Birkie Week Persists Despite Late Changes

Barnebirkie, Birkebeiner among modified races

HAYWARD, Wis.- The 50th American Birkebeiner almost looked like a lost cause due to a lack of February snowfall, but somehow, they were able to make it happen.

However, that’s not to say there were some major changes. Take the Birkebeiner, for example. The children’s pre-race companion to the Birkebeiner set for Thursday was converted into a fun run. “At the end of the day, we still had to have something for over 500 kids.” says Ben Popp, Event Director for the American Birkebeiner Foundation.

On the same day, skiers in Cable got their first taste of the racetrack before most of them race on Saturday. “I mean, it’s pretty crazy,” smiled Popp. “It’s 50 degrees. There’s not a snowflake on the ground, but yet there’s thousands of people here enjoying a ski race.”

According to Popp, it was a scramble to put this year’s makeshift track together in time for the Birkie Week. “The staff was amazing. They put together 10 kilometers of trail, the events team being able to pivot to bring nearly 40,000 people to one venue over these days. It’s been awesome, so proud of the team. And then the payoff is seeing all these amazing smiling faces, people having a wonderful time enjoying the sport of Nordic Skiing.”

Birkie Week will continue through Sunday as racers will run three loops of the course to complete the 30 kilometer race.