10:00 a.m. and for the 30 and 50 km events at 10:15 a.m.

Race banquet and awards ceremony starts at 6:00 p.m. at the Birch Hill Recreation Building, upstairs.

Have fun, skiers and race volunteers!

All registration for the Sonot Kkaazoot is online (see Sonot Kkaazoot main page for link) and will end tonight at 11:59 p.m. Early bib pickup is tonight upstairs at the Birch Hill Recreation Center from 5 to 7 p.m. Please participate as it will make race day easier for you and for race organizers.

Once you have picked up a bib, you must ski that course. If you have already registered, you can change courses prior to bib pickup but will need to go to the line for new registrations and changes. If you have registered for the 10 km event and now want to enter the 30 or 50 km events, you will need to pay the additional entry fee with cash or check. We cannot take credit cards. If you do not have internet access, we can register you tonight.

We currently (9:30 a.m. Thursday) have 180 skiers signed up for the 36th Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot.

The courses on the attached maps (course maps on Sonot Kkaazoot website) were plotted in the same FIS Homologation Software (online software) used to generate the specs for our FIS-Homologated competition courses.  The elevation data was based on a digital elevation model (DEM) generated from “the National Map” a USGS-provided data set.  Using a DEM from the National Map is an accepted practice as part of the FIS course-homologation process.  TC = “Total Climb” – the sum of all the partial height differences of every elevation gain on the course.

Section 1 = TC 626m / 16,572m

Section 2 = TC 408m / 14,135m (1034m / 30,707m partial total)

Section 3 = TC 655m / 20,021m (1689m / 50, 728m total)

———————–

Total = 1689m

Those amounts work out to an average of 33.3m/Km of climbing.  FIS specs for race courses over 5Km in length are required to be in the range of 25m/Km to 42m/Km.  The Sonot course is 33% above the minimum.  That amount of climb per Km is a degree of “physical challenge” (a FIS term) that is not typical for “popular competitions” (how FIS would categorize the Sonot Kkaazoot were it a FIS competition).  Most 50Km popular competition fall below the lower limit of the FIS specs.  On the other hand . . . a course used for a World Cup 50Km would still be legal with 25% more climbing than the Sonot course.  And the top male skiers would probably do that under two hours on fast snow.

Black Funk 5Km, South Tower 5Km and the Tower Island-Surprise 1350m sprint course (courses used at the 2023 Junior Nationals) are among about 10 homologated courses at Birch Hill for which the course specs were generated from that same DEM/dataset.  No dataset is perfect, and there are always errors in measurements.  However, the FIS Homologation Committee believes that datasets such as the one I used for the Birch Hill courses is sufficient to use as a basis for certifying that the course is what the specs say it is.

You can find homologation info at fis-ski.com > Cross Country > Homologations.  Use USA in the nation field and apply the filter and you can see all the homologated courses in the US.

There is no homologation certificate for the Birkie course.  However, you might try contacting Allan Serrano (allanjserrano@gmail.com) who was the FIS Homologation Inspector for a 30Km course at Seeley Hills, WI, part of which might be part of the BIrkie course.  He might be able to provide you with some approximate (or precise) specs for the Birkie course itself.

Can’t think of anything else informative to add.

–-John Estle email to Eric Troyer on how the total climb for the 50 km course was calculated

The sun is out and the temperatures have risen dramatically. What excuses do you have for not registering for the 36th Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot? It will truly be a spring event this year.

As of 3:50 p.m. today, we have 36 skiers signed up for the 10 km event, 20 for the 30 km, and 42 for the 50 km. That leaves lots of woodels not being contested at present. Regular Sonot Kkaazoot registration ends tomorrow night, so don’t delay or you’ll have to pay late registration fees. There is no registration after 11:59 p.m. ADT Thursday night so don’t be disappointed.

Early bib pickup will be Thursday night from 5 to 7 p.m. upstairs in the Birch Hill Recreation Center. Please participate. All registration is online.

We need a couple of folks to help out at the Awards Banquet on Saturday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at Birch Hill Recreation Area.

Please contact me at: contact@sonotkkaazoot.org if you can help the Baker family out on this matter.