I hope you will pardon a grandfather for being proud and wanting to brag a bit. I hope (and think) I have featured each of my grandchildren here from time to time for their various achievements. I know I have mentioned Anders' growing accomplishments in cross country skiing before, but yesterday we were present at the annual Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin for his participation in the Kortelopet event, which is a 29km race (slightly more than 18 miles).
All of the Birkebeiner events finish on Main Street in town. The city hauls in loads of snow to cover the street for this purpose. About 10" of fresh snow had arrived a few days before, so the trail was in very good condition too. Yesterday, though, the sun was shining and the sky was blue, though the temperatures were around only 0ºF when the race began.
Anders finished 1st out of 40 men in his age group (13-14 years), 23rd out of 892 participating men, and 23rd overall out of all 1,582 participants. Below you can see him as he nears the finish line, as he attempts to cool down while staying warm with a blanket, posing with his parents, and posing with one very happy grandfather.
His next events will be at the Junior National Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska March 13-16. He qualified as number one in the U16 group (14-15 years old) to be a part of the Midwest Division team that will travel to Alaska.
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