Eau Claire Ski Striders Show Well at the 2007 Noquemanon
by Karen Possley

Considering the lack of snow to train on locally a number of Ski Striders headed north to Marquette, Michigan to take part of the 9th running of the Noquemanon Ski Marathon and Half Noque. The race was held on January 27th this year. The usual marathon course runs from Ishpeming to Marquette, through forests, across lakes and rivers with views of Lake Superior then ending at the Superior Dome of Northern Michigan University. The half marathon joins the marathon at the 25 km mark. The course profile appears to be mostly downhill, but don’t be fooled, there are significant and brutal climbs out there.

Due to low snow accumulations, even in the Upper Peninsula, the course was shortened from 50 km to 45 km for the marathon and from 25 km to 20 km for the half marathon.  The finish line was moved to the Forestville trails deleting the part of the course that travels through Marquette, providing great snow conditions. The adjusted course threw in some nasty surprise gut busters in the last 5 km.

The crew I traveled with included the same three of us that have competed in all nine years of the Noque. Bob Burch has been the gracious chauffeur for Cheri Uelmen and me every year, collectively referred to as Bob and the Blondes. Cheri and I are NMU alumnae and look forward to visiting our old stomping grounds. Her family resides in the U.P. so we get to visit with them, usually staying with her parents, Lynn and Ralph, Friday night and with her sister and brother-in-law on Saturday night. This year we rented a charming old mansion that had room for twelve, including some friends from Chicago, Madison, LaCrosse, Eau Claire and the Twin Cities, Mark and Emily Blaskey, Rich Dirks and the three of us. The lodgings were the perfect setting for party central.

The drive is long but went fast while we reminisced on past trips and lamented about snow conditions in Eau Claire. We went to the expo for race packets, wax reports and the chance to see other racers we know. Cheri’s mom cooked up a great pasta feed the night before the race. Then we all settled into our pre-race rituals.

This event isn’t just a race for me. I enjoy seeing old friends and former Ski Striders. We ran into Julie and Tom Meyer, Michelle and Mike Flanagan-Haag, Bil Danielson and many others. Not everyone was there to race. Mark and Emily made a killing at the expo selling Mark’s metal sculptures and another friend spent the day downhill skiing at Marquette Mountain.

As for the race, the club was well represented on the podium, winning the coveted Moen cowbells as awards for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in their age division.
Name                           overall place            division place time            length            race
John Stien                   20                    5                      2:29            45 km            freestyle
Cheri Uelmen              14                    1                      3:09            45            freestyle
John Kotar                  70                    4                      4:14            45            classical
Bob Burch                   172                  27                    4:28            45            classical
Rich Dirks                   65                    5                      1:22            20            freestyle
Kine Torinus               63                    1                      1:33            20            freestyle
Karen Possley             6                      1                      1:25            20            classical
John Torinus               70                    5                      1:56            20             classical

For complete results and more information about the event, go to www.noquemanon.com.

After the race we got to linger in warm showers and refuel with soup and other post race food and drink. The results were ready to be compared with other racers at the Dome. Then it was off to the second half of the Noque. It was great to have a place where could all congregate, eat more, have a few cocktails and talk about race conditions and times. After supper we went to the awards ceremony to collect our cowbells or have the chance at winning door prizes. There was the Reggae band for a little dancing before climbing the hill back to the mansion.

If everyone has the energy the next day, we usually go for a ski on one of the many local trails, but we always go back to Cheri’s parents’ house for Lynn’s pancakes before the long ride home. It was hard to leave all the snow behind.

This event is held on my favorite course and is one I look forward to every year. Bob and the Blondes will definitely be returning for their10th year of the Noque. I suggest putting the Noque on your calendar on the last weekend of January, 2008.

Dry Land Training- Oct. 9th

Cross Country Ski Training Oct 12th

TOKO "Ski Club/Ski Team" discount program

Membership dues