American Birkebeiner
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The American Birkebeiner (or Birkie) is the largest, and one of the longest cross country ski races in North America. The 51-km race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin is a member race of the Worldloppet Ski Federation, a federation which includes the world's most famous cross country ski marathons such as Sweden's Vasaloppet and Norway's Birkebeinerrennet. Each year approximately 9,000 skiers participate in the Birkie and related races.
Started in 1973, the Birkie is one of the few races worldwide named after and commemorating a historical episode, from 1206 when a group of Birkebeiners - 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. At Birkebeinerrennet in Norway, skiers still carry packs symbolizing the weight of an 18-month-old child; this tradition, although not required, is also respected by some skiers in the American Birkebeiner.
The Birkie has a reputation of attracting skiers of various ability levels. Cross country skiing is particularly popular in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the Birkie draws a large number of skiers from this area who otherwise ski only recreationally. In addition to the Birkebeiner itself, the race day includes the shorter Kortelopet, a race geared more toward recreational skiers. Each year the Birkie and Kortelopet draw about 7,000 skiers and 20,000 spectators.
The Birkie course is quite hilly, and is recognized as one of the more difficult cross country ski marathon courses in the world. The current north-south alignment (used since 1992 has skiers traversing a 2-km flat section before turning up "Powerline Hill", a series of climbs to the 4.5-km mark. The trail then rolls until 12-km, when Firetower Hill takes competitors to 1730 feet (527 meters), the high point of the race and a climb of nearly 400 feet (122 meters) from the race start. In early years of the race, the Birkie began with a climb up the alpine slopes of Mount Telemark, but larger field sizes made this impractical. It was done mainly as a publicity stunt. Beyond High Point is a series of downhills, including "Bobblehead Hill" or "Sledder Hill" which has a rather tricky downhill, right turn near a snowmobile trail — allowing dozens of snowmobilers to watch and "score" skiers that fall. The trail rolls to the crossing of County Road OO (Referred to as "Double-Oh" which, at 22.8-km, is the unofficial halfway point of the race. Until 2001, the 23-km Korteloppet race ended here but has since been rerouted back to Telemark after splitting off from the main course at 9-km.
Beyond OO the course is less hilly, but by no means flat. After 40-km is the aptly named "Bitch Hill" where spectators cheer skiers along the last big climb of the race. There are a few road crossings and some traverses of open fields until, with a couple kilometers left, the race empties on to Lake Hayward (low ice conditions have caused several Birkies to be shortened to a finish just before the lake). After 4-km across the lake, the final distance winds from the lake through Hayward on snow trucked in for the event, crossing US 63 before ending on Main Street in Hayward, which is lined by hundreds or thousands of cheering onlookers.
The race begins with several waves in order to thin skiers out along the course. The first wave is made up of Elite skiers (generally around 200) who depart Cable at 8:20 AM, followed by Elite Women at 8:22. Waves then depart every ten minutes until the tenth and final wave leaves at 10:00 AM. New skiers must ski in Wave 10 unless they use another ski marathon time to qualify up to Wave 3. Waves 2 and 1 are open only to skiers who have skied in previous Birkies. The 23-km Korteloppet starts with the Birkie and Korte skiers are mixed in with the Birkie waves, distinguished by their yellow bibs.
| Worldloppet cross-country skiing races |
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| Europe: Birkebeinerrennet | Dolomitenlauf | Engadin Skimarathon | Finlandia-hiihto | Jizerská padesátka | König Ludwig Lauf | Marcialonga | Tartu Maraton | La Transjurassienne | Vasaloppet America: American Birkebeiner | Keskinada Loppet | Asia: Sapporo International Ski Marathon | Australia: Kangaroo Hoppet |
