Sverge: Oppet Spar

So my ultramania over the last 12 months was all pointed in one direction...completing a 90 km classic ski race in Mora, Sweden. Not an easy task since I'm not much of a classic skier. In March 2010, I got serious about Mora after finishing my first 50km classic event at the Buckwheat Classic; a lovely mountainous track in northern British Columbia near the boarder of the Canadian Yukon. It took me 5:25 minutes and it was hard to imagine skiing 90 km in a year. But, in late February 2011, my partner and I arrived in Stockholm toting several pairs of skis, a variety of waxes, and a bottle of Ibuprofen. We spent a couple of days touring the beautiful city founded in the thirteenth century and now covering eight islands. We stayed in an older area called Gomla Stan (the site of much of Steig Larrson's fiction) and shopped with abandon, forgetting momentarily that we were hauling everything on our backs and in ski bags. As we struggled to find a seat on the crowded train heading to Mora, we realized it would have made more sense to shop just prior to our departure 10 days later. The town of Mora encapsulates everything I pictured in terms of a Scandanavian village. A lovely old church close to the train station with small, neat shops and tidy colorful homes set close to a large lake. It was sunny every day and there was abundant snow. I splurged and bought skate blades after watching local families blading around a 3 mile course plowed daily across the lake. There were 56,000 skiers skiing various races during the Vasaloppet week, ending with the 90 km Vasaloppet. I registered for two races, the 90 km Oppet Spar (held on both Sunday and Monday a week before the Vasaloppet) and the 45 km skate race, the Sjevasan, on Friday. My partner signed up for a 45 km classic race. We also met three friends there. Jim, from Minnesota, is a serious racer and something of a wax-god. Sharon and Sally are also from Alaska. The four of us were here for fun and yes, with the collective goal of completing our ski events smiling and in minimal pain.

My 90 km event began with a long climb of 1200 feet out of a valley. There were 6500 racers around me stomping up the track as the sun rose above the surrounding hills. It under 20 degrees and I chilled during a long steady downhill. Also, I was mildly freaked out by the kilometer markers at every kilometer... only 88 kilometers to go!
There were seven rest stops along the 57 mile course, three times I took off my skis (after pouring hot water on the frozen bindings) and addressed a blister on my right foot. The stops offered the traditional blue-berry soup, Cardamom buns, and professional waxing services...sweet, but my kick wax actually held and I only re-waxed once at the half-way point. The course was groomed to perfection, starting with 8 tracks across (can you imagine?). Midway, the course dropped to 6 tracks as skiers spaced out and finally only 4 tracks over the last 25 kilometers. The hardest part of the entire race for me was the mental challenge of skiing much further than I had ever classic skied (or skate skied for that matter). And, in Juneau, with a rainy January, my longest training ski had been 26 miles slogging through wet, heavy snow on a self-made course in a colder, alpine valley which took me, and my companions, 90 minutes of hiking and skinning to reach. So, daunted by the length of this event, I set a slow and steady pace. Mentally, it was still hard to cope with the distance although with each 10 kilometers I felt better about it. My cautious pace worked well because the last 30 kilometers were by far the easiest skiing for me. I was thrilled to stride into Mora before dark, feeling surprisingly energetic.
The next day Kari finished her 45 kilometer race looking like she'd skied half as far.
Our friend Jim accompanied her during the final ten kilometers through the finish line.

I had three lovely days off before my 45 kilometer skate race. The five of us toured the Mora ski museum.
Where I spotted "Ostbye" ski wax from 1915. Ostbye was my Norwegian grandmother's last name, so I'm wondering if there's a genetic link which may explain my ski addiction! Under Jim's tutoring, we spent four hours one morning waxing away with the pros. We actually were surrounded by pros since we were staying in the same hotel as the German and Italian racing teams. Talk about hard-bodies! The viewing opportunities justified our spending a fair amount of time hanging in the hotel bar.
Finally, I am beginning to understand the complexity of kick wax.
Although our marathon wax session focused on waxing the glide zones for our skate race on Friday.

Friday was another gorgeous day. Sharon finished a few minutes ahead of me and I skated the last five kilometers with two crazy Italians trying to spur me on.
And at the last rest stop, Swedish radio interviewed me and asked all about skiing in Alaska.
Sally had a terrific ski! Here we are celebrating our last night in Mora. Did I mention that the food was delicious?
On Saturday morning we caught the early train for Stockholm. That ends my crazy year of ultras (7 ultras and 4 marathon distance events). What's the next challenge??? Maybe a year on the sofa mastering War and Peace.