Frosty Freestyle Cross Country Ski Race

It was gray, damp and not so frosty for the inaugural REI Frosty 5/15k Freestyle cross-country ski race hosted by Huron Meadows Metropark on Saturday, January 16. Undeterred by the mid-winter thaw, Metropark trail groomers were able to skillfully move enough snow around to give the racers a fast track. 

The race is part of the Michigan Cup series of cross-country ski races, organized by Nordicskiracer.com. A freestyle race, most racers used the faster skating technique while a few traditionalists traveled the course using the classic "diagonal stride" technique. Thanks to the grooming team's efforts, the skating lane was snow covered. The deeper classic tracks suffered from bare spots in places though.

The race officials instituted a double-pole start in which all skate skiers had to propel themselves off the starting line with poles only past a predetermined point about 50 yards down the course. This was to keep racers from tangling skis before the pack thinned.

Dave Maclean of Grand Rapids won the Men's 15k and was the overall winner. Ann Arbor's Cheryl Darton won the Women's 15k race. 15 year old Alexy Vermeulen won the 5k race. Lisa Kaniewski finished the 5k race 4th overall and was first woman.

Kaniewski is a Hartland resident and Pinckney High School math teacher. She just started skiing 3 years ago and this was her first race. See her interview below.

It was nice to see racers of many skill levels participating. There were serious Michigan Cup series contenders right along with curious recreational skiers trying racing for the first time. I'm sure all involved hope this becomes an annual event.