The Weekly Wax: Nov. 26

It’s nuking snow this morning in Leadville. I’ve heard predictions as high as FOUR FEET in parts of the state over the next two days.

This has reminded me of two very, very important items:

I need to rent and watch “Planes, Tranes and Automobiles,” which for some reason, is like my go-to nostalgic holiday film.
Don’t forget, today and today only, you can count shoveling hours as training hours (remember 1:2 ratio….let’s not get carried away here). Actually, what the heck….BLACK FRIDAY SALE….shoveling = 1:1 training hours!!!

I haven’t shoveled yet, and I have no idea how we’re going to train today (maybe a ski right down Harrison….), but….BUT….I did make waffles with Ella and Novi…and I cranked out some emails and this WEEKLY WAX. Winning…..

Ski news

Who did FIS hire as their press person? Anyone else notice the improved quality of the content? I have. Here’s a few stories worth checking out:
Of course, if you’re a paying subscriber, you can read our own U.S. Ski Team preview (I think all you have to do is a make a one-time donation, too…it’s not a lot…help us out.)
Johaug thoughts: she seemed invincible in her Beito debut….and then LOST to Heidi Weng…woah….
Klaebo: looking sharp. 2-for-2 in Beito. The sprint was expected…the classic individual start dominance, especially over Nyenget and Harald is a little more impressive.
Jules Chappaz: maybe I’m biased because he came on the show, but I really think the Frenchman is poised to at least be a top-10 overall contender this year.
Hugo: Same sentiment as above, but Lapalus looked good in the classic race in Beito last weekend.
Kendall: 2nd at NCAAs is legit. She’s now a three-time NCAA All-American. I know she was a stud, relatively speaking in high school running…but she wasn’t like a shoe-in, surefire DI-type stud. Even if you think she was, that’s no guarantee for college success (at the DI, DII, or DIII level). I think we have to give huge, huge praise to the UAF head xc and ski coach, Eliska Albrigtsen. To develop someone like Kramer into an athlete who experiences four years of high-level success and improvement is very, very impressive. How many athletes do we see who come out of high school like Kramer and either fizzle out completely or have a great freshmen year and then nothing else…not Kramer. Plus, consider the interview with Joe Davies below….Albrigtsen took a chance on Davies and developed him into an NCAA ski champion.
Also, speaking of Fairbanks….can we all just admit that this house is amazing? My wife and are considering a move now….ok, not really….
I have more thoughts…but we’ll save them for the show….

Emails

Dude, you are killing it!! Nobody beats you!! These interviews are money. I bet you triple your subs after this string. Great job.

TBGuy

TB Guy –

Thanks…I wish we were seeing a boom…patience, I guess.

-Sederskier

Ryan,

Podcast drops the past two weeks have been insane! Few questions:

1) Any news on that documentary last year that was being filmed on the US xc ski team? Can’t seem to find any info. on this.

2) I’ve also been digging around looking for results from both the Swedish and Norwegian national races. Any link(s) info. you might have with these?

Happy Thanksgiving,

The Crested Butte Kickwax and Coffee Connoisseur

Drew –

Thanks! I’m having a good time meeting these athletes from other countries – I hope I can get a few more in during the next several weeks. As for your questions:

1) no I have no idea…

2) Best place is FIS. Here is Bruskvallarna and here is Beito.

Have a great Thanksgiving! Wish I was in your neck of the woods….we’re getting slammed this morning, but I don’t know if anyone is going to groom!

-Sederskier

Seder-Skier Podcast news

Recent episodes:

Coming up:

Tuesday – regular Sederskier show: NCAA xc reflections, thoughts on development episode, World Cup predictions

Wednesday – Haley Brewster joins the show
Thursday – Lucas Chanavat hops on the pod
Sunday – 1:30 PM MST – World Cup WhineLINE – Youtube link coming!

3 responses to “The Weekly Wax: Nov. 26”

Nordic Insights

November 26, 2024

Personally speaking I disagree with your premise re: Kendall; I feel like three-time state xc running champ and 6x state track champ (1600/3200 double her first three years of high school, with senior year spring getting Covid-ed out) gets you to D-I stud territory. The depth of field in AK is absolutely an order of magnitude smaller than in Colorado, no question there. But also she won Mt. Sac (D–III/IV/V but still). By 34 seconds. I am clearly a massive homer, but that’s shoo-in territory to me.

That said, I completely agree with your conclusion. Development is tricky under the best of circumstances, and the Fairbanks crew gets full marks for what they’ve done up there.

(this is Gavin Kentch, if that doesn’t show up with the comment)

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rsederquist

November 26, 2024

YES! Someone to engage with!

It’s always tricky to compare xc times…..but just looking at her Athletic.net profile quick, I see 18:34, 17:33, 18:02 and 17:38. Those times are ok (and again, my bet is that Alaskan courses are real XC, not the hard-packed quasi track meets of today’s Southwest courses haha…)

Her state titles don’t mean anything in the context of this decision because it’s competition dependent. Heck, I just reported on a kid who ran an 8:41 3200-meter and graduated high school without a single state title – because his own teammate beat him!

The Mt. Sac victory is, as you pointed out, D3, so different than D2 or D1, but also, that meet isn’t the same level as say NXR or NXN or Footlocker, etc….so I’m not totally sure what to make of it…

But, I digress… Kramer’s Milesplit bests are 4:56 and 10:27 for 1600/3200.

To me, that’s DI material, but it’s definitely not a immediate impact DI-stud stuff. Which is an important distinction, especially related to my comments about her development.

In fact, her 1600 converts to roughly a 4:59 mile, which would be somewhere between 39th and 46th on the DIII – D3! – indoor national list from last year….That 10:27 equates to maybe a 9:50 3k….which wouldn’t crack the top 30 in D3 either.

In other words, as good as she was in high school, she would have needed to improve to make it…just make it…to the NCAA DIII meet….DII is a whole different ballgame (4:56.84 is the 59th best DII time from 2024….)

I say all this because I think most people – especially skiers – vastly underestimate the depth of collegiate running in our country. It’s like the Scando Cup for skiing — times a thousand.

Just for comparison, take a look at Abbey Nechanicky, a recent MN product running for CU. She was one of – but definitely not the top – recruit a couple years ago. Her high school stat line is 4:45/10:05/16:43 for 1600/3200/5000. Her first outdoor track season, she barely made it to NCAA regionals. In XC, she didn’t make it to nationals. And I don’t think she’s regressed as a runner….she just hasn’t progressed that much (yet, hopefully…I’m a big Nechanicky fan….)

Jo Jo Jourdon – one of the best male high school recruits from 2024 – couldn’t even make All-American (he finished 47th) at the last NCAA DI xc champs.

So…all that is to say: high school Kramer = talented runner…college Kramer = even better runner….UAF coach = worthy of some praise haha.

The more interesting question I think is, given the success of Laukli in combining skiing and trails, what could Kramer do applying the same approach? I think right now, her DII nats performance immediately makes her a fitter, faster runner than Laukli, but I don’t know if it could translate to trails….

Wow…I probably wasted way, way too much time on this haha.

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rsederquist

November 27, 2024

…..then again….you could be right…. I think ultimately this is a fair topic to debate, which makes it such a good talker.

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Nordic Insights

November 26, 2024

Personally speaking I disagree with your premise re: Kendall; I feel like three-time state xc running champ and 6x state track champ (1600/3200 double her first three years of high school, with senior year spring getting Covid-ed out) gets you to D-I stud territory. The depth of field in AK is absolutely an order of magnitude smaller than in Colorado, no question there. But also she won Mt. Sac (D–III/IV/V but still). By 34 seconds. I am clearly a massive homer, but that’s shoo-in territory to me.

That said, I completely agree with your conclusion. Development is tricky under the best of circumstances, and the Fairbanks crew gets full marks for what they’ve done up there.

(this is Gavin Kentch, if that doesn’t show up with the comment)

LikeLike

rsederquist

November 26, 2024

YES! Someone to engage with!

It’s always tricky to compare xc times…..but just looking at her Athletic.net profile quick, I see 18:34, 17:33, 18:02 and 17:38. Those times are ok (and again, my bet is that Alaskan courses are real XC, not the hard-packed quasi track meets of today’s Southwest courses haha…)

Her state titles don’t mean anything in the context of this decision because it’s competition dependent. Heck, I just reported on a kid who ran an 8:41 3200-meter and graduated high school without a single state title – because his own teammate beat him!

The Mt. Sac victory is, as you pointed out, D3, so different than D2 or D1, but also, that meet isn’t the same level as say NXR or NXN or Footlocker, etc….so I’m not totally sure what to make of it…

But, I digress… Kramer’s Milesplit bests are 4:56 and 10:27 for 1600/3200.

To me, that’s DI material, but it’s definitely not a immediate impact DI-stud stuff. Which is an important distinction, especially related to my comments about her development.

In fact, her 1600 converts to roughly a 4:59 mile, which would be somewhere between 39th and 46th on the DIII – D3! – indoor national list from last year….That 10:27 equates to maybe a 9:50 3k….which wouldn’t crack the top 30 in D3 either.

In other words, as good as she was in high school, she would have needed to improve to make it…just make it…to the NCAA DIII meet….DII is a whole different ballgame (4:56.84 is the 59th best DII time from 2024….)

I say all this because I think most people – especially skiers – vastly underestimate the depth of collegiate running in our country. It’s like the Scando Cup for skiing — times a thousand.

Just for comparison, take a look at Abbey Nechanicky, a recent MN product running for CU. She was one of – but definitely not the top – recruit a couple years ago. Her high school stat line is 4:45/10:05/16:43 for 1600/3200/5000. Her first outdoor track season, she barely made it to NCAA regionals. In XC, she didn’t make it to nationals. And I don’t think she’s regressed as a runner….she just hasn’t progressed that much (yet, hopefully…I’m a big Nechanicky fan….)

Jo Jo Jourdon – one of the best male high school recruits from 2024 – couldn’t even make All-American (he finished 47th) at the last NCAA DI xc champs.

So…all that is to say: high school Kramer = talented runner…college Kramer = even better runner….UAF coach = worthy of some praise haha.

The more interesting question I think is, given the success of Laukli in combining skiing and trails, what could Kramer do applying the same approach? I think right now, her DII nats performance immediately makes her a fitter, faster runner than Laukli, but I don’t know if it could translate to trails….

Wow…I probably wasted way, way too much time on this haha.

LikeLike

rsederquist

November 27, 2024

…..then again….you could be right…. I think ultimately this is a fair topic to debate, which makes it such a good talker.

LikeLike

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