The Bogburn Classic 2026

The Bogburn Classic 2026

Results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yLWBXuPFyHl-G4GTZsWw5qjcgGfDJ_Lvqx4aKI8b8xQ/edit?gid=0#gid=0

The weekend of strong traditions continued with the Bogburn Classic.  The Bogburn is a throwback to what racing was in the good old days to many of New England’s hearty Master Skiers.  The only way to truly understand the Bogburn is to ski the Bogburn.  The race has different meanings to different athletes, and the defining elements are unique to each individual.  At a New Year's Party earlier in the week, one familiar with the race expressed perpetual frustration, while another, John Brodhead, said the Bogburn was the highlight of the season.  Personally, I understand both points of view, but I have come to respect and revere the event, even though many years ago my initial reaction was the same as most others: "Never AGAIN!" Yet, in a short time, the race leaves you begging for more. And everyone returns the following year to try to improve.

The Bogburn was the last major homestead race on the NENSA Calendar historically.  The Haydocks meticulously prepared the trail and invited New England skiers to share the experience.  The event outgrew the venue, even with heroic efforts to spread the races throughout the day.  It was a family affair and attracted people far and wide to say that they had skied the Bogburn, and once you had done it, like it or not, you were hooked.  It is no coincidence that to look at historical Bogburn results is to see the who’s who in cross-country skiing. It builds character and resilience and, as I have always said, will take 10 minutes off your Craftsbury Marathon time.  A few years ago, the difficult decision was made to relocate the Bogburn, and Rikert Outdoor Center was willing to accommodate continuing the tradition.

Middlebury College and Rikert Outdoor Center have generously shared their incredible resource, the Tormondsen Family Race Course, with cross-country skiers and are committed to preserving the Bogburn for the future.   The issue with traditionalists is that the Bogburn Trail is the antithesis of a homologated racecourse.  This may be an unfair assessment.  Perhaps homologated racecourses aspire to be as inspiring as the Bogburn Trail.  Since the relocation, lean snow has compromised the prestige of the traditional trail, but skiers were satisfied that the event was held.

This year, the early snow allowed for the use of some of the more homestead-type trails at Rikert.  A welcome and exciting prospect for the connoisseur of the finer aspects of racing.   A young skier said that the "coverage was very thin," while Scott Magnan (NWVE) responded that it was "good that they did not overgroom the Battell Woods."  Before Tormondsen, this was a trail we raced for the Vermont State Meet, and conditions were better today than then!  The narrower trails were not the only welcome throwback.  Course marking with pin flagging, a 360-degree loop to add distance, inconsistent grooming and snow surface, a whole section where you wondered if you were on or off course, a cut through that can only be explained by “the best judgment” of the course designer, obliterated tracks, and more. While these may seem like negatives to someone who only skis on highly manicured trails, they are true to what the Bogburn is about.  How hard do you push yourself with the uncertainty of: Were you supposed to turn at the last intersection that looked blocked off?  But that is only part of the challenge that the Bogburn delivers to you.  As Scott said, “You do not need perfection to put together a fun and memorable race.”

So, this year was a return to some of the things that make the race unique. The conditions were great!  We started in the stadium and quickly got onto the field, which had gone to bare ground in many places on Monday and was covered only by a thin layer of natural snow.  The tracking pan was dropped, and grass skiing was had.  The knoll at the Tamarack house was thrown in just because, with an off-camber runout, which was not the clearest option, and did not agree with race brain.  This was not the only section where the person who started in front of you was coming straight back at you, and you had to wonder, Where am I? and How did they get there!  Focus during disorienting racing is a useful skill.  The course looped around to the Battell Woods, where we had a solid gray ice base with a thin coating of snow.  The snow did not shear off the ice, and the course held throughout this section, which included a loop-de-loop on Horse Pasture, a chicane off Bower, back onto Battell.  You could hold an edge on all this snow while feeling the contour of the ground beneath the ice, praying for your ski bases. The course returned to the stadium and dove onto the Tormondsen Race Course with a deep snow-making base and proper tracks.  At the Service Road Crossing, we veered left onto the Second Loop of the course.  It was a welcome turn instead of hitting the climb of the First Loop while gassed from double poling Battell.  The course took the halfway cutoff on the Second Loop and descended back to the Service Road Crossing and climbed back toward the stadium before taking the right to the Third Loop.  Here we crossed the road again and skied in great tracks to the first cutoff.  Some questionably laid limbs blocked this off, and we continued up the third loop.  Here, the tracks and grooming changed significantly, with a very shallow, barely discernible track in ungroomed powder. It caused you to wonder if you read those limbs at the last intersection correctly. The midway cut-off was up an embankment, and the ensuing trail had some standing weed stalks to help skiers check their balance.  The course descended back to the Service Road and returned to the stadium via the dreaded climb that always feels harder than it looks.  Skiers got to experience the loop twice in traditional Bogburn fashion (because you only think once is enough).  While some elements were not captured, those in the know appreciated the measures taken to preserve the authenticity of the identity that defines this event!

We waxed with the NWVE recommendation of klister binder, with a cold, mixed stick klister being popular.  Some stayed with hard wax.  Greens and blues were working, and it was a matter of how toothy you wanted your grip to be. With the surface variability on the course, perfect skis were a long shot, but most happily got by.

I missed the youth races in the morning, but reports were that they were well attended and very exciting!

The Open Races got underway at 1 pm.   The start order generally followed age group, youngest to oldest, alphabetically.  Thomas Clayton (NWVE) had the honor of starting the race.  He was glad to be back in action after a long off-season.  Thomas worked with the eventual overall winner, Joseph Graziadei (U. of Denver), for the first lap.  It became apparent Joseph was just cruising when he kicked it up for the second lap.  The only other racer able to overtake Thomas on course was Nicholas Van Citters (Middlebury). 

Michael Dillon (MNC) kicked things off for the Master categories.  He was caught by Dennis Page (Nansen), who skied his way to 10^th place overall.  Andre’ Bolduc (NWVE) led out the M2s.  He was quickly caught by Owen Lenz (MNC).  Andre was pleased with his new skis (yes, he used his new skis! (with no issue)), finding improved speed on the downhills and even offering me a draft after Eric Tremble (NWVE) passed us on the Second Loop uphill. 

The M3s kept things relatively close.  Neal Graves (NWVE) was chased by Nate Laber (MNC).  Nate eventually caught Neal and went on to take 4^th overall.  Tyler Magnan (NWVE) looked on and watched Nate slip away, but had a good mark on reeling in Owen Lenz (MNC) over the course.  Tim Caramore (Missoula Nordic Ski Club) took a wrong turn off the knoll early in the race.  Realizing his mistake, seeing oncoming traffic about to enter Battell, he turned around and corrected course. 

Tim’s detour gave me an advantage I held for a lap.  Eli Enman (NWVE) caught me easily by the knoll and was out of sight by the entrance to the woods.  Adam Groff (Ford Sayre) also wasted no time overtaking me, holding a pace similar to Eli’s throughout the race.  Scott Magnan (NWVE) ended up even with Tim, and the two played cat-and-mouse throughout the race.  Tim got Scott at the line, but it was not enough to make up for the time lost with the wrong turn and Scott’s determination to reel in as many skiers as he could.  Eric Tremble (NWVE) cruised by many of the racers ahead of him in the start order.  He was slightly disappointed to find chocolate-chip pumpkin treats instead of the brownies he was craving after the race.  After eating the treat, he had second thoughts and returned for more! Eric finished 9th overall and third in the highly competitive M4 category, despite Justin Freeman (Unattached) being a no-show.  Eli took the M4 top honors with Adam Groff a few seconds back.

Eric Darling (NWVE) caught most of the M4 participants while holding his own in the M5 category.  Eric Darling is no stranger to the Bogburn podium, sporting a coveted pair of Bogburn tights and a Bogburn hat won in past editions.  Ed Hamilton (NWVE) worked on catching Bruce Perlow (Unattached).  Ed was in good form, easily striding up the hills. Stuart Kremzner (Enevoldsen Coaching) double-poled the race, skiing away from Stephen Wright (NWVE) and catching Ed.  Stuart’s placement was much improved over the Kendall Classic in December, reflecting the exclusion of killer hill in the second half of the Second Loop.  Stephen only had brief company on the course as he made quick passes, working his way through the field. 

Bryce Wing (Ford Sayre) was in good company.  Ford Sayre has taken an early lead in the points series this season and is sure to hold it with an impressive turnout for the Bogburn. Bryce was very pleased with his club's performance.  I reminded him of Bill Farrell’s comment years ago, “Only been skiing at Oak Hill?  That’s only where the best skiers in the country train!”  Bryce held off Bill McKibben (Unattached) and caught Art Copoulos (Ford Sayer) and Grant Kelley (Unattached) to win the M8 category.  Bryce was feeling pretty good and happy to see the deep Master Skier representation at the event.  He may even twist some familiar arms and show up with a carload of friends at upcoming events to try to seal Ford Sayre’s lead in the Club Series.  Jud Hartmann (NWVE) had a tough go today.  He was off to a good start, making up time on Ed Luban (CNY Nordic) when his binding broke partway through the race.  Jud limped it back to his car, grabbed another ski, added a little wax, and got back on course.  He even retook a spot or two!

The women’s start order picked up right after the men, with only a short break for potential day-of-race registrants.  There were no M1 or M2 women.  Catherine McDermott (Snake Mountain) kicked things off for the masters.  She was caught by Elizabeth Paddock (Missoula Ski Club) going into the second lap. 

The M4 division had a strong turnout in the women’s race as well.  Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) led out Tricia Groff (Ford Sayre), Liz Hollenback (NWVE), and Sara Katz (MNC).  Liz caught Jessica early on the Horse Pasture Loop, but had to keep racing hard to try to keep Tricia from catching her.  Sarah Pribram (NWVE) won for the women on Saturday in St. Albans and was on a mission to chase down everyone ahead of her in the start order.  She nearly achieved this goal, falling short of a couple of junior skiers.  Sarah did make the overall podium in second place and put over a minute on any Master Women Division competition!

Two of the M7 participants finished within six seconds of each other.  They were split in the start order by Gina Campoli (Craftsbury),  who gave them both a good race!  Gina skied between Julie Longstreth (Unattached) and Jane Henry (Ford Sayre). Gina’s husband, John, cheered with great enthusiasm, moving around the trail to track and support her progress as well as anyone else he knew, which is most of us. It is always a good feeling to get the nod from John Brodhead!  They all caught Sarah Katz (MNC) and Katie Hill (MNC), who returned to Rikert to race a second time this season, showing improvement on her Kendall Classic performance.  The Breadloaf Sourdoughs, Mary Yates, Emily Givens, and Amy Carey, rounded out the field.

People had plenty of time to cool down after the race and headed into the barn for a lively awards ceremony.  The Haydock family continued to fill many volunteer positions to ensure the race ran smoothly and true to form.  It was good to see them lining skiers up to start, counting us down, and collecting our bibs when we were done.  Ben Haydock gave a brief speech expressing his pleasure that the tradition continues and noting how nice it is to see so many familiar faces returning year after year.  At the awards ceremony, there was a special occurrence with the master categories M1-M10 represented.  The M11 opted to cheer at his highlight of the season after skiing the Race for Warmth the day before, but surely would have owned his alma mater's course!  The grateful crowd slowly departed, and as is tradition, began contemplating their next Bogburn!  

Damian