Fabulous finish for Fabius at the American Birkebeiner

Kerrie Fabius of Grand Marais had a fantastic finish at the 2011 American Birkebeiner, finishing 2nd in the field of 302 women. Fabius (left) celebrates her fabulous finish on the Birkie Women’s podium. Fabius was just 7 minutes behind 1st place finisher Jennie Bender of Minneapolis (center). In 3rd place was Hilary Patzer of St. Paul.

The American Birkebeiner cross country ski race held from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin is the largest cross country ski marathon in North America, and some of the finest cross country ski racers in the world travel to Cable to compete. And that’s what makes Kerrie Fabius’s second place finish in the 54-kilometer classic race so special.

For Fabius, a recently transplanted Thunder Bay, Ont. native who moved to Grand Marais last summer for work and love—she is engaged to Cory Berg and works in the courthouse as a soil and water conservation technician, the 33 miles of skiing went better than expected.

“I started out slow. I was very patient. The field was a lot bigger this year. Last year there were maybe 100 girls at the starting line. This year there were at least 300 girls. And there was a lot more talent. The two girls who beat me last year were back, and a lot more good racers were in there. I was hoping for a top10 finish, and I would have been very happy with that,” said Kerrie.

Fabius finished third in 2010 and second the year before. But the fields were much smaller and far less competitive, she said.

The morning of the race was cold and the track was fast and icy. This made waxing especially tricky. The best skier in the world can’t ski well if their skis haven’t been properly waxed. Luckily, said Fabius, “Cory is an expert at picking the right wax. He waxed my skis and they were perfect.”

At 30 kilometers Kerrie caught and passed the two women who beat her last year. “They were surprised to see me. Because I hadn’t gone out with them, I think they figured that I wouldn’t be able to race with them.”

Fabius finished with an excellent time of 2:57:59, about 7 minutes behind the women’s winner from Minneapolis.

“She just got back from the under 23 World Championships. Her goal is to someday make the Olympic team. She’s an excellent skier and a very nice person,” said Fabius.

Training is tricky with a new job, new country, and new routines. “I get out skiing five or six times a week after work. I usually go to Pincushion Mountain because it’s close. I like to ski at least an hour a day, more on weekends because I have more free time. But sometimes I can’t ski at all because of my job or something else comes up.

“Back home I spent five years training at the National Development Center in Thunder Bay. When I was in college I trained more, raced more, and helped coach more. Today I help coach the school kids with Cory one day a week. It’s fun and it helps me to work out with them.

‘I’m very social. I like to ski and bike and run with friends. That’s one thing I really miss about living back home. I’m still building a network of friends here, and of course, I always have Cory to train with,” said Fabius.

As for her parents, Kerrie’s mom still competes in mountain biking and cross-country skiing, albeit more for fun than anything else.

“When we were little, my dad would take us on trails in the backyard and ski with us. When we were older he would drive us to practice,” Kerrie said.

It was an investment well made, with positive returns that will last Kerrie a lifetime.

Other local finishers in the 54 k classic

First-time Birkie participant Tim McGrath said the race was “fantastic.” He added that taking part in the 33-mile race was a “bucket list” item for him and he was very glad he took part in the event.

“I had a great time,” said McGrath. “I’m 54, so I wasn’t ripping it. I couldn’t keep up with young guys like Cory. But I did beat some older folks.”

Although McGrath said the race was one of the coldest in history, skiing conditions were great. “The hardest part was getting stuck behind people. I had great skis—I was able to go past some people. It was great, I felt like a race car!”

Unlike Tim, Joe Stasney is a veteran of the race. Stasney said, “The weather was cold and it never warmed up. I saw people with frostbite. It started to snow an hour or so into the race and that made the skiing harder. Overall, I was pleased with my race. I wouldn’t have wanted to go another 10k, however. I think I would have gotten frostbite if I had to go much longer.”

Cook County Birkie racers

The Birkebeiner Classic race had 1222 male racers and 302 female racers. The Birkebeiner Skate race had 3002 male racers.