The weather this year was nothing less than perfect. With an inversion in effect the temperatures at the start of the course were in the mid 20’s. Clear sky’s and sunshine led to increasing temperatures throughout the race which translates to faster conditions as the race progresses. I took a gamble and waxed a little warmer than recommendations hoping the snow would warm up soon after the start. My skies felt a little slow at the beginning but, overall, I think my wax choice paid off in the end.The first six kilometers are hilly with some narrow sections making it hard to pass other skiers. After about three kilometers I was making good progress moving to the front of my wave when we approached a steep downhill section. While trying to pass on the outside I was railroaded off the course and crashed in deep snow off to the side. As I pulled my head out of the snow drift I watched my whole wave ski off down the hill. After pulling myself together and bridging the gap I started to gain position in the middle of the wave again. While making another attempt to pass on a narrow section of trail I hit a rut and went down for the second time. Feeling like an idiot and my heart rate spiking off the charts I gathered my self up and started the process all over again.
I ended the race with a time of 1:28:37; sixteen minutes faster than my previous time for a new PR. The summary results are as follows:
Overall Winning Time 1:10:55
My Finnish Time 1:28:37
Overall Place 161
Overall Men Place 131
Division Place 26
