Ramblin’ into Fall with Team Birkie
Hi everyone, my name is Dolcie Tanguay and I am a new member of Team Birkie this year! I am originally from Fort Kent, ME where I found my love for nordic skiing and biathlon nestled in the North Maine Woods. I skied for four years at Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York. There, I was able to pursue both nordic ski racing and biathlon racing since US Biathlon partnered with Paul Smith’s in 2020 to create the first ever collegiate biathlon program. I knew I wanted to keep skiing competitively after college so Team Birkie was the team I decided to jump on board with. I was intrigued by the idea of training in a big city as I grew up training exclusively in rural areas. The team is really supportive of me continuing my biathlon career even though there are no Team Birkie biathlon coaches.
A recap of the season so far:
Officially moving to Minneapolis was a huge shift coming from rural areas but I embraced it fully. At times the busy bike paths and uneven pavement of the local neighborhoods felt overwhelming but I learned to be more aware and agile throughout the summer. My navigation skills have improved greatly and I’ve learned to be patient with city traffic.
In addition to the everyday training sessions with the team in the Twin Cities area I’ve been lucky to travel a bit. We had a Team Birkie/REG camp week in Cable, WI in early July which was an awesome opportunity to meet some of the young midwest ski community. It was also a fun week to spend with teammates and spend a little time away from the city. Over the following weeks my teammate Emma and I got to travel to some rollerski biathlon races in Brillion, WI and Jericho, VT. Near the end of August we returned to Cable for another Team Birkie camp where we racked up the volume and had another fun week together. Our team also traveled to Duluth for a mini-camp where most of the crew competed in the NorthShore Inline Marathon. I got to be in the cheer squad for the race which was a blast since everyone was zooming on the course.
Playground strength in Cable with teammates Luci and Mariel (left and right, respectively)
U.S. Biathlon Rollerski National Championships in Jericho
Cheering at the inline marathon (Left to right: Conner, Dolcie, Emma)
Post time trial in Cable feat. some local juniors
Currently, I am in Park City, UT getting ready to compete in the U.S. Biathlon International Team Trials along with teammates Emma, Luci, and Paul on October 3-5. The weather has been amazing with cool mornings and sunny, warm afternoons. The fall colors in the mountains are changing rapidly and making me feel giddy for winter. Soon, the rest of the team will make the trip west to train and race in the nordic events later on. I’m looking forward to exploring Utah over the next couple weeks with friends! Stay tuned to hear about our adventures throughout the season!
A necessary pit stop during our Minnesota → Utah road trip
Team Birkie well-represented at the biathlon range at Soldier Hollow
Exploring Utah with Emma
Happy trails!
