Countdown to Sonot Kkaazoot on Saturday, 29 March 2014

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

The Arctic Winter Games are over and the secret is out: the best skiing of the season at Birch Hill Recreation Area is now. Today at 11:00 a.m. ADT, it was 24 deg F and sunny at Birch Hill but air temperatures had risen above freezing by 1:00 p.m. However, with low temperatures near zero predicted for the river this week, the Sonot Kkaazoot should be able to safely start and finish on the Chena River near the Cushman Street bridge. The plan is for the groomers to head out on Tuesday to look over the length of the river and ditch course sections, and then if they deem the course safe, will groom on Wednesday. Thus, a final decision on the course will be made before bib pick-up, to be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, 27 March 2014 at the Doyon, Ltd., Headquarters Building in downtown Fairbanks.

Look at these happy skiers who had already skied about 10 km before they were planning to ski down the Black Hole:

All 50 km of trails will look this wonderful on Saturday, too.

Regular registration for Sonot Kkaazoot ends on Friday, 21 March 2014

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Registration via the U.S. mail or via drop-off at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports, and Raven Cross Country will end on Friday, 21 March 2014 at 5 p.m. Electronic registration prices will go up to “late registration” levels at 12:00 a.m. on 22 March 2014 and will close at 11:59.59 p.m. on Wednesday, 26 March 2014.

Bib pick-up will be 27 March 2014 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Doyon Limited Building, and late registrations will be taken then.

Save by registering for the Sonot Kkaazoot now. We have a great snow pack and it will cost you more to decide at bib pick-up or a lot more on the day-of-the-race.

Has the Sonot Kkaazoot become an event just for “old people”?

Posted on February 22, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Nordic skiers tend to be very frugal while also having a tendency to procrastinate. However, early registration for the 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot will end on 28 February (less than a week away) and only 19 skiers have registered, 15 of whom are older than 55 years old. As was the case last year, the White Mountain 100 is scheduled for the day after the Sonot Kkaazoot so the uber endurance athletes may have their focus there. This year the US Ski Association Super Tour Spring Races are being held in Anchorage the same week as the Sonot so the elite skiers wanting to test themselves against recent Olympians will be in Anchorage. So where are the rest of the skiers that we see on the trails at Birch Hill and UAF? This bib entitles you to ski on up to 50 km of perfectly groomed trails and feed stations that will provide you with fluids, food, and plenty of encouragement.

Online registration is quick and easy. Just go to the “register” page near the top of this website. Or if you prefer, entry forms are available at Beaver Sports, Goldstream Sports, and Raven Cross Country (as well as in the Birch Hill Recreation buildings). Remember after Friday, registration for all distances and ages will increase by $10.

Call for Sonot Kkaazoot volunteers

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Call for Sonot volunteers:

NO forms to fill out

NO picture ID

NO background check

NO mandatory orientation (you can learn your job in five minutes)

Volunteering can be fun.

Click on the “Volunteers” page above to see why.

Literary credit to Professor Emeritus Frank Soos

Training for the Sonot Kkaazoot in the cold

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Unlike Sochi, where the Olympic cross country skiers are dealing with tropical conditions and deep slush, we will have firm trails with deep natural snow for Sunday’s third Buetow Dental Distance Race, the Raven Run. Anticipating rather cold temperatures, John Estle, Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks Competition Director, has selected the warmest, flattest course possible at Birch Hill Recreation Area. The 4-lap course gives skiers a 14 or 30 km option.

Here’s a map of the course:

In spite of the flatter course, classical skiing may be a faster option than skating for most skiers given the possibility of some delightful hoarfrost snow before or during this event. However, this final race in this season’s Distance Series will be a good endurance workout with the Sonot Kkaazoot a little over 6 weeks away. Also, you need to race to be eligible for the post-race drawing of valuable ski equipment and supplies from Raven Cross Country.

Reminder to the procrastinators out there, the Sonot Kkaazoot early registration ends in two weeks. Make the commitment now and save some money to use on the post-race celebration.

Sonot Kkaazoot training class starts 21 January 2014

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Sonot Kkaazoot

Once again, the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks will offer an eight-week ski class designed to help prepare adult skiers for the Sonot Kkaazoot. The course is held Tuesday nights at Birch Hill Recreation area from 6 to 7:30 p.m. More information can be found here:

http://www.nscfairbanks.org/index.php/adult-lessons2/749-feb-2014-adult-lessons

with online registration available here:

http://www.nscfairbanks.org/index.php/racing/754-online-registration-for-adult-lessons-is-open

This is a great way to improve your marathon technique and strategy skills from an instructor with lots of experience doing the Sonot Kkaazoot.

First Distance Race is Saturday, 14 December 2013

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

The first of the Buetow Dental Distance Series races presented by Raven Cross Country (thank you, Fred Raymond) will be held at Birch Hill Recreation Area this Saturday, at 11 a.m. The 7.5/15 km race is freestyle. Sign up for all the Distance Races and the Sonot Kkaazoot and save on registration costs. The Distance Races provide an excellent opportunity to ramp up toward the 40 and 50 km Sonot Kkaazoot.

In spite the second major wind storm of the season, the trail groomers will make sure that the course is awesome by race time.

Have you made your donation to the Birch Hill Trails fund yet? Here’s the link to do so online: http://www.nscfairbanks.org/index.php/trails/519-great-grooming-costs-money-donate-to-nscf-trails-now). Without donations to pay for equipment, fuel, and trained operators, grooming that leads to our fantastic trail conditions will need to be cut back.

Hope to see you on the trails soon.

Yes, the snow in Fairbanks is late this year

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

It isn’t just the selective memory of skiers and dog mushers, this is an unusually warm October. More importantly, the cumulative snowfall is well below the long-term averages for Fairbanks International Airport.

From Chris Swingley’s fantastic weather site (http://swingleydev.com/weather/local_weather.php), here’s a graphic showing how different this “winter” has been to date:

On “average” we’d have almost 6 inches of snow on the ground by 19 October, and thanks to our well-maintained and groomed trails at Birch Hill, we’d likely be skiing.

Temperatures are supposed to drop this week, however, we’ll still be on the “warm” side of normal (graphic from National Weather Service):

At least, the lows should be dropping back below freezing so the probability of retaining any snow we might get increases. We certainly hope to be skiing by the Ski Fest to be held at Birch Hill on Saturday, November 2. We’ll be there to sign-up skiers for the Sonot Kkaazoot at the lowest possible entry fees from 1 to 4 p.m. at Birch Hill Recreation Area.

Forecast calls for dryland training in Fairbanks through late October

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

The unseasonably warm October temperatures in much of Alaska are predicted to continue at least through the end of October. Although much of the government has been closed down for since 1 October, the National Weather Service, because of the “essential” nature of their work, has been issuing weather forecasts and warnings. Sadly, for cross country skiers, the forecasts aren’t encouraging. The figure below is today’s 8 to 14 day forecast, and you can see by the intense red over interior Alaska that any precipitation we’re likely to see, probably won’t be in the solid form.

Although you can stone grind and wax your skis in anticipation of the upcoming ski season, you probably should plan on dryland training for a couple of more weeks. If you can’t face ski walking, rollerskiing, or watching mold grow on your snow shovels, you could consider some ski-specific strength training that might help when winter finally comes to interior Alaska:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRXB5vEOmC8

Remember that the Sonot Kkaazoot will be held a week later than normal because of Arctic Winter Games, so you’ll be less behind on your on-snow Sonot Kkaazoot preparation than you might have been.

Special people who make the Sonot Kkaazoot possible

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Sonot Kkaazoot

In the Fairbanks area, equinox is a time of rapid transition from light to dark and back again. It is also the time for our two marathon events, the Equinox Marathon (Ultramarathon, and Relay) held on the Saturday nearest the autumnal equinox, and the Sonot Kkaazoot held during the vernal equinox period. With the 51th Equinox Marathon successfully contested a little over a week ago, it’s time to start preparing for the 27th Sonot Kkaazoot.

For the first post for the 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot season, I wanted to focus not on the skiers who participate in the Sonot, but on the various race volunteers that make the event possible.

Because the Sonot Kkaazoot starts on the Chena River and then traverses on trails groomed just for this event, there are road crossings that needed to be staffed with volunteers who shovel snow over the road as cars pass by:

and direct cars and skiers at three different locations:

Not only do cars present risks to Sonot skiers, at the Fort Wainwright ski hill, the racers need to be directed away from alpine skiers, snowboarders, and those on tubes:

And someone has to organize all these people (and supply them with nifty visible vests) and Sam Lamont did that task (and took all the photographs in this post):

Feed stations were staffed by local high school ski teams and their parents except for the finish line that Bob Wilkinson staffed in addition to his efforts organizing the feed stations and the cleaning up the jugs after the event:

Organizing the start/finish area and providing commentary throughout the day was Kent Karns:

Dan Baker took on setting up the course and sweeping it after the race:

In between he took a lot of race photographs that should soon be available on his photography website:

http://www.retrospectionimage.com/

Timers for the Sonot Kkaazoot are on the Chena River from the first start to the last finish. Here are the two intrepid members of the timing crew still at work when the last racer finished:

And then finally, there’s Bad Bob Baker, who worked with the 2013 Sonot organizers way more than he planned to make sure that the Sonot Kkaazoot continued beyond his tenure as race organizer:

I hope that you’ll consider joining these volunteers for the 27th Sonot Kkaazoot on Saturday, 29 March 2014. Leave a comment and we’ll contact you.

Sonot Kkaazoot

Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks' annual spring ski marathon

Category Archives: 2014 Sonot Kkaazoot information