By Mike Davis, Team OAM Now Nordic Skier
It was a very cold morning in Grayling for the Hanson Hills 12K classic. Waxing was easy for many, as the cold temperatures left no lack of kick. I didn’t want to lose any glide, so I chose to double pole this race on my skate skis. Team OAM Now performed well, with all the men finishing in the top ten and Rebecca Davis winning the women’s race.
The Hanson Hills 12k Classic Race is an interval start race with each racer starting in 15 second intervals. They put everyone into order by age group, then the order they signed up. The interval start makes it difficult to pace because you have no idea where you stand during the race. My strategy for races like this is to go as hard as I can for as long as I can. Regardless of our differing strategies for this race, it seems like Team OAM Now was doing something right with another impressive showing.
Rebecca Davis must have had a good strategy, as she was able to win the women’s race by 56 seconds. Dan Yankus had a very strong race by finishing in third with a time of 44:10. Alex Vanias came in fourth just 31 seconds behind Dan while I finished eighth overall with a time of 47:40.
Each race is a great opportunity for different conditions and more experience which allows us to learn and develop new strategies. With each race, we’re hopeful that we keep growing and improving…of course, we’d also like to keep winning.
