American Birkebeiner

The American Birkebeiner (or Birkie) is the largest cross-country ski race in North America, and one of the longest. It debuted in 1973 and was a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons.^[1] The two premier events are the 50 km (31 mi) freestyle and the 55 km (34 mi) classic races from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. Each year more than 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, 29 km Kortelopet,^[2] and 15 km Prince Haakon events.

Origin[]

The race, which is held annually in February, was started in 1973 by Tony Wise. Wise, who started the Telemark Ski Area in Cable, Wisconsin in 1947, helped to popularize modern-day cross-country skiing when he built trails at Telemark in 1972. In February 1973, Wise drew on his Norwegian heritage in starting a race named after a famous event in Norway.

The Birkie was named after the Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet, which commemorates an important historical event. In 1206 a group of Birkebeiner party soldiers, who fought for Sverre Sigurdsson and his descendants in the Norwegian civil war, smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway's King Håkon Sverresson from Lillehammer to safety in Trondheim. In the Norwegian Birkie, classical ski participants still carry 3.5-kilogram (7.7 lb) packs symbolizing the weight of the young child-prince, Haakon.^[3]

Race[]

Skiers from around the world come to Hayward, Wisconsin for the race. The Birkie has a reputation for attracting skiers of varying ability levels. Olympians and national team members have competed in the event, and the Birkie also draws recreational skiers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and countries such as neighboring Ontario, Canada as well as Norway, Sweden, and other European nations. The race weekend also includes the shorter 29 km Kortelopet "Korte", a race geared more toward recreational and elite junior skiers, and the Prince Haakon 15 km event for those who are not ready to take on the challenge of the longer courses. In 2013, registration was capped at 10,000 skiers, with an additional 20,000 spectators on the sidelines cheering on the competitors.

The Birkie course is quite hilly and is recognized as one of the more difficult cross country ski marathon courses in the world, despite the fact that there are several World Loppet events in Europe that are much longer.^{[citation needed]} The current north-south alignment (used since 1992) has skiers traversing a 2 km (1.2 mi) flat section before turning onto the "Powerline Hills", a series of climbs to the 4.5 km (2.8 mi) mark. The trail then rolls until 12 km (7.5 mi), when Firetower Hill takes competitors to 1,730 ft (530 m), the high point of the race and a climb of nearly 400 ft (120 m) from the race start. In the early years of the race, the Birkie began with a climb up the alpine slopes of Mount Telemark, mainly as a publicity stunt, but larger field sizes made this impractical. Beyond High Point is a series of downhills, including "Bobblehead Hill" or "Sledder Hill", which has a rather tricky downhill, left turn near a snowmobile trail — allowing dozens of snowmobilers to watch and "score" skiers' falls. The trail rises steeply to the crossing of County Road OO (Referred to as "Double-Oh") which, at 22.8 km (14.2 mi), is the unofficial halfway point of the race. Until 2001, the 23 km (14 mi) Kortelopet race ended here but was rerouted back to Telemark after splitting off from the main course at 9 km (5.6 mi). Since 2017, the Kortelopet is 29 km (18 mi) and begins at OO and finishes on Main Street the day before the 50km race.

Beyond OO the course is less hilly, but by no means flat. After 40 km (25 mi) is the aptly named "Bitch Hill" where spectators cheer skiers up the steepest climb of the race. Several kilometers later (just south of Highway 77) the last lengthy ascents of the race---Sunset Hill & Duffy Hill---challenge tired skiers. From the top, Hayward's water tower is a most welcome sight. There are several road crossings and open fields before the skiers cross frozen Lake Hayward. The 4 km (2.5 mi) crossing of the lake is obviously flat, but unprotected from wind. Once off the lake, the trail twists through the outskirts of Hayward on snow trucked in for the event. Over the course of hours, thousands of tired and proud skiers make their way past three blocks of cheering spectators lining Hayward's Main Street. Warm conditions have occasionally required the finish line to be moved to a flat field just west of the lake.

The race begins with several waves in order to thin skiers out along the course. Alternating skate and classical waves depart every five minutes. New skiers must ski in the last wave unless they use another ski marathon time to qualify for a higher wave. One man has completed every Birkie since the first one in 1973; Ernie St. Germaine, a former employee of the Telemark Resort, where the Birkebeiner starts every year.

In 2020 it was announced that the 2021 Birkie would be a shortened 43-kilometer race that would take place over the course of February 24th-28th, 2021. The course was modified as well with skiers starting and finishing at the starting line in Cable, WI.

Winners[]

The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation website lists winners of the Birkebeiner and Kortelopet from 1973.^[4]

Year	Men	Women
	,  Sweden	,  USA
	,  USA	(2),  USA
	Chris Haines,  USA	,  USA
	,  Norway	Jana Hlavaty,  USA
	(2),  Norway	Berit Lammedal,  Norway
	Alfred Kaelin,  Norway	,  Norway
	,  Norway	Judy Rabinowitz,  USA
	,  Norway	,  Norway
	Jean-Paul Pierrat,  France	,  USA
	Ola Hassis,  Sweden	(2),  Norway
	,  Austria	,  USA
	Bengt Hassis,  Sweden	,  Norway
	Oddvar Brå,  Norway	,  USA
	Anders Blomquist,  Sweden	(2),  USA
	Konrad Hallenbarter,   Switzerland	,  USA
	Örjan Blomquist,  Sweden	,  USA
	Örjan Blomquist (2),  Sweden	Betsy Youngman,  USA
	,  Austria	,  USA
	(2),  Austria	Ingrid Butts,  USA
	Todd Boonstra,  USA	Nina Skeime,  Norway
	(3),  Austria	Suzanne King,  USA
	,  Czech Republic	Heike Wezel,  Germany
	Andre Jungen,   Switzerland	Maria Theurl,  Austria
	Silvano Barco,  Italy	Gudrun Pflueger,  Austria
	Mikhail Botwinov,  Austria	Gudrun Pflueger (2),  Austria
	Carl Swenson,  USA	Jennifer Douglas,  USA
	Johann Mühlegg,  Germany	Laura McCabe,  USA
	"Mother Nature"	"Mother Nature"
	,  Italy	,  Russian Federation
	Maurizio Pozzi,  Italy	Jeannie Wall,  USA
	(2),  Italy	Lara Peyrot,  Italy
	(3),  Italy	Lara Peyrot (2),  Italy
	,  Italy	Lara Peyrot (3),  Italy
	(2),  Italy	Anna Santer,  Italy
	,  USA	,  USA

Year	Men skating	Men classic	Women skating	Women classic
	Ivan Babikov,  Canada	,  Russian Federation	,  USA	,  USA
	,  USA	,  USA	Rebecca Dussault,  USA	,  Czech Republic
	Fabio Santus,  Italy	,  USA	Rebecca Dussault (2),  USA	,  USA
	,  Norway	(2),  USA	Caitlin Compton,  USA	,  USA
	,  USA	David Chamberlain,  USA	Holly Brooks,  USA	,  USA
	Sergio Bonaldi,  Italy	,  USA	Caitlin Gregg (2),  USA	,  Norway
	Tom Reichelt,  Germany	,  USA	Caitlin Gregg (3),  USA	,  Russian Federation
	Sergio Bonaldi (2),  Italy	,  Norway	Holly Brooks (2),  USA	(2),  Russian Federation
	,  USA	,  USA	Caitlin Gregg (4),  USA	,  USA
	"Mother Nature"	"Mother Nature"	"Mother Nature"	"Mother Nature"
	Anders Gløersen,  Norway	Ben Saxton,  USA	Caitlin Gregg (5),  USA	,  USA
	,  USA	Peter Holmes,  USA	,  USA	,  USA
	Niklas Dyrhaug,  Norway	Peter Holmes (2),  USA	Jessica Yeaton,  Australia	,  Great Britain
	,  USA	Ian Torchia,  USA	Alayna Sonnesyn,  USA	Rosie Frankowski,  USA

References[]

External links[]

• American Birkebeiner official website
• Worldloppet official website