American Birkebeiner


The American Birkebeiner is the largest cross-country ski race in North America, and one of the longest. It debuted in 1973 and was a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons. The two premier events are the freestyle and the classic races from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. Each year more than 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, 29 km Kortelopet, and 15 km Prince Haakon events.

Origins

The race, which is held annually in February, was started in 1973 by Tony Wise. Wise, who started the Telemark Ski Area in Cable, Wisconsin in 1947, helped to popularize modern-day cross-country skiing when he built trails at Telemark in 1972. In February 1973, Wise drew on his Norwegian heritage in starting a race named after a famous event in Norway.
The Birkie was named after the Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet, which commemorates an important historical event. In 1206 a group of Birkebeiner party 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. In the Norwegian Birkie, classical ski participants still carry packs symbolizing the weight of the young child-prince, Haakon.

Race

Skiers from around the world come to Hayward, Wisconsin for the race. The Birkie has a reputation for attracting skiers of varying ability levels. Olympians and national team members have competed in the event, and the Birkie also draws recreational skiers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and countries such as neighboring Ontario, Canada. The race weekend also includes the shorter 29 km Kortelopet "Korte", a race geared more toward recreational and elite junior skiers, and the Prince Haakon 15 km event for those who are not ready to take on the challenge of the longer courses. In 2013, registration was capped at 10,000 skiers, with an additional 20,000 spectators on the sidelines cheering on the competitors.
The Birkie course is quite hilly, and is recognized as one of the more difficult cross country ski marathon courses in the world, despite the fact that there are several World Loppet events in Europe that are much longer. The current north-south alignment has skiers traversing a flat section before turning onto the "Powerline Hills", a series of climbs to the mark. The trail then rolls until, when Firetower Hill takes competitors to, the high point of the race and a climb of nearly from the race start. In early years of the race, the Birkie began with a climb up the alpine slopes of Mount Telemark, mainly as a publicity stunt, but larger field sizes made this impractical. 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' falls. The trail rises steeply to the crossing of County Road OO which, at, is the unofficial halfway point of the race. Until 2001, the Kortelopet race ended here but has since been rerouted back to Telemark after splitting off from the main course at. Since 2017, the Kortelopet is and begins at OO and finishes on Main Street the day before the 50km race.
Beyond OO the course is less hilly, but by no means flat. After is the aptly named "Bitch Hill" where spectators cheer skiers up the steepest climb of the race. Several kilometers later is the last lengthy ascent of the race—El Moco—known for its numerous bends, each offering the empty promise of a summit. From the top, Hayward's watertower is a most welcome sight. There are several road crossings and open fields before the course crosses frozen Lake Hayward. The crossing of the lake is obviously flat, but unprotected from wind. Once off the lake the trail twists through the outskirts of Hayward on snow trucked in for the event. Over the course of hours thousands of tired and proud skiers make their way past three blocks of cheering spectators lining Hayward's Main Street. Warm conditions have occasionally required the finish line to be moved to a flat field just west of the lake.
The race begins with several waves in order to thin skiers out along the course. Alternating skate and classical waves depart every five minutes. New skiers must ski in the last Wave unless they use another ski marathon time to qualify up. One man has completed every Birkie since the first one in 1973; Ernie St. Germaine, a former employee of the Telemark Resort, where the Birkebeiner starts every year.

Winners

The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation website lists winners of the Birkebeiner and Kortelopet from 1973.
YearMenWomen
1973Eric Ersson, Jacque Lindskoog,
1974Dave Quinn, Jacque Lindskoog,
1975Chris Haines, Vigdis Snekkevi,
1976Audun Kolstad, Jana Hlavaty,
1977Audun Kolstad, Berit Lammedal,
1978Alfred Kaelin, Valborg Ostberg,
1979Arnt Haarstad, Judy Rabinowitz,
1980Per Notten, Gry Oftedal,
1981Jean-Paul Pierrat, Marianne Hadler,
1982Ola Hassis, Gry Oftedal,
1983Rudi Kapeller, Jennifer Caldwell,
1984Oddvar Brå, Sissel Trondseth,
1985Oddvar Brå, Muffy Ritz,
1986Anders Blomquist, Muffy Ritz,
1987Konrad Hallenbarter, E.J. Holcomb,
1988Örjan Blomquist, Kelly Kimball,
1989Örjan Blomquist, Betsy Youngman,
1990Manfred Nagl, Lynne Cecil,
1991Manfred Nagl, Ingrid Butts,
1992Todd Boonstra, Nina Skeime,
1993Manfred Nagl, Suzanne King,
1994Tomas Caslavsky, Heike Wezel,
1995Andre Jungen, Maria Theurl,
1996 Silvano Barco, Gudrun Pflueger,
1997 Mikhail Botwinov, Gudrun Pflueger,
1998Carl Swenson, Jennifer Douglas,
1999Johann Mühlegg, Laura McCabe,
2000"Mother Nature""Mother Nature"
2001Gianantonio Zanetel, Nadezhda Slessareva,
2002Maurizio Pozzi, Jeannie Wall,
2003Gianantonio Zanetel, Lara Peyrot,
2004Gianantonio Zanetel, Lara Peyrot,
2005Marco Cattaneo, Lara Peyrot,
2006Marco Cattaneo, Anna Santer,
2007Zack Simons, Kate Whitcomb,

YearMen skatingMen classicWomen skatingWomen classic
2008Ivan Babikov, Yuri Kozlov, Evelyn Dong, Kelly Skillicorn,
2009Matthew Liebsch, Gus Kaeding, Rebecca Dussault, Martina Stursova,
2010Fabio Santus, Juergen Uhl, Rebecca Dussault, Audrey Weber,
2011Tore Gunderson, Juergen Uhl, Caitlin Compton, Jennie Bender,
2012Tad Elliot, David Chamberlain, Holly Brooks, Carolyn Ocariz,
2013Sergio Bonaldi, Doug Debold, Caitlin Gregg, Ingrid Saupstad,
2014Tom Reichelt, Santiago Ocariz, Caitlin Gregg, Natalja Naryshkina,
2015Sergio Bonaldi, Ole Christian Mork, Holly Brooks, Natalja Naryshkina,
2016David Norris, Welly Ramsey, Caitlin Gregg, Deedra Irwin,
2017"Mother Nature""Mother Nature""Mother Nature""Mother Nature"
2018Anders Gløersen, Ben Saxton, Caitlin Gregg, Felicia Gesior,
2019Akeo Maifeld-Carucci, Peter Holmes, Alayna Sonnesyn, Cate Brams,
2020Niklas Dyrhaug, Peter Holmes, Jessica Yeaton, Nichole Bathe,