It's all about the PIE !!

For most NY skiers the Osceola Christmas race is the unofficial kickoff to the ski season. It's not called the "World Famous Osceola Christmas Race" for nothing ! With over 240 races it is one of the largest races in NY.

Not only are early season bragging rights on the line but so are delicious pies for the winners of each age group! In addition to earning respect and pies race organizer Julie makes custom pottery awards for the top3 in each age group. Check out all of her beautiful and unique products at http://www.earthandironstudio.com/ So needless to say their is a lot on the line for this early season race to make it even more interesting the race was classic technique this year. Thankfully Hugh came through laying down some sweet tracks with his new grooming set up and the snow gods came through and blessed the tug will with plenty of the early season white stuff.

With all that was on the line R.N.R decided to come out with the guns blazing and blazing they were. With both overall winners and 4 of the top 6 overall having ties to the summer program things could not of been much better. Congratulations to Chad Day and Amanda Moreland on the overall win and to Jason Hettenbaugh, and Hanna Barnes on their top 3 overall performances. In addition to being in the top 3 overall we also had some great junior performances from Eric and Reed going 2 and 3 in the J1 boys and Adam winning the OJ boys race. Steve also had a good race finishing 2nd in the M4 race. All in all it was a great day to be a part of R.N.R !!

Currently R.N.R is training hard for some big time races coming up. Marty and Jason are in Vermont racing the Nor-Am Biathlon races in Jericho. So far they are off to a great start with Marty taking the victory in the Sr mens category and Jason placing second!! Next week Jason, Reed, and Adam are headed to Rumford Maine for U.S Nationals, and then most of the team will be back together for the Queensbury JOQ followed by the Super Tour in Lake Placid. We are also going to have a surprise for all of you soon so keep your eye open!!

Our day in Pictures

Recently our weekend practices have been at our local alpine hill. No matter what you call it moose-hoofing, ski-walking, it's a great workout!

Since we have been doing this workout for a couple of months the number of repeats is getting pretty high and starting to create a serious "SITUATION" for my legs!

So to give them a little more this week we decided to keep the number of repeats the same but to add a little spin session at the end.

The data was good and the attitudes even better!

After all the hard work it was time for a treat.

The kids seemed fine but the workout almost killed one of us!

Even after and Epic workout you still have to get up the next day and get after it, no matter how you feel, how the weather is, or what your friends are doing ! It's all on YOU !!

Get out there and get after it!

Keep On Rollin'

(Amy headed to St.Lawrence to ski next year, headed to the bottom to ski to the top today)

We are going full speed ahead here in Rochester. Most of the athletes are now done traveling for the summer and are focused on getting the job done ! We are still missing a few that are finishing up there last week at various summer camps and family vacations, but we had a good solid group last night to get after it, and that they did!

(The ladies headed out)

When we fist started coming to this hill the everyone was doing between 4-6 repeats. Last night everyone did between 8-10 repeats. Not only has the number gone up but the avg time has gone down !! It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the kids are getting fit!

(The one thing that about roller skiing is that when you fall it is going to leave a mark, the questions is how fast do you get back up?)

Last night I took some video so that they could review there technique. I waited to take the video on the last two sets so that we could see what was going on when they started to get a little fatigued. We still have a lot of work to get done but things are looking good!

(If you ski up a big hill you gotta go back down! Coach Weston running the lift service)

New Paltz Camp

Another week another camp! This week we packed up the car and headed to New Paltz for the second consecutive year. Last year was so much fun the word seemed to spread within the group and this year 5 athletes and I made the journey East.

(My car has looked like this for 75% of the summer! Sweet!)

First off I want to thank the entire Mancuso family for hosting this camp at there home. Without them stepping up and providing accommodations, food, coaching, and support this camp would not take place. I would also like to thank Art Stegen, and Greg Malia for helping out as well.

(Adam and Reed with our host and athlete Gabby Mancuso)

The New Paltz area is a really special place. Being only an hour outside of NY City you would assume that there would be no place to roller ski and limited places to even train. Well you would be wrong because this place is awesome! In the heart of the Gunks there are miles and miles of carriage trails to run on, as well as some sweet roads to roller ski on. There are also some huge climbs around with the Catskills being so close.

With so much to do, the time and the camp really flies by. We arrived on Thursday and got right in to it heading out for a skate technique session, followed by a trail run up to the Mohonk Mountain House. This place is sick ! It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Once up to the grounds we went through a rock scramble and then climbed up to the fire tower. We even poached a swim in the lake, though somehow I think the lifeguards knew we were not guest they let us sneak in and out!

(The Mountain House from the fire tower)

On Friday we got in a skate OD in the morning and then a classic technique session in the afternoon. Saturday the group headed out for a classic roller ski and then in the afternoon we went for a sweet mountain bike ride up in the Gunks! It was refreshing to be able to ride a few miles and then jump in a mountain lake, ride a few more miles and then jump in another lake. Pretty spectacular training. Sunday morning we headed south to West Point for a time trail. Last year we classic skied the TT so this year we switched it up and went with skate. Now we have a baseline for both techniques. The TT is primarily uphill for 5 or 10k depending on age and ability and has a huge shoulder so it is also safe.

(All these camps are hard work for the coaches as well but hey I cant think of a better way to spend the summer!)

The kids all were hurting and put in some good efforts. This time of year it is good to remind the body what it takes to put in that kind of effort. Though for some of them it was there third TT in as many weeks. Luckily there are no camps this week, other than vacation so we are working hard back in Rochester with the rest of the crew!

(Reed's new profile picture, I'm sure this will be on Facebook very soon!)

(The R.N.R Boy's Minus Dylan who forgot his sneakers and rocked the five fingers on the run and rock scramble! Needless to say his feet were hurting at this point)

(The crew back to work on Monday)

(Get after it ! )

Busy Time Of Year.

To put it mildly the summer is super busy. It seems as though there are commitments everyday of the week, this week, next week, last week, every week. It sounds funny and maybe crazy but to be good really good you have to make a commitment a commitment to get better each and everyday!

(Warm-Up obstacle course)

The summer though seems to try to add other commitments vacations, weddings, late nights, and all the things that seem to happen over the summer. I guess it is a good thing in some ways since we compete over the winter when everyone else seems to go in to hibernation. For the most part everyone has been dealing well with all of the commitments and some even seeming to excel. For some the commitment may be only 3 days a week when we meet as a group for others it might be 7 days a week. It seems as though the entire U.S is stepping up it's game and in by doing so there are a lot of opportunities to share your commitment with others.

(Dinner at Charlie's on our way to Craftsbury Salmon, Venison, and Caribou!!)

Most recently I had the opportunity to attend the NENSA REG Camp in Craftsbury Vermont. It was an amazing opportunity, and i'm glad that they extended it to include some of us from Mid-A. Not only was I able to be a part of the camp but so were three athletes Reed Likly, Elizabeth Izzo, and Charlie Bencze. Everything at the camp was amazing the coaches, the athletes, the accomidations, the weather, I mean everything. I have been to a lot of camps as both a coach and and as an athlete and this was without a doubt the best. It is not a surprise that New England has brought home the Alaskan Cup the last couple of years and that they are also well represented on the USST. There is a level that has been set in New England and everyone is trying to get to that level. Pretty sick stuff !! A big thank you to NENSA for letting us take part. For more on the camp check out http://www.nensa.net/index.html For more info on Craftsbury and the Green Racing Team check out http://www.craftsbury.com/skiing/nordic_center/home.htm

(The NENSA REG CAMP)

This week some of the R.N.R gang has invaded the OTC in Lake Placid for the NYSEF camp. They will be home next weekend and on Thursday a bunch of will be leaving for New Paltz for another camp! Three Camps in less than a month! Commitment!!

On a side note I recently drove out to Oklahoma City with my dad to pick up his new Stratos Bass Boat. It was a 20hr trip one way from the HF. We left Friday morning at 9am and I was back here Sunday at 1:00pm. We even stopped at my Grandmothers for breakfast Sunday Morning! I got to see some cool things along the way. The St. Louis Arch, Busch Stadium, Lucas Oil Stadium, and above all other the World Headquarters for Bass Pro in Springfield Missouri. Most of you know how much of a country guy I am and it was like heaven on earth. We only got to stop for about an hour so I need to go back for sure. You could spend a week in that place and not get see everything. Pretty sweet place.

Keep it real and keep the commitment going! I'm off the practice !

(It's hot here in NY as well)

School's out for SUMMER!

Well we got no choice, All the girls and boys, Makin all that noise, 'Cause they found new toys, Well we can't salute ya, Can't find a flag, If that don't suit ya, Thats a drag. School's out for summer, School's out forever, Schools been blown to pieces!

Just like the great Alice Cooper song "School is out for Summer". Everyone is finally done with school even our youngsters who just finished 8th grade! Practice has been going great and we have been able to get some great work done. Even though school just finished Stefan already had

to leave for Colorado and the Air Force Academy. He will be greatly missed and was an important part of the foundation that has helped shape the program in to what it is today. We all wish him the best of luck and look forward to skiing with him when he comes home on break this winter.

Last week we got through our first real interval sessions of the summer. We spent the first three weeks getting use to being back on our skis, and focusing on technique and base fitness. The weather has been great and the kids have really been getting after it.

This summer is already been amazing! Just seeing over 20 kids on roller-skis all working together in Rochester is awesome and is still just the tip of the iceberg! In addition to roller-skiing we have been making our way to the local alpine resort for some ski walking sessions. We have also found time to play as well. There is nothing better than a cold swim after a hot hard workout.

Don't forget to enjoy it and get your Twerk ON !!

Back To Work

We got back to work last week with our first official practice of the summer. Everyone was ready to rock so we wasted no time and got down to business with our baseline test. It was good to see the returning athletes trying to better there previous results and it was awesome seeing all the new comers riding the “Pain Train”.

(It's all about setting goals and working hard to achieve them! Most of our athletes goals are to make it to JO's next year in Minneapolis.

I have to say that I’m really excited about this summer. We have a great group of kids and I can tell already they are ready to work. We started roller skiing this week and everyone is looking great! Here are the results from the baseline test. We had a couple of conflicts since school is still in session but almost everyone was able to make it. We should have anther solid group taking the test soon including the Senior Team!

Athlete Name	Run	Sit-Ups	Push-Ups	Dips	Step-Ups	Pull-Ups
E.M.	6:28	42/41	55/32	36/35	40/42	11
S.R.	7:23	52/53	50/27	21/25	33/24	8.75
R.H.	5:46	50/48	60/30	19/25	43/50	9.0
M.N.	6:44	40/30	26/20	19/18	48/45	.1
K.S.	8:10	46/46	32/17	24/20	37/39	.7
A.S.	5:57	60/33	42/17	30/15	57/56	3
R.L.	5:43	52/31	47/17	42/36	52/47	8.69
A.L.	7:34	32/29	22/31	17/18	40/45	.1
D.H.	6:33	50/42	50/22	20/31	35/45	11
A.C.
S.Z.		55/41	66/35	45/38	42/58	15
E.H.	6:56	46/32	41/29	17/7	36/37	.72
M.W.	7:21	51/44	35/10	30/26	44/43	12.9
H.B.	7:09	49/37	61/57	30/33	38/43	3.0
V. A.
M.H.	6:40	54/53	46/15	45/16	41/45	5
M.J.	8:54	38/30	35/26	20/24	30/34	2.0
B.G.	8:03	27/32	30/22	17/14	33/35	.3
E.H.	6:49	40/30	35/23	21/18	40/42	8.9

(Pain Train! All Aboard!!)

Season Recap

I don’t know where to start. The season has come and gone in what seemed like a number of day’s not months. That’s how it always seems to happen. You have a huge build up of training, preparation, equipment, goals, excitement and then before you know it has all past and instead of reflecting on what has happened you start to plan on making it happen next year.

For me and the team it was an exciting and emotional season with exceptional results, great trips, and memories that will last a life time. I don’t want to spend a lot of time going over all of the results that we were able to achieve but a few stick out in my mind.

For starters the junior team had a great season. All of the juniors that were part of the summer program raced in Sectionals and of those all of them but one represented Section Five at the state meet. At the state meet Reed had a great race and was 4^th, Stefan had one of the best races of his young career and finished 6^th, Adam also had a great race and proved that he continues his rise to the top finishing in 9^th. Not to be out done the girls had great races as well. Alyssa was on the Podium finishing 3^rd as a J2!!! Amy also had a great race showing that her results this season were no fluke following Alyssa on the results sheet in 4^th, Katie also had a great race showing that her hard work and dedication the last four years was worth it finishing 6^th, Kathryn also had a great race finishing 26^th keep an eye out for her in the years to come as she will be moving up the results sheet!

To say it was an impressive day for the kids was a massive understatement. It yet again proves the point that to be a successful skier you have to have a year round training plan.

After states the juniors and I headed to Presque Isle for JN’s. It ended up being a great trip. The kids really got after it and had some great results. I know they are already chomping at the bit to get going this summer with there eyes set on JN’s next year in Minneapolis. I have to give a big thanks to everyone involved with JN’s from the organizers at the Maine Winter Sports Center to all the volunteers from around the “county” it was a world class event!

The senior team also had a great year representing R.N.R from local NYSSRA races to World Team Trails in Minnesota. We were able to represent our club well at the NYSSRA Championships winning the men’s biathlon Sprint, Pursuit, and Club Relay. We were also able to take 1^st and 2^nd in the NYSSRA club championship 3x3 relay.

I can’t recap the season without mentioning the loss of Peter Cannon. As many of you know all ski communities are small and tight niche. There are none tighter than that of the HoneoyeFalls-Lima High school program, Section Five Nordic, and New York State Skiing. When a tragedy occurs it affects everyone. The way the “community” came together to support the Cannon family was unbelievable and only reinstated what an unbelievable individual Peter was and what an amazing family he has. Peter will be missed but never forgotten.

The Peter J. Cannon Memorial Scholarship is still accepting donations; send checks to

HF-L Business Office, 20 Church St., Honeoye Falls, NY14472

Some of my favorite shots from the season!

R.N.R Takes 1st and 2nd in the club relay!

The Mid-A Crew in Presque Isle

Swayze working it.

Opening Ceremonies at JN's

The kids were fried after a week of racing!

Frenchski was fried after a day of racing!

Our home!

NYSSRA Biathlon Champs

Takin home some serious hardware after day 1

Epic Weekend of Results

(Chad and Marty holding Jason up after the Loppet)

Some teams believe that they were the big winners this weekend but don’t let the hype fool you there was only one team throwing it down in NY this weekend!! You guessed it R.N.R!

I will start of with the most impressive result of the weekend and that had to be the 3^rd place that Adam scored at the Section 5 meet. Just last year Adam was 20^th at sectionals yea you read that correctly 20^th. This year 3^rd you better check yourself if you think hard work, dedication, and a good attitude are over-rated! It did not stop there either as the rest of the boys were on it as well with Reed 4^th, Stefan 7^th, and Dylan in 15^th. Adam, Reed, and Stefan will all represent Section 5 at this year’s state meet.

Not to be out done the girls had spectacular races as well. Katie led the way in 2^nd, Alyssa 3^rd, Amy 4^th and Katie 10^th. It’s pretty impressive that all of the girls that participated in the summer program are now headed to states; it speaks volumes about how important it is to get some ski specific training in over the summer.

It’s hard not to be excited about how well the kids are skiing this winter. It is not only a testament to how hard they work but also to how hard there high school coaches work. I don’t know anyone who is as dedicated to the coaching and education of young athletes as Mr. Gardner at HF-L and I would not be where I am in my own life if it were not for him. The same goes for Mrs. Gorbold at Pittsford she puts in many more hours than she will ever be given credit for! Without them NY skiing would not be the same and I have to give them a big shout out !!!

The senior team made the trip north to contest the Lake Placid Loppet. It was the first 50k skate race for all of us and we were able to be the first 3 New Yorkers across the line. Leading the way was Jason 4^th, Marty 6^th and Chad 10^th Overall. As always we go to win the race not our age group so I would be lying if I said we were not a little disappointed with our performances. But we went for it! We did not sign up for the hurt a little 25k or the ski and not destroy our self classic race we went for the big daddy and that’s what it all about! Go big or go home! Kinda like Shawn Payton in the Super Bowl you either have a set or you don’t!

We even sent our senior leader all the way down to the Art Roscoe Loppet. Steve was sent on a mission to avenge his loss from last year but was unable to come through in the clutch. By his own omission he was a “Big Baby” and is already looking forward to next year. He was 3^rd overall and 2nd in his age group but as stated before we are not interested in winning the age class we want the whole dam thing!

As you can see R.N.R was all over the state this past weekend and will be back at it this weekend. Before you even think about leaving a comment I will let you all know that Marty and Jason are headed to Lake Placid for the Nor-Am Biathlon races and they will have there rifles!

We are all looking forward to the NYSSRA Championship weekend in two weeks!! You can bet we will be there for one reason and one reason only!

Placid Post

(Alyssa Leading The Way!)

It was a big weekend of racing for the R.N.R gang as we made the trip north to the Olympic village of Lake Placid. The senior team set up base camp at the “JR” where we were joined by Amy, Stefan and Rob. We kicked off the weekend with the infamous coin game. I thought I was in prime position to secure one of the double beds as I won the preliminary round securing my position as the last one to throw in the money round, but as luck would have it the last two qualifiers came up big when the pressure was on and ended up with the two bigger beds!! Marty and I were relegated to the two single beds for the weekend while Steve and Chad got to enjoy the luxury that the queen beds provided!

The morning of the Skate race we should have known we were in for it as we pulled out of the driveway headed for the venue and got a classic North Country welcome from one of the locals. Marty may have taken his time as he pulled out of the driveway but we had plenty of time to get in to our lane and get on our way, apparently the guy in the pickup coming the other way did not think so and made sure to roll down the window and get his hand out to throw us the bird!!

As we arrived at the venue the A1 cluster F%$#@ was already in full swing! The cold temps overnight had everyone running around switching wax and trying to find more clothes. By the time the first starter was off the sun was out and it was a picture perfect day. The juniors had a big day as they looked to lock of there position on this years JO team. Reed led the way for the boy’s while Alyssa and Amy threw it down in the girl’s races! The senior team did not ski up to expectation and it was decided that to make up for it we would ski the first ½ of the Loppet course in preparation for the upcoming race. Since we really had no idea where we were headed we recruited Jacked Up to give us a tour of his stomping ground. It seemed like we went up a lot of big hills so I’m not really sure if he took us on the real loppet course or his own loppet course! It was a good ski and we even found a few surprises out on the trail. Jacked Up was getting hungry and as usual decided to prey upon the weak!! Law of the jungle baby!

(Only the strong survive)

When we returned to the "JR" we were treated to a first class meal prepared by Amy, Stefan, and Rob. After dinner we had a bunch of visitors stop over and it was great to catch up with everyone. I caught a little grief for not keeping up with the blog but i'm not going to mention any names (Gabby)!

Sunday was the 15k mass start classic race. It was a quality suffer-fest for most. There was an early move by the boys from Craftsbury and the rest of us were forced to give chase. We had a good chase pack of 8-10 unfortunately Chad and I fell of the back on the second lap. I’m not exactly sure how everyone ended up overall as the results have not been posted on-line. Post race reports were mostly positive except for Adam who decided he would try out his wax-less skis. Needless to say it was not a good day for that!

As usual the NYSEF crew put on a great event and it was hard to leave and make the trip south. What was even worse than leaving Lake Placid was what I awoke to this morning 55 degrees and pouring rain, needless to say the skiing in Rochester at the moment is questionable at best. Not good.

(Some were more tired than others on the trip home "Big Baby a.k.a Coin Game Winner")