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24 Hours of Telemark &endash; “Ski Forever” By Chris Ransom   On January 12, 2002, Telemark Ski Resort in Cable, Wisconsin hosted the 24 Hours at Telemark, a nonstop 24 hour ski race. Six-person teams, four-person teams and a solo freak 12 and 24-hour category were offered. Once again I found myself at the starting line in the 24 Hour Solo Freak category. Having participated in last year’s inaugural event, I was anxious to see if I could repeat my winning distance of 310k in 24 hours. For the most part, last year had been easy. This year, however, would be a very different story. For starters, the course had been changed. A new 10k loop took out the screamin, S-turn, downhill off of Mount Telemark due to numerous complaints that it was too difficult and too dangerous. I’d rather enjoyed that downhill, given my Alpine background. Sharp downhills have a way of keeping you wide eyed at 3:00 in the morning. Little did I know, at the start-this year, that the new course would offer a different downhill of equal challenge and wide-eyed terror. We’ve of course been in a snow drought here in the Midwest. Due to the minimal snow coverage most races have been cancelled. 24-Hours of Telemark was the only race held that weekend which is a credit to the race organizers and volunteers who were forced to shovel snow onto the course and groom continuously during the 24 hour period. The actual trail was extremely convoluted and hard packed, necessitating constant ankle maneuvering. My ankles and feet were sore for days after the race. Temperatures ranged from a mid-day high of 25 degrees to a low of 10 degrees at night, with medium to high humidity. Because of these conditions, along with coarse, dirty snow, I chose an older pair of Fischer skis. I waxed with a mix of Solda Ivory and Solda Orange, covered with Solda 100% Fluro. What is amazing is I skied on the same skis the entire race. I never re-waxed and the ski base was still black at the end of the race, although with some new nicks and dings. My skis were as fast as anyone I encountered on the course. I followed the same race strategy as last year. It was developed with my partner, Juli Lynch, an adventure racer and ultra distance runner, who won the Women’s Solo Freak race last year, skiing 210k in 24 hours. Juli couldn’t be at the race this year, so I was on my own. However, Juli’s sister, Laura Toepfer provided crew support. Crew support in such a race is crucial and definitely a competitive advantage in skiing forever. A good support person, who is willing to organize and anticipate your needs throughout the race is invaluable. The strategy I followed was to ski in 4-hour blocks, which included 30 second to one minute stops for fluids and nourishment, such as apple and orange slices at the trailside tent I had set up. At the end of the 4-hour block, I went to my trailside hotel room. In the next 30-minutes I took a hot shower, changed to dry, warm clothes, dried my boots and gloves with a hair dryer and took 5-minutes to lay flat on my back with my legs elevated while contemplating what to eat. A buffet, put out by Laura, included crackers, cheese, pickles, mashed potatoes, tomato soup, spaghetti, macaroni & cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. One can see that the support person does their own 24-hour race from trailside to hotel room. It was my support person’s vigilance of that 30-minutes time period that got me back out on the trail. Without Laura’s verbal countdown, “You have 10-minues left,” it would have been easy to take a longer break. The strategy was to maintain this schedule for the entire 24 hours. After all, I figured anyone can ski around and around a 10k course. The trick is to ski around and around a 10k course for 24 hours. As it turns out, the real race began for me in the last eight hours. The race began at 10a.m. on Saturday, but it was dark by 4:30 p.m., so most of the race is skied wearing headlamps. Once again this year I used the NightPro, 12 watt “Headshot,” a durable, lightweight lamp that lights the night trail. Adventure racing has taught me that the brighter the light, the better to maintain alertness and an ability to ski quickly across the terrain. Race standings were difficult to pin down after each lap. Reportedly, after about 17 hours, I was one lap behind Michael Schmitz, so I decided to ski the remaining seven hours, skipping the 30 minute hotel room break. I also picked up my per lap pace (see lap-by-lap splits at www.teamsportsinc.com). I was focused now on not only beating my record from 2001, but also on finishing first. On one lap, my headlamp dimmed as I approached the one skied-out, icy downhill that had already claimed the knee of one of the competitors. I remember racing toward the hill, trying to beat the impending black of night to get down the blind cornered drop. The initial rush of concern became a rush of adrenaline and I exited the chute unscathed to ski onto the Telemark stadium where the night sky greeted me with a burst of star bright constellations. My legs no longer felt the grind of the last eighteen hours. They snapped into smooth, long glides in rhythm with my Infinity poles. My breathing was slow and deep. I was truly, “in-the-zone.”I felt like I could push my legs as hard as I wanted and there was no pain. The warm red light of dawn kept my energy flowing. Each time I passed my trailside tent, Laura would hand-off a warm water bottle filled with Clipp 2, an energy drink and Buffer tabs, an electrolyte replacement, both designed for ultra runners. Kevin Setnes of Ultrafit (www.ultrafit.com), an internationally recognized ultra runner from Wisconsin had helped Juli and I plan for our hydration, electrolyte and nutrition requirements in last years race. We were so convinced his products had contributed to our success in 2001, I decided to rely on them again this year. As I went into final lap I knew I had at least matched my record. The final results reported that I had completed 330 laps and that Mike had completed 310. What a race that was! Michael had a phenomenal race, and without knowing it, had pushed me to exceed. So how does one recover from such an event and go on to race a full season that will include the American Birkebeiner, World Masters and National Masters? I began my recovery immediately by consuming 40oz of Clipp 2 and taking recovery supplements. I also went to sleep as soon as the awards ceremony was completed and got two massages over the next 2 days. I skid lightly 2 days after the event, but made no hard training effort for a week. Within 10 days of the event, I was race ready again. Although the race was definitely tougher for me this year, there was never a moment when I wasn’t glad I was out there skiing. I was never bored. I was never wishing I was somewhere else. My conversations about skiing 24 hours with people, after last years race, left me mostly perplexed. Why did I have so many people shake their heads and say, “it seemed impossible for me to do?” Two of my friends, John and Russ had switched over from skiing on a relay team to participate this year as 24-Hour Solo Freaks. They both reported how much they enjoyed the solitude and the freedom of skiing their own pace. I am hoping others get the message that skiing forever is simply a state of mind &endash; a 24-hour meditation &endash; with the added thrill of racing. My chief learning to pass on to those who’d like try skiing forever is the importance of a support crew and the personal satisfaction that comes from trying something new and challenging. Thanks to Tom Schuler and Team Sports for expanding our skiing horizons. Hope to see you on the trails.      _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Team Sports Events W220 N1560 Jericho Ct #3 Waukesha, WI 53186 Ph: 262-549-6801 x30, Fax: 262-549-6825 Home, Telemark Resort, Rules, Registration, Directions, Map, News, Volunteer, Results, Sponsors, Email Us, Team Sports Home