David Eckel joined an exclusive club last weekend when he finished his 40th American Birkebeiner cross country ski race. David joins Jan Horak from Tofte in this club that has fewer than 50 members. Staff photo/Brian Larsen
Dave Eckel stood on the line of this year’s 46th Annual Slumberland American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race, knowing he wasn’t ready for his best performance. He’s had to work a lot, and he hasn’t been in the best of health this winter, which slowed down his training.
That said, nothing short of serious injury, sickness, or death was going to keep him from the starting line. This was Eckel’s 40th Birkie, and he was determined to enjoy it no matter how miserable the race made him feel.
Overall, said David, “The race was great! I did break the basket of one of my ski poles and had to ski about 17K’s until I was given another pole. That slowed me down, but it doesn’t matter. I finished, and I received a plaque celebrating my 40th race at the Birkie.
Despite a broken pole, Dave finished in 6:13:47, an improvement of 33 minutes over last years’ 6:45:58 time.
Tim Kennedy has more than a little “salt” in his whiskers, but at age 70, he’s skiing better than ever. Five years ago, he had his heart repaired, but he still managed to ski the Birkie that year.
Kennedy, like Eckel, is a veteran of this northern Wisconsin race. This was Tim’s 38th ski from Cable to Hayward, a distance of 55 kilometers (34 miles) through the forested woods and hills of this pristine area.
When asked about his race, Tim replied, “My gosh, the weather was great. We started at 20 degrees and finished it at 45 degrees. The course was hard and fast, and the downhills were screaming fast. It was probably better for the skate skiers than the classic skiers, but for me, the conditions were perfect.”
Tim used “skins” or non-wax skis this year. “The race is so long that if you start with wax skis, you will lose your wax at some point and then have to stop and re-wax. I didn’t want to bother with that this year.”
Even though his day went well, Tim noted, “As you age, the hills don’t get smaller.”
“This was the first year I started in the 70-age group wave. We got our own start. It was interesting to look around and see people your age before the race began.”
Kennedy had an excellent finishing time of 5:04:13, 48 minutes faster than last year.
Jan Horak, along with Eckel and Kennedy, is part of Cook County’s “Iron Three.” At age 73, Jan was participating in his 41st Birkie. He and Eckel are in a race to see who can finish the most Birkie’s. Every year Dave Eckel stays one year behind Jan, and that’s the way Jan likes it. The rivalry couldn’t be friendlier.
“I was sick for about one month before the race,” said Jan. “I had 600k’s in before I was sick, so I figured hopefully I would have enough fitness to keep me going.
“At the beginning, maybe it was the cold, but I didn’t have enough wind to get up the hills like I normally do. Still, you do what you have to do to keep going. I took it slow up the hills, and I only passed one person the whole way.
“At the end of the race, Adrian Watt, the Duluth ski jumper, who is two races ahead of me, we always take a picture at the end. Adrian’s wife snaps the picture, and we always talk about whose going to ski more Birkies, him or me. It’s a lot of fun.
“Afterwards, I had pizza with Eckle and Kennedy and Mike Costello like we usually do. The first thing we always talk about is coming back next year. It’s a goal that helps me to stay in shape.”
Jan crossed the line in 6:10:12, eight minutes faster than last year. Jan is one of less than 35 people who have skied 40 or more Birkies.
Mike Costello has a house just across the Gunflint Trail from the Pincushion Mountain ski trails, but it’s hard for Mike to get practice on snow. You see, Mike lives in South Carolina and flies commercial planes for a living. The climate in South Carolina is decidedly too warm for snow, so Mike runs and roller skis. Mike roller skis a lot to stay in shape. When he is back in town, Mike trains as often as he can with Eckle and Kennedy. The trio often heads to Bearskin to ski the trails there because they are similar to the Birkie.
“I think I got out on the snow about a half dozen times before the race this year,” said Costello, who in his younger days ran 2:26 at Grandma’s Marathon.
Mike skied on no-wax (skins) skis for the first time this year at the Birkie. The uphills are Mike’s greatest strength. Unfortunately, the downhills are literally his downfall. He fell about seven times this year and finished in 4:10:58, almost a minute slower than last year when the snow conditions were much more difficult for most skiers.
Other “local” finishers, or those who used to call Cook County home were:
Dr. Nancy Rova placed fourth in the age Women’s 55-60 age group with a time of 3:38:34, not too far behind her husband, Jonathan Rova, who crossed the line in 3:21:41.
Ann Raiho, now living in Knife River, placed 9th in the 30-34-year-old age bracket with a time of 2:45:17.
Cory Berg, now living in Bemidji, skied 3:46:22 while his wife, Kerrie Berg, crossed the line in 3:14:35 to place fourth in the 40-44 age group.
Tim Nelson, Lutsen, and Arden Hills finished in 3:51:20 to place 28th in the 70-74 age group.
Phil Bowen, now living in Northfield, placed 18th in the men’s 45-49 bracket with a time of 3:26:33.
Kortelopet
On Friday, the Kortelopet is held as part of the Birkebeiner, and several locals take part.
While Jan was home sick, his wife, Kathy, was in India. The lack of training didn’t seem to hurt her. She had a great race, skiing the 29K (18 miles) Kortelopet in 2:44 to finish sixth in her age group.
“I was in India for six weeks, and I missed quite a bit of training,” Kathy said. “When I got back, I skied the Picnic Loop (Sugarbush trails) and figured if I could make it around there, I could finish the Kortelopet. I waxed my skis for the kick just right. I lost my wax with about 5k left, but that was coming back across the lake where you double pole. I had such a good time and so much fun.”
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