The Craftsbury Marathon Day 1 Classic

Craftsbury Marathon 2026

By Damian & Jessica Bolduc

Results: https://bullitttiming.com/events/Craftsbury-Marathon-2026

The Craftsbury Marathon Ski Festival kicked off with the 50km Classic Race.  Snow Conditions in Craftsbury have been exceptional for much of the season.  Monday’s storm dumped plenty of snow to work with on top of the farmed base that the staff has been tending to all season.  It also gave the grooming crew time to pack it all into Hero Tracks for the participants to enjoy for the season's signature event.  While it was cold, it was great racing conditions, and whether you got the result you wanted or not, it was awesome skiing!

Due to the frigid temps prior to the race, NWVE opted to rent a wax cabin instead of using our traditional open wax station.  People knew where to find us to see what we were using. and skier preferences followed their usual patterns.  It was interesting to hear different people's feedback on the same wax.  I think the ski flex and wax pocket were significant factors today, but it was not difficult to find something that was going to work well.  The Club's Wax Recommendation was a popular go-to.

Conditions were temps in the single digits, slightly overcast, and there was a breeze that could send a chill through you when combined with the speed of a downhill.  Most notably, on Viviana’s and in Murphy’s Field.  The rest of the course was sheltered, or the wind was at your back.  The snow was packed powder with no icy spots or debris other than the occasional gel packet that got away.  A tremendous amount of work went into having the track race-ready, which is not always obvious, but hundreds of hours, if not more, of manual shoveling ensured the solid course we enjoyed.

The loop started in the Lower Field and then went out to Murphy’s and Duck Pond before coming back to the Upper Field.  After looping through the Upper Field, skiers set out to Elinor’s Downhill, where the course deviated from the sliding turns onto the swooping steps of Elinor’s Uphill, except in reverse, and going down, we got onto Sam’s and crossed Creek Road to ski Dante’s.  We returned to Ruthie’s via Viviana’s Fields and, for the first time in a long time, got to ski Max’s Pond in the marathon.  For some reason, I missed seeing the beached paddleboat, but maybe it was covered in snow.  The course worked its way up to Charlie’s Cabin at Hosmer Point, returning to the gate, then heading to the Camp Cabins and Lakeside Trail.  Perhaps it was some mild hypothermia setting in, but the turns on Lakeside were especially fun this year, and many skiers set a Strava PR on this section.  We crossed Lost Nation Road and got to Kirby’s via Hoyts Wall and John’s Jaunt.  Climbing Kirby’s was good striding until we got to the “Mean Hill” up to The Pines, then easy cruising back to the Lower Stadium on Lemon’s.  Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) felt that the Mean Hill only added an insult to the long climb up Kirby’s.  Feelings were mixed on this addition to the course.  Some liked the downhill on The Pines into Lemon’s versus the usual extended low-grade climb.  This year's approach staged a little recovery for Dino Hill.

Skiers tested and prepped in their usual way.  After getting smoked by JoAnn Hanowski (Rossi) at the Geschmossel, I was keen to meet her on a test loop.  Her skis were still faster, but I did not need to work as hard to keep up, so I was happy. I am a little on the heavier side for my skis, but there is always next year to fix that.  It was good to see everyone, and spirits were high with lots of joking and laughter.  The waxing was easy, and people were not too stressed.  It was going to be what it was going to be, but we really could not have asked for a better day or conditions.

The Women start first in the Classic Marathon, and it was fun to see them cruise up the hill.  It was a clean start, and it seemed like people knew it was going to be a long, cold race, so no need to be too aggressive off the starting line.  The Men were set to go 15-minutes later.  Part of the race instructions stated that if the race director hears a certain mention again, he will burn the place down.  The course was well-received and appreciated.  A tremendous amount of work went into having it race-ready, which is not always obvious, but hundreds of hours, if not more, of manual shoveling ensured the solid course we enjoyed.

From the back, Jessica Bolduc (NWVE) skied conservatively and found herself for the first lap going back and forth with Emily Dreissengacker (Craftsbury) and Annie Rowell (Unattached).  Emily had the advantage on the downhills, Annie found something magical in Max’s Pond, and she skied away, and Jessica found her strength striding up the hills.  At the beginning of the race, Jessica, as she was leaving the stadium, was able to give a cheer to Ann Burnham (NWVE) as she entered the Upper Field.

At about this time, the Men’s race got underway.  Toeing the line for the first time in a few years for the club was Tim Cowan (NWVE).  Perhaps heeding the “If you have been waiting for perfect conditions, wait no more” advice in this week’s club update.  It was good to see Tim and Scott Magnan (NWVE), and I said hello as the race got underway.  The Men’s race start was clean as well.  It was impressive how much the field had spread out by Murphy’s.  Some were in it to win it, others were hopeful to finish, which I guess is always the case.  NWVE had great representation throughout both fields, and it was good to see the team working together.  It is always good to have a friend close to you in the race. 

Jessica had a firsthand view of the men’s race as it unfolded.  The first of the men’s group caught her after crossing Creek Rd.  She jumped out of the tracks while enjoying her feed to let the first group go by. Finn Sweet (Craftsbury) was leading Kris Freeman (Caldwell Sport), Colin Freed (MNC Pro), and Justin Freeman (Unattached).  The group stayed together for the whole race and were only separated by a few seconds at the finish line. When entering Dante’s, she got some cheers from Sarah Pribram (NWVE), and heard Rick Constanza (Craftsbury) cheering Sara Graves (NWVE).  Jessica 10km had a sense of relief seeing 48 minutes.  This meant she was safely going at the pace without worrying about getting pulled. While on Dante’s, she saw a number of skiers.  First Eli Enman (NWVE) and Thomas Clayton (NWVE) working together, then not far behind, Neal Graves (NWVE) and Chris Burnham (NWVE).  Then near the top of Dante’s, a long train with Brook Hodgeman (NWVE) came by.  

At the bottom of the descent in Dante’s, Jessica saw Bob Burnham (NWVE) with me close behind as we started the climb.  When nearing the end of Dante’s, Jim Fredericks (NWVE) looked strong, double poling at the start of the loop.  Somewhere in there was also Eric Tremble (NWVE) and Tyler Magnan (NWVE) skiing by.  Eric dropped to the half distance due to a persistent cold over the last few weeks and provided excellent pacing for Tyler, who was having a great day in the full marathon. After crossing Creek Rd, Olivia Serrano (Orford), who had been skiing near Jessica, tucked in a deep squat all the way down to the woods in Vivianna’s field.  This led to some wild whooping of excitement from Ace Serianni (MNC) as he skied down, emulating the Super Tuck.  In the turns, Tom Thurston (NWVE) came by and criticized the time lost as Jessica took caution with some speed checks here and there.  Ruthie’s to Max’s gave some reprieve from the cooling effect of Viviana’s.  Jonathan Rodd (NWVE) skied with Wes Denering (CSU) for the short course.  Wes continued on as Jonathan finished.  Jonathan was at a crossroads on the course as some of the people around him opted to call it after a lap rather than head out for another, though he paced it well, finishing close to Jim Fredericks (Rossi).

Entering Hosmer Point, Mark Isslehardt (Craftsbury) had to work his way through a few of us, as Jessica jumped out of the tracks to let him go by.  Going around Charlie’s Cabin, found friend Barry Kitch (EMXC) skiing by.  During the core trails of John’s Jaunt and Kirby’s, Scott Magnan (NWVE) skied by latched onto Chris Bean (Stowe Nordic).  Jessica knows Eric Darling (NWVE), John Thompson (NWVE), Stephen Wright (NWVE), and Bob Burnham (NWVE) all cheered for her as they went by, but she can’t remember exactly where that happened.  Scott, Stephen, and Bob were in a disorganized group working within sight of each other for much of the race, but never really connecting due to ski speed and differences in energy management.  Bob noted Stephen’s engine had a lot of strength.  Passing through the stadium, Jessica checked her watch; it confirmed she was still safely within the time frame not to be cut, with less than two hours to complete one lap.

On lap two, there was a lot less passing; everyone was happy to see that the tracks held up just fine, and the wax continued to provide ample kick, though fatigue and minimal glazing made it a little more difficult to find kick on the steep hills.  Jessica saw Annie Rowell exiting the stadium as she entered, and then when Jessica exited, she saw me enter.  Jessica cheered Lindy Sargeant as she was coming out of the Pines onto Lemon’s Haunt, and Jessica headed out to Upper Bailey.  Right with Lindy, Jessica noticed a tall man wearing an NWVE suit, later confirmed to be Tim Cowan, putting the hammer down on the final kilometer of his race.  I eventually caught Jessica striding up Sam’s.  Dante’s was much quieter the second time around, though near the end of the descent in Dante’s, Thomas Longtreth (MNC) passed Jessica, then they strided together up the final ascent, side by side with Jessica.  Entering the final hairpin turn, Jessica was a little surprised as Thomas showed no slowing down, and instead of entering the hairpin turn side by side, she eased off and let him take the lead.  After crossing Creek Rd, Jon Floyd (Harwood Union) passed her going through the fields.  Again, most of the rest of the course was quite quiet, and survival mode began, as this was most skier's longest ski of the year.  At this point in the race, muscles are on the edge, and balance is a little more difficult to come by.  On Lakeside, with a few km to go, Tim Caldwell (Ford Sayre) came up and commented that it looked like we were going to make it to Jessica.  She said, " Yep, just have to get ourselves up to Kirby’s.” 

Jessica appreciated the cheers of the club as she skied through the finish line and chatted with Phil Lawson (Medical) about the temperatures.  Phil was making sure all participants were fit to proceed directly to the post-race feed at the Farmer & the Spud food truck without any need for medical attention.

For refreshments, the wax cabin had the regular NWVE brownies and, special for this weekend, a hot chocolate station.  This proved invaluable as participants were chilled to the core, and a hot beverage hit the spot after depleting all their energy on the course.  Getting changed along with some salty fries and a burger recharged us for day two!

Post race, we traded some stories.  Neal felt good until 33km, then had to dial it back due to some sinus issues that caught up to him.  Tyler had a fantastic day, pleased with every aspect of his ski.  Will Meehan (SMC Alum) could not believe Brook Hodgeman’s late surge coming by like a freight train in the later stages of the race.  Thomas Clayton noted that Chris Burnham's skis were gliding fast while Eli was struggling a bit with his. 

Barry Kitch reported that Neal's advice on pinning and tucking gels under your bib did not work for him, but Barry probably had one of the most improved results in this race from years past!  Jessie Donovan (Unattached) felt she was underdressed for the temps and will use a new strategy tomorrow.  She really wanted her warm-up pants during the race.  Sarah Pribram and Kasie Enman had a great ski together.  Both have been doing a lot of volume, but they seemed to be pretty quick, too.  Ann Burnham was psyched with the skiing and happy she opted for two laps.  She felt great and felt the effort to be a positive for an upcoming trip. Eric Darling was on board with the Guru Green wax, having no issues during the race and really liking the little add-ons to the course here and there.

Many of today’s participants will be joined by more tomorrow for day two of the Craftsbury Marathon, where we will get to try the course in the opposite direction with the freestyle technique.  It should be exciting to see how everything shakes out, and what the snow holds for Day Two!

Damian and Jessica