Bob Toth finished his virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on 6:59:42. Bob commented that he was “skiing with skate gear doing my unique and possibly inimitable Free (of anything approaching) Style ‘technique.” 

Bob writes:

“First off thanks to all who put the whole Birch Hill ski season together. My time should cinch 50k red lantern but believe it or not, I am absolutely tickled with it.

Wednesday, when I hit the trail at 5:49 pm I wasn’t sure if I would do the 10, 30 or 50k.^. After the Start Loop, I bypassed the White Bear Access and hit the Warmup, first decision made. As I ‘cruised’  the Blacks, big flakes made it deeper but kept things slippery, that is when I started thinking I could do a 2 or 3 stage 50k. It was getting pretty dim by the time I finished the Medivac so I decided to bypass the White Bear segments and closed the evening by taking the Warmup Loop to the timer’s building.

After only one day’s rest (I usually take two) I completed the White Bear sections of the 30k, then skied across the stadium and up the ramp to begin the final 20 of the 50, finishing stage two with the Medivac at about dark. Sunday evening it was top of White Bear Access to the finish, crossing the line at 8:31pm.

Total elapsed time start to finish:

4 days 2 hours and 42 minutes

6:59:42

trail time for the 50k. Whew kept it under 7 hours,-)”

Mark Winford skate skied his virtual 10 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Saturday in 41:20.

Mark writes: “My first ever 10k race.  Fun little course.  Beautiful conditions on this day.  I think that I honestly would have recovered easier from the 50k. ;-)”

Owen W. Hanley and Steve Taylor skate skied the virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Sunday. Owen’s time was 3:11.60 and Steve’s was 3:14:40 as shown below:

Owen writes: “The trails held up nicely since the Friday grooming although the snow felt slow and the thin layer of powder over the tracks did seem to slow things down as well. We also had an encounter with the bull moose. Great to have the sun out and see so many other people on the trails!”

Jonathan Denton skate skied the virtual 10 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot last week in about 45 minutes.

Jon writes: “I jumped on my skate skis a week and a half ago after work to kick off the Sonot season. The air was warm and the snow was like wet concrete. It was a battle and I found double polling in the tracks to be quicker than V2 on the flats. It was a good warm up for the 50K. My time was about 45 minutes.”

Jon Denton skate skied his virtual 50 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot on Saturday in 3:31:30.

Jon writes: “Thank you for the Sonot Khazoot!  This was my first 50k race.  My time around the course on skate skis was 3:31:30.  I added east ramp and white bear access to hit the 50K mark at 3:41:16.  The trails were amazing.  There was a bull moose at the top of Black Hole.  He told me that willows are best before noon and that I would be in big trouble if I had taken the high road cut off. It was a great race and fun to see people out enjoying the fast spring snow.”

Max Kaufman skate skied his 30 km virtual Denalii State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot in 1:54:58.

He writes: “I started too late on Saturday and got caught on course by some snow showers.  That slowed things down for me, and sadly,  I wasn’t able to beat my classic time. The corduroy was great while it lasted.”

Erica Blake skated the virtual 30 km Denali State Bank Sonot Kkaazoot in 2:44.

She writes: “Snow was slower than expected and my skis were not waxed for the cold slow snow, but completed the 30k course under glorious sunshine, and finished smiling.”