Skiing the Norwegian Birkebeiner
By Jay Tegeder
(Reprinted with the permission of the author for exclusive use by xcskiworld.com.)
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Part Five: The Birkebeiner Rennet
On Saturday morning, March 21st, Terje drove Dave and I to the start in Rena. The trip there took us about an hour and a half. We had to drive around the mountains that we would later be skiing over. While we were both excited to start the race, we realized the task ahead of us when Terje pointed out the mountains the course traverses as we reached Rena. Once in the parking area, Terje grabbed our backpacks, (which everyone must carry to symbolize the infant King Hakon Hakonsson's rescue in 1206), and made his way to the weigh station to make sure that they each weighed the minimum of 7 kilograms. Inside the packs we carried food, clothing, water, cameras and other gear. My pack was right on the mark while Dave's was several kilos too heavy. As a result, Dave ditched a few items and was ready to go.
Now, the best part of being forty years old was that I had a 45 minute head start on Dave. The Norwegian Birkebeiner rewards age with preferred start positions. They go by 15 minute intervals in 5 year age groups starting with the older skiers after the elite wave takes off. James Dundon, a fellow member of our 50K Club in Saint Paul who did the race, is ten years younger than me so I had a 30 minute cushion on him. Anyway, here's what happened when my wave took off; I felt great! My skis were kicking really well but the glide was fairly slow due to windblown snow, this was the same for everyone though. I had my 7 kilo pack on my back but I wasn't worried since my friend, "Nordic Norm", John O'Connell told me that I wouldn't even notice it during the race. John had completed the Birkebeiner Rennet several years earlier and I was using his Swix pack. By the way, that was only the second time the pack had been used!
However, I should have realized that John didn't feel the pack on his back because he's 6'1" and 200 lbs. Regardless, I soon discovered that I was in for a lot of hard work. The pack was hurting my shoulders after just a couple of kilometers. Plus, the first 15 kilometers are nothing but climbing! Breaking rocks on a chain gang would have probably been easier. UP-UP-UP-UP!!! Maybe I should have trained with that pack on my back but it was too late now. After 15 minutes, I was still climbing and I realized that the next wave had just taken off. Another 15 minutes later, I was still going up when Dundon's group went off. Finally, I reached the 15 kilometer mark and the climbing would be over for awhile. After about a kilometer descent, the climbing began all over again! UP-UP-UP-UP!!! My legs, back and shoulders were screaming. On my way to 20K, I checked my watch and knew Dave was just starting his journey. I remember thinking, "I wonder if Dave knows what's in store for him?" since I had just climbed 600 meters or 1,850 feet. Anyway, I still had 38 kilometers to go in the 58K event! The course from 20 to 30 kilometers was a little easier but still had lots of gradual climbs and short steep hills. Basically, I was on top of Norway, in a windblown area with few trees. When I was coherent, the views from the top of the mountains were spectacular, however, that wasn't too often.
Waiting for the third feed station seemed to take forever. My hamstrings were really tightening up and I needed some energy drink to get re-energized. I would have grabbed some energy bars out of my pack but I didn't have the energy to do it! Finally, I made it to the feed station, had a few drinks and continued on. The course progressed above the tree line and a strong wind was covering up the track in a few places. Basically, it was the hardest race I had ever participated in including the 90 kilometer Swedish Vasaloppet. One more mountain to climb but the second one didn't seem so bad. In fact, it was more of a speed bump, but then, I was probably too out of it to notice. More climbing ensued to the last feed station in Sjusjoen at the 45K mark. From there, the race was finally all downhill. Well, not exactly, there were a few kilometers left of gradual ascending. However, I was glad that the hard part was finally over, now I could relax on the descent into Lillehammer. Not so fast though, as the trail dropped in elevation, the tracks became icy as it had melted and re-frozen at the lower altitudes. At that point, the tracks were like a bob-sled run! I was bouncing around the trail trying to hold on, which was even harder to do with a 7 kilogram pack on my back. On the way down, I passed a lot of people who were out of the tracks snow-plowing (even in Norway!).
Finally, I was in the Olympic stadium, skiing on the same trails the World Cup stars had used four years earlier. A few more strides and the race was over. When I crossed the finish line, I started to feel pretty good again. My time was four hours, forty three minutes which included several stops along the way. Since I came in two hours after the winners, I guess I need to work on my classic technique! Dave Nelson came in at four hours and three minutes just missing his 25% Club Pin. James Dundon's time was three hours and fifty seven minutes. He was the second to last person in his age group to get the coveted 25% Club Award. After recovering from the race, I met up with Dave and went to Hakan's Hall for a shower and also received my race diploma and got my Worldloppet Passport Stamped.
