Seeley Hills Classic 2024

Hi all,

Sam Holt with the marathon team checking in after last weekend's Seeley Hills Classic race! Four of us headed up to Cable for some hot laps of the snowmaking course, which was a hilly 4k loop. Katie Susong and Jenna Nelson started off the day in the 20k race, with Katie taking the win and Jenna coming in a strong 6th. 

Zach Nelson and myself then took on the 32k race. I made it a point to start front row after breaking a ski and pole in the first minute of last year's race, where I started in the 2nd row. So I led out the field, but then the familiar train of Dave Joda, Brian Gregg, and Matt Liebsch quickly took over. I yo-yoed off of this group for a few laps before they dropped me for good, after which I settled in with Andrew Tilman. We were neck and neck in several classic races last season, so it was fun to pick up where we left off and work together. We traded pulls and held our ground, until he got me in the final sprint for 4th place; Zach wasn't far behind in 11th. Nearly single-digit temps helped the tracks hold up well in spite of traffic, and it ended up being a lot of double pole. 

This past training year for me has been an exercise in making skiing a more sustainable hobby and using it as more of a social activity. A lot has looked different, so I went into the race with no expectations, and was therefore rather pleased with the effort. But the highlight for me was hanging out with the community in the Great Hall afterwards, and later on at the Sawmill Saloon; if you know, you know. 

This coming weekend, Katie and Jenna are headed back to Birkie-land for a 30k skate at the Ski de She, then the following week the whole team is headed to the UP for the Noquemanon Ski Marathon. Thankfully they just got dumped on, so hopefully the race will be its usual point-to-point format. While there is still almost no natural snow in the Twin Cities, cold temps have the snow guns blazing in an attempt to catch up to Iowa, and the skiing is awesome.

Think snow and cheers!