Harvard Nordic, today I made you proud. For the first time, not only was I not on the last page of results, but I was on the first! And high up there too, 21st overall out of 388, and the 6th woman! Let me paint a little picture...
Setting: Autrans, Rhône-Alpes - where all the nordic skiing in the '68 Olympics took place
Event: the 32nd Foulée Blanche (rough translation: the white stride)
Distances: 42km, 20km, 10km (me!), and 5k
Number of Racers: 2200. not kidding. no really. take a look.
(and this only shows half of us)
Time taken to cross the start line: 14 minutes 8 seconds
Final Placement Overall (out of 388): 21st
Final Result only counting females: 6th
Needless to say, the trick to this race was maneuvering around all the small children, old people, and generally slow racers. The snow was amazing, so even on my rock skis, it felt like I had rockets on my feet, and a lot of the time, the best thing to do was hop in the tracks and double pole around the other skiers. All in all, what with the giant purple Milka cow mascot, the big blue squirrel of Autrans, and the course that took us through the village center, past little shops and houses lined with spectators, this was definitely the most festive and most fun race I have ever done. I couldn't stop smiling the whole time, but I definitely made it hurt.
Men's Top 10 in the 42k
Highlights:
1. Spent the night at the director of my program's father's house (he's 91) with 4 generations of her family, and after dinner (giant raclette--an interactive meal experience where you melt cheese in a tabletop oven type device and pour it over potatoes and various meats.) he spent an hour telling me about his time in the mountain troops in the army and his role as director of all nordic skiing in the '68 Winter Olympics in Grenoble.
2. The refeuling stand after the race: hot wine, tea, cocoa, juices, cheese, dried fruits, oranges, and of course, crème de marrons chestnut spread in a tube. Yes, a tube, a metal one, like toothpaste or Neosporin.
3. My souvenir: a custom buff!
Much much much love from afar,
Meri
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