All About Ski Preparation

Carl Swenson Interview

Carl Swenson has represented the US 72 times in World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic competitions. His best international result was 5^th place in the 2003 World Championship 50k skate in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Carl, a 3 time Olympian, also anchored the US relay team to a historic 5^th place at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. Carl won 11 US National Nordic Ski Championships and had numerous top international races to go along with dominating the US marathon series circuit for years. Additionally, Carl was a professional Mountain Bike racer representing the US 5 times at World Championships, winning a silver medal in the Pan Am games in 1999, and winning the US National short track championship in 2000. Carl retired from international ski racing in the spring of 2006. He then attended the University of Utah law school graduating in 2009. Carl also served on the USADA and USSS board of directors in 2007 as well as was a FIS athlete’s representative 2004-2006. Today Carl lives in Portsmouth, NH with his wife Katie and daughter Quinn who is 5. Carl has worked as the public defender in Strafford County since 2009.

Reese Hanneman Interview

Reese Hanneman has represented the US 36 times in World Cup and Olympic Games. Reese has 4 US National Championships wins all in the sprints. He also won a NorAm race in 2016 in the Classic sprint. Reese has been on the US National Championship podium 9 times including a 2nd in 15k Classic and a 3rd in 50k Classic. Reese has 7 SuperTour wins. He retired from World Cup racing in 2018 but then did the Tour de Ski China in 2019. Reese was the feature athlete in the Toko Winter Warrior ads and thus is also known as the Winter Warrior. Since retiring, Reese has gotten his degree in Mechanical Engineering, focused on developing his marketing and PR firm, and also has a travel service start up. Reese and his brother Logan both were on the 2018 US Olympic team. Reese lives in Anchorage with his wife Jessica who is expecting their first child shortly. I loved every minute of this interview and hope you do too.

Catching up with David Norris 2.3.21 post Lahti and Falun World Cups

David Norris has 10 top 30 World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic individual finishes. He is also the 2016 American Birkebeiner Champion. He has been one of our top 2 distance men for the past 4 years anyway. David also got Covid-19 in November and recovered well but missed a lot of training. This interview is to catch up with him after the Lahti, Finland and Falun, Sweden World Cup events from the two weekends and to see what’s coming up.

Catching up with Gus Schumacher 2 Feb post Lahti and Falun and pre U23 Worlds

Gus Schumacher is the defending World Junior Nordic Ski Champion and US National Skate Sprint Champion. This interview is to simply catch up and get his thoughts on the recently finished World Cup raced from Lahti, Finland and Falun, Sweden where he had some outstanding races and to see what he has planned for preparation before the U23 World Championships that will be held in Vuokatti, Finland in about a week.

Gus spoke about how he tried to manage the mass starts in Lahti and Falun both of which were very tricky and congested. He also spoke about the mindset that he tries to have in the races. 

Charley French Interview

I have a huge treat for you today. You know those “most interesting man in the world” advertisements that the beer brand Dos Equis does? OK, I have a true candidate for this title. Anyone who races the Boulder Mountain Tour, Yellowstone Rendezvous, or World Masters knows or knows of Charley French. This is one of the most inspirational and interesting people that I know. Listeners, you don’t want to miss this story!

Charley is currently 94 years old. He started Nordic skiing around 1975 when he was about 49 years old. Since then, Charley has participated in 45 Boulder Mountain Tour Nordic ski races. He dominates any age group competition that he competes in and has for many years. The includes at both the national and international level having had won as many world masters titles as he wants to compete in at both Nordic skiing and triathlon and anything else he wants to win. I guess he has 5 World titles in triathlon, 12 in Nordic skiing, and has national cycling time trial age group records as well as Ironman triathlon records. Basically, this man wins anything and everything that he wants to. In his 90s, he still races annually in the Boulder Mountain Tour and the Bogus Basin Hill Climb, a famously difficult road bike race up a mountain above Boise, Idaho. After competing in age groups younger than his in international masters competitions (and winning regularly), they finally created a 90+ age group for him which in itself is amazing.

Charley is also a famous personality, innovator for Scott USA, and has lived an amazing life. For example, he made the revolutionary areo bars that Greg Lemond won the 1989 Tour de France with in such legendary fashion. 

Liz Guiney Interview

Liz Guiney has 8 individual World Cup starts and 1 World Cup relay start. Her best World Cup finishes were 13^th in the Skiathalon and 24^th in the Classic sprint in 2017 in Pyeong Chang, South Korea. Liz also finished 2^nd in a North American Championship Classic sprint in 2016. She has been on the podium 7 times in SuperTours including one win in a 10k Classic in West Yellowstone. Liz finished 3^rd in the US National Championship Classic sprint in 2015 and has 10 top 10 US Nationals finishes. Liz retired in the spring is 2020. She currently lives in Park City, UT where she coaches or teaches for three different ski programs and is taking online college classes.

One thing that was interesting that we discussed was coming from being an elite ski racer to coaching kids and to teaching people how to ski. There is a steep learning curve involved in knowing how to teach people to ski. This aspect of our discussion will be especially interesting to listeners I think.

Catching up with David Norris 1.19.21 after Covid-19 and pre Lahti World Cups

David Norris has 10 top 30 World Cup, World Championship, and Olympic individual finishes. He is also the 2016 American Birkebeiner Champion. He has been one of our top 2 distance men for the past 4 years anyway.

David got Covid-19 in November. This interview is to see how David is recovering, what protocol he followed, to hear any recommendations he might have, and to check in with him before the Lahti, Finland World Cups which will be held this weekend.

Alison Owen Bradley Interview

Alison Owen Bradley won multiple World Cup races, finished 2^nd in the famous Holmenkollen ski festival race, competed in two Olympic games and 3 World Championships, and won 8 US National Championships. After competing, Alison went on to coach for 12 years in Sun Valley, Idaho very successfully and helped develop many US National Team skiers. This exceptionally successful ski racer and coach is also known for being a pioneer for women’s cross-country skiing in the United States. Alison won what was at the time was billed as the inaugural women’s Nordic World Cup which was held at Mount Telemark in Wisconsin. Alison also competed with the boys in the 1966 Junior National Championships because at the time, there were no girl’s races. There were the next year. Alison splits her time between Bozeman, MT and Boise, ID where she and her husband have a small farm.

I have done interviews with Bill Koch, Jim Galanes, Muffy Ritz, and Jim Fredericks for example all of whom competed at an elite level in the 70s and continued to inspire and influence for a great many years since including today even. This interview is in line with those others. Alison was not “just” a pioneer for women’s ski racing, but is also an exceptional athlete and coach. She has a sharp intellect and her perspective is one that you don’t want to miss. Our community should know Alison’s story and treasure her accomplishments and contributions.

We spoke about her vast and unique experiences competing in the early days, winning the first Women's World Cup and finishing 7th overall for the season, Rob Kiesel, her perspective and techniques in coaching, and asked her for her opinion on quite a few key topics that I think people will find informative and interesting. This is a must listen to if you are at all passionate about Nordic ski racing.

Catching up with Gus Schumacher 1.12.21 post Tour deSki

Gus Schumacher is the defending World Junior Nordic Ski Champion, US National Skate Sprint Champion, and currently 2nd world ranked under 23 skier. I did a series of 3 interviews with him earlier this year to sort of introduce him and give people a chance to get to know him. This interview is to simply catch up and get his thoughts on the recently finished Tour de Ski where he had some outstanding races. We spoke a lot about what he was learning and working on which was really interesting.

Jim Galanes Interview

Jim Galanes competed as a US Ski Team member from 1974 to 1984. Some of his top finishes include 5^th place in Murmansk, Russia in 1984 and 6^th place in Reit im Winkl, Germany in 1983 as well as a World Cup Relay victory in 1982. Jim finished 14^th in the 30km in World Championships in 1984 in Oslo, Norway. A 3 time Olympian, Jim’s top individual Olympic finish was 17^th in the Nordic Combined event in Innsbruck, Austria in 1976. Jim won 3 US National Championship titles between Nordic Combined and Cross Country skiing. After retiring as an athlete, Jim coached for the US Ski Team for 6 years, then for Stratton Mountain School, and then started and coached the highly successful Alaska Pacific University program. Jim then worked for Edgewise stonegrinding and waxing skis, and then managed Frisco Nordic Center. Throughout it all and continuing today Jim provides coaching services. Jim’s excellent skiing career and results are not only his only contribution to US skiing, but also his visionary creation of the APU program lead to some of our country’s best ever results and put the US on the path to long term excellence. Jim currently lives in Frisco, CO with his long time girlfriend Joyce Allgier.

We discussed competing in the European Junior Championships, switching to special Cross Country ski racing, some of his more memorable races including winning a World Cup relay and 5th and 6th place individual race finishes, competing during the Cold War in Russia and Yugoslavia, his vision for the APU program which he created, creating a Nordic ski culture and community, training principles including most common mistakes, and being a life long learner. This was a memorable interview that was thankfully long.