FXC News and Announcements

Plan to ski off some of those holiday calories on Monday, December 26, at the Ski Your Age in Kilometers!

The 19th edition of this annual event will be held at Birch Hill Recreation Area, on the day after Christmas Day. The event is put on by FXC, the junior race-training program of the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks (NSCF), which will provide plates and utensils for the potluck and will have a silent auction set up.

Ski Your Age is NOT a race. It is a good excuse to go cross-country skiing, visit with other great people, and burn off some of those calories you’ve been stowing away. The event runs officially from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It has no entry fee, though donations to FXC are accepted. Registration and food will be in the borough’s spacious Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center. Charts will be hung up to log how many kilometers you skied, and what division you are skiing in (Father-Daughter, Sibling, Solo etc!)

The emphasis of Ski Your Age is on fun, socializing, and good exercise. Despite its name, people can ski whatever distance they please. Some uber-athletes will be out there hammering the trails, trying to crank out the most kilometers regardless of their age, while other participants will ski just a portion of their age. It’s all good!

Everyone is encouraged to bring leftover holiday food to share in the big ski chalet potluck style. You can ski, come in to warm up and eat, then go ski some more! The event is free and open to the whole community.

For questions or to volunteer, please contact Christina Turman: stinaturman@gmail.com

The 15th Annual Golden Heart Trail Run will be held on Saturday, Aug 20, at Birch Hill Recreation Area. This race is sponsored by Dr. Kate Carey, TVC, OMM, and is a fundraiser for the NSCF-FXC Youth Program

Races Format:

• 1K (7 & under)  – 10 AM
• 2.5K (8-14) – 10:20 AM
• 5K (15 & Older) – 10:45 AM

Fees:

• 14 & under ($15)
• 15 & Older ($25 pre register, $30 Race Day)

Register online here:
https://register.chronotrack.com/r/67124

T-Shirts will be available for the first 94 entrants.

• Women Sizes: XS, SM, MD, LG. XL
• Men’s Sizes: MD, LG, XL
• Youth Sizes: SM, MD, LG

Due to inventory issues, sizes are limited and not all shirts are the same color.

Questions: Contact the race director: juniornordics@nscfairbanks.org or (907) 371-9564 (text)

Back-to-back snowstorms and frigid temperatures might have delayed the 18^th Annual Wentz Orthodontics Ski Your Age in Kilometers, but Fairbanks skiers rallied nonetheless!

More than 50 skiers participated and cranked out more than 900 kilometers, in this event, which was also sponsored by Edward Jones financial advisor Christopher Knott. Skiers from 11 years old to more than 70 came out and put in some k’s.

Ski Your Age had been set for December 26 but was postponed until January 1 due to unprecedented back-to-back snowstorms that dumped record amounts of snow (and rain). By January 1 the storms had ended (barely), the parking lots plowed (as much as could be expected), and the trails groomed (well, a lot of them). Of course, Mother Nature decided to have some fun by throwing us some cold. Temperatures hovered around 20 below F for the event and the snow was really slow, but some incredibly tough people came out and skied anyway!

It should be noted that a lot of tough 50+-year-olds who normally ski their age, didn’t reach those high marks this time, but some younger skiers put in impressive numbers. Nicholas Buth, 16, logged an incredible 55 kilometers, Eli Merrill, 18, put in 40K, and Owen Wooler, 14, skied 35.5K! The highest number put in by someone in the 50-year-old+ category was Corrine Leistikow, 62, who skied 32 kilometers.

Three FXC skiers, Zarah Laker-Morris, Nelson Hayes, and Tjarn Bross, along with FXC Head Coach Jeff Tucker couldn’t make the delayed even because they were in Utah for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships, but they dutifully called in their distances (20K each). At least one math nerd skied. Max Kaufman left a note saying his distance was “skied in KM absolute value of temp in degreesF.”

The Birch Hill Cross Country Ski Center (big red building) was closed, so the typical (pre-Covid) relaxing sit-down opportunity had to be adapted. The resourceful FXC organizers made things work in the Warming Building, hanging the sign-up charts where they could and offering hot drinks and wrapped baked goods. Due to Covid concerns, many people made their stops at the building brief, mainly just to record their numbers, make a donation, and grab a snack.

The support of Wentz Orthodontics and Edward Jones financial advisor Christopher Knott was greatly appreciated by FXC, as this is one of the annual fundraisers for the team.

Many thanks to the volunteers and organizers who put on this event, and to participants who generously donated funds. Just over $850 was raised during the event (not including the support from our sponsors)!

Below is a listing of all the category achievements for those who signed up and recorded the kilometers they skied.

2021(22) Ski Your Age in KMs

Total Number of Skiers: 50

Total Number of KMs Skied: 909.14

Total Number of people who skied their age: 13

Title Sponsor: Wentz Orthodontics

Major Sponsor: Edward Jones, Financial Advisor Christopher Knott

Skied their age: Skied greater than or equal to their age (ranked by age)

Skied Half Their Age: Didn’t ski their age, but skied greater than or equal to half of age (ranked by age)

Couple Combos (ranked by distance)

Family Combos, not including Couples (ranked by distance)

Registration is now open for the new FXC Intro program offered by the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks.

FXC Intro is an entry-level program for the ski club’s popular FXC program. FXC Intro is for children ages 12 and up who are fairly new to skiing and want to get more experience, as well as get out and enjoy the outdoors.

This program is geared toward homeschoolers and will meet twice a week at mid-day. FXC Intro is excited to provide a fun team atmosphere for the homeschoolers to stay healthy and active during the long winter. The program follows the NSCF COVID-19 policy (see below).

The program will be held on Wednesdays and Fridays at Birch Hill Recreation Area from noon to 1:30 p.m. It will run from November 3 to mid-April with breaks for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Cost is $450 per skier. Sibling discounts are offered for families with multiple participants. The program includes a two-week trial period for those who want to try it out before committing to the season.

Sign up online at www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/fxc.
For questions, send emails to fxc@nscfairbanks.org.

NSCF COVID-19 Policy

The NSCF board fully appreciates the health risks of COVID-19, will continue to carefully monitor the incidence of COVID-19 in our community, and will act to limit and change training when it feels that the risks outweigh the benefits of our activities.

Currently, practices are limited to 10 participants or less, and we are practicing social distancing. Face coverings are required when participants are within 6 feet of each other. Hand sanitizer is used anywhere the touching of shared surfaces occurs. Coaches exercise social distancing from athletes, wear masks when feasible, and monitor compliance of same by the athletes. Any athlete who travels out of state is not permitted to practice until after a two-week quarantine or receiving a negative COVID-19 test result. Any athlete with COVID-19 symptoms or living with someone with symptoms is not permitted to practice until 14 days after the last symptoms.

Stay motivated and keep fit this summer with these NSCF outdoor training workouts at Birch Hill!

These FXC Masters classes are coached by Christina Turman and are designed to comply with social distancing, and to accommodate and challenge all fitness levels. No prior experience strength training needed!

Classes include a strength, intervals, and strength/intervals combined.

Check out the FXC Masters webpage for all options: https://www.nscfairbanks.org/programs/fxc/masters/

Christina was born and raised in Fairbanks, Alaska. She is a high energy coach and loves to share her passion for skiing with the people she coaches. Christina skied and ran for West Valley High School then continued on to ski and run at Northern Michigan University. With the help of coach Sten Fjeldheim Christina improved significantly while at NMU, placing in the top 10 at US Nationals and qualifying to race at the NCAA Championships.