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Revelstoke Volume Camp

9/26/2016

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From September 20th – 25th the Rocky Mountain Racers crew, including 12 athletes, coaches John and Luke, and parents Nancy Richard, and Shandy Tilley, were in Revelstoke, BC for another volume camp. For the second time this year, the team set off for an area previously unvisited by the club (although some athletes had been there with a former team). The new locale not only offered a much-appreciated change in scenery, but some great new terrain to explore.
 
The most noteworthy of said terrain would have to be Meadow in the Sky Parkway, the winding road that leads up Mt. Revelstoke. This 24km road would be the site of four separate workouts, the first of which was a lovely (albeit blister inducing) classic rollerski to the summit. Over the course of the next five days, the team would attack the Mountain via ski walk/run, skate rollerski, and another classic pass.
 
On the one day that we did not train on the mountain, we completed an agility/ double pole intensity workout in a parking lot, a skate park, and the bike path that connected the two. Despite John and Luke’s glee upon concocting this workout, the team was leery of the concept. However, upon completion there was hardly a frown to be found, and everyone that participated remained completely intact. Some athletes even spent extra time at the skate park, playing around on their skis after the workout had finished. (Side note: yes, we looked just as cool as you would expect.)
 
Beside some fantastic training hours, the camp offered some good team bonding opportunities as well. From eating dinner together, to a card game and a movie night we are all leaving a little closer than when we started.
 
Speaking of dinner, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Carole, of An Edible Life, in Canmore for providing us with dinner on the first night! The food was very delicious, and we cannot thank her enough for this generous donation!
 
As per usual, this camp could not have worked without our fantastic coaches, as well as Nancy and Shandy. So, thanks to all for another wonderful camp.

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Big Volume, Intensity and Agility: RMR Covers the Bases at Park City Camp

10/24/2015

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PictureThe Rocky Mountain Racers pose for a team photo during their two-week training camp earlier this month at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah. (All photos: Maya MacIsaac-Jones/Rocky Mountain Racers)
From Sept. 27 to Oct. 11, Canada’s Rocky Mountain Racers headed to Park City, Utah, for their annual fall training camp. The team, which is made up of twenty biathletes and cross-country skiers from across the country, took advantage of the region’s high altitude while putting in big volume hours and intensity.

Coaches John Jaques and Luke McGurk led RMR athletes during two grueling weeks of training with 3-5 hour volume days up Mirror Lake Pass, Wolf Pass, Emigration Pass, and Big Cottonwood Pass. For intensity sessions, the team went to Soldier Hollow, where the former Olympic venue’s paved rollerski track and biathlon range provided an opportunity for the biathletes and the cross-country skiers to train together.

For many RMR athletes, this was their first time coming to Park City.

“Skiing at Soldier Hollow was one of my favourite parts of the trip,” said Donny Boake, 15-year old RMR skier from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. “The rollerski track there has steep climbs and technical descents, so it was a great place to practice attacking the climbs and taking the descents aggressively.”
For returning athlete Ember Large, the camp provided a great opportunity to connect and work as a team.

“It was great to have the entire team together for two weeks, both for intensity and long easy days,” she explained. “Having everyone there made for a really fun atmosphere, and we were able to learn a lot from each other.”

This year, the team added something new to their training camp: agility practice. Armed with empty parking lots, sharp corners, and sidewalk curbs for the athletes to jump off of, RMR coaches prepared obstacle courses for the athletes to help improve their confidence on rollerskis. The sessions focused on honing the athletes’ ability to ski in a pack, corner, navigate obstacles, jump, and rollerski.

According to Coach McGurk, the agility sessions allowed athletes to “become more comfortable on their skis and give them the confidence to make decisions quickly when faced with a difficult situation.”
“The camp at Soldier Hollow is always an excellent starting point for the year as it offers a wide variety of terrain that we can use to test our athletes as well as most of our athletes will be in attendance,” he added.

The camp finished off with a sprint time trial at Soldier Hollow, where RMR athletes were joined by Wasatch Nordic Ski Academy for the day. Athletes completed a qualifier, three heats, and another qualifier to finish off the day. Heats were organized according to qualifying time, with similar speed athletes placed in the same heats to make for optimal competitiveness.

“It was a great experience to be able to race with some other girls that we don’t get to see in Canada,” she said. “It was a tough course with lots of hard uphills and downhills that really helped improve my skiing.”

Now done their last camp of the season, RMR athletes have headed back to Canada for some final training on Canmore’s Frozen Thunder before the season kicks off at the end of November.


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Season Update # 2

5/19/2015

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Picture
Rocky Mountain Racers

Racing Season: Part II

The second half of the 2014-2015 racing season was an exciting one for RMR. Many of the athletes were scattered around the world, having qualified in the early season for various international and national competitions. Here are some RMR’s exciting results from the season.

Cross-Country Competitions
:

Western Canadian Championships
  • RMR athletes Andrea Dupont, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Ember Large worked together to bring home 4 silver medals for the team.
  • Emma Camicioli and India McIsaac also posted top-10 results.

The races were an excellent opportunity for RMR athletes to prepare for next year’s World Cup events, which will be held on the same courses.


Eastern Canadian Championships
  • Andrea Dupont, India McIsaac, and Ember Large brought the team 1 gold and 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals, while Ilona Gyapay, Stuart Harden, Andrew Brisbin, Michael MacIsaac-Jones, and Emma Camicioli also posted top-30 results.
  • RMR up-and-comer Anna MacIsaac-Jones also competed in her first ever Eastern Championships, posting top-10 results.

FIS World Junior/U23 Championships
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt travelled to Almaty, Kazakhstan in January to compete at the Championships. Maya had a top-25 result, while Olivia had consistent racing posting several top-20 and one top-12 result.
  • Olivia’s performance at the World U23 Championships has also earned her a spot on this coming year’s Canadian Senior National Ski Team!

FIS World Championships
  • Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt qualified for and competed at the Senior World Championships in Falun, Sweden. That Olivia was able to qualify for this event while still a U23 athlete is an indication of great things to come!

Lahti World Cup
  • Andrea Dupont raced for RMR and for Canada in World Cup races in Lahti, Finalnd. She finished 41st in the skate sprint, the top Canadian of the day!

Canada Winter Games
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Ember Large, and India McIsaac competed for Team Alberta in Prince George, B.C.
  • Maya won a bronze medal, and all three girls posted top-10 results during the event. The three RMR girls were also a part of Team Alberta’s relay, which finished 4th.

  National Championships
  • Andrea Dupont and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt posted several top-10 results throughout the week, with Andrea winning an individual bronze medal.
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Andrea Dupont won the Women’s Team Sprint, an exciting moment for RMR. Maya also won 2 individual gold and 2 individual silver medals, earning her the overall Aggregate title for Junior Women.
  • Olivia’s results earned her 3rd place overall among U23 women, while Andrea finished the season as NorAm Sprint Leader.
  • Ember Large also posted several top-10 results throughout the series.


Biathlon Competitions:

International Biathlon Union Cup
  • RMR’s Guillaume Bertrand qualified for and competed for RMR and Team Canada at the IBU events in Italy.

World University Games
  • Evan Girard represented RMR and Team Canada at the 2015 World Universiade in Slovenia. 

Western Canadian Championships
  • William Poffenroth, Kai Skinstad, and Beau Thompson brought home 2 silver and 2 bronze medals for the team from Grande Prairie, Alberta.

World Junior Championships
  • Stuart Harden and Pearce Hanna both qualified to represent Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Minsk, Belarus.
  • While there, Pearce Hanna raced to an outstanding 13th place in the Youth Men’s Pursuit.

Canada Winter Games
  • Racing for Team Alberta and RMR, Nate Gerwing posted top-15 results in each event in Prince George.

National Championships
  • Gillian Gowling and Stuart Harden brought home 1 bronze medal and 1 gold medal for the team
  • Pearce Hanna and Stuart Harden narrowly missed the podium several times with top-5 results.
  • Kai Skinstad, William Poffenroth, and Guillaume Bertrand claimed top-10 results for the team.
  • Evan Girard and Nate Gerwing achieved top-15 results.

After a relaxing month of rest and recovery for both athletes and coaches, RMR training has just started for the upcoming season! On the calendar this summer and fall include dryland camps in Creston, B.C., Canmore, AB., and Park City, Utah, as well as on-snow training at the Haig Glacier and Sunshine Meadows.

RMR would like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank-you to all of its sponsors. Each and every one of you helps contribute to the team’s success; we would not function without your support.
Picture
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RMR @ Alberta Cups 7 & 8 (Camrose, AB Feb. 7/8)

2/9/2015

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Results from this weekend's Alberta Cup races in Camrose!

Feb. 7 Classic Distance
Juvenile Girls
8) Anna MacIsaac-Jones

Junior Boys
3) Nicholas Bardak
6) Michael MacIsaac-Jones

Women
1) Emma Camicioli

Junior Women
1) Ember Large
Feb. 8 Skate Distance
Juvenile Girls
7) Anna MacIsaac-Jones

Junior Boys
3) Michael MacIsaac-Jones
4) Nicholas Bardak

Women
2) Emma Camicioli



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RMR @ Calforex Cup #5 (Canmore, AB Feb. 7/8)

2/9/2015

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Here are the results from the rescheduled Calforex races in Canmore!

Feb. 7 Individual
Senior Girls
1) Gillian Gowling

Men
2) Kai Skinstad
3) Pearce Hanna
6) William Poffenroth
7) Grant Novak

Youth Men
11) Tristan McKenzie

Feb. 8 Sprint/Mass Start
Youth Men
8) Tristan McKenzie

Men
2) Mark Arendz
3) Pearce Hanna
7) Guillaume Bertrand

Senior Girls
4) Gillian Gowling


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RMR @ The Eastern Cross Country Championships (Nakkertok, QC Jan. 30 - Feb. 1)

2/2/2015

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Congrats to Andrea Dupont for solidifying her selection for the B-Tour!

Jan. 30 Sprints/Prologue
Men
24) William Poffenroth
27) Stuart Harden
32) Andrew Brisbin

Junior Women
2) Ember Large

Women
2) Andrea Dupont
12) Emma Camicioli
19) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Boy (1997)
23) Michael MacIsaac-Jones

Junior Girls (1998)
1) India McIsaac
5) Gillian Gowling

Juvenile Girls (2000)
9) Anna MacIsaac-Jones

Jan. 31 Distance Skate
Men
21) Andrew Brisbin
22) Stuart Harden
26) William Poffenroth

Junior Women
2) Ember Large
7) India McIsaac
14) Gillian Gowling

Women
3) Andrea Dupont
15) Emma Camicioli
22) Ilona Gyapay

Juvenile Girls (2000)
10) Anna MacIsaac-Jones

Junior Boy (1997)
16) Michael MacIsaac-Jones




Feb. 1 Distance Skate
Men
22) Stuart Harden
26) Andrew Brisbin

Junior Women
3) Ember Large

Women
5) Andrea Dupont
12) Emma Camicioli
20) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Boy (1997)
17) Michael MacIsaac-Jones


Junior Girls (1998)
9) India McIsaac


Juvenile Girls (2000)
11) Anna MacIsaac-Jones



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Season Update #1

1/20/2015

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Picture
Rocky Mountain Racers

Training Camps and Early Racing Season

Led by coaches John Jaques and Luke McGurk, the RMR athletes have had a busy training season filled with multiple camps and an exciting start to the racing season.

Training Camps
Sunshine Ski Camp
Throughout May and June, RMR athletes were fortunate enough to be able to ski on fully groomed cross-country trails in the meadows at Sunshine Village near Banff. The team took advantage of this opportunity to focus on volume and technique while on snow, skiing for 3-5 hours every day. The athletes and their coaches also were lucky enough to enjoy some beautiful early morning crust skiing on the Sunshine meadows.

Creston Bike Camp
RMR athletes headed down to Creston, B.C. at the beginning of July for a high volume road biking camp, aimed towards improving the athletes’ endurance and leg strength. Supported by their coaches and by parents and team volunteers, athletes cycled up to 150km each day, with workouts lasting up to 6 hours. The camp was the team’s first trip away from Canmore as a group, and was a great opportunity for athletes to work together and enjoy training as a team.

Haig Glacier On-Snow Camps
The team attended three on-snow training camps throughout July, August, and September at the Haig Glacier, where they took advantage of the skiing opportunities to focus on both technique and volume. Each day, RMR athletes completed a 1-hour hike to from the base camp to the glacier itself, followed by 3-4 hours of skiing. Athletes also took advantage of the glacier’s high altitude (over 2400m) to boost their endurance and stamina.

Park City High Altitude Camp
RMR’s final training camp of the year took place near the end of September in Park City, Utah. The Park City camp, known by RMR athletes as the “hardest camp of the year”, combined high altitude, high volume, high intensity, and strength in a final preparation for athletes leading up to the racing season. Athletes completed a variety of time trials, intensity and strength sessions, and 4-5 hour distance skis throughout the camp. The trip ended with an epic 30km trail run at 9000 ft. elevation, lasting 4-5 hours.


Race Season

For the biathletes and cross-country skiers, the first two months of racing involved a variety of selection races for Canada Winter Games, biathlon and cross-country World Junior Championships, World University Championships, IBU events, and World Cup events. RMR athletes succeeded in having some outstanding results, proving that the team can compete with Canada’s best high-performance training centers. 

Cross-Country Competitions:

Canada Winter Games Trials
  • RMR athletes Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, Andrea Dupong, Andrew Brisbin, and Ember Large worked together to bring home 6 gold medals and 1 silver medal for the team. Anna MacIsaac-Jones, Emma Camicioli and India McIsaac also posted top-10 results for the team.
  • The Alberta Cup races were also Canada Winter Games Trials for the U-23 athletes, where Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Ember Large, and India McIsaac secured spots on Team Alberta with their results.
  • Ilona Gyapay also qualified for the CWG as a member of Team NWT!

Rossland NorAm
  • Athletes Andrea Dupont and Maya MacIsaac-Jones brought home 3 silver medals with their performances at the North American Championship event.

Vernon NoAm
  • Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt, Andrea Dupont, India McIsaac, Gillian Gowling, and Michael MacIsaac-Jones brought home 3 gold medals, 1 silver medals, and 3 bronze medal for the team with their strong races.
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones, Anna MacIsaac-Jones, and Ember Large also had top-10 results.

Duntroon NorAm / XC World Junior & U23 Trials
  • Andrea Dupont, Maya MacIsaac-Jones, and brought home 1 gold medal and 3 bronze medals during the events.
  • Pearce Hanna, Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Ember Large also posted top-10 results.
  • Maya MacIsaac-Jones and Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt qualified for the World Junior/U23 Championships with their results in these races. They will be competing February 1-8 in Almaty, Kazakhstan as members of Team Canada.

Biathlon Competitions

NorAm / Biathlon Calforex Cup #1
  • RMR athletes Stuart Harden, Pearce Hanna, and Matt Neumann brought home silver, gold and bronze medals respectively for their team.
  • Athletes Guillaume Bertrand and William Poffenroth also posted top-10 results.
  • Nate Gerwing secured a spot on Alberta’s biathlon Canada Winter Games Team with his weekend’s performances.
  • Guillaume Bertrand and Matt Neumann also qualified for the Canada’s IBU trip in January with their Calforex Cup results. They will each compete in several IBU level races in Europe, as well as in the Open European Championships.
  • Stuart Harden and Pearce Hanna qualified for the biathlon World Junior Championships in Belarus with their performances. They will represent Canada at the races in February.
  • William Poffenroth and Evan Girard with both represent RMR and Team Canada at the World University Games in Spain this February. Evan Girard will compete for both biathlon and cross-country. He will be the first Canadian athlete ever to compete in multiple sports at the World University Games.

RMR would like to extend a huge and heartfelt thank-you to all of its sponsors. Each and every one of you helps contribute to the team’s success; RMR would not function without your support.

For More Photos of RMR in Action check out RMR photo gallery!
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RMR @ The Western Cross-Country Championships (Lake Louise/Canmore, AB Jan. 15-18)

1/19/2015

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Here are the results from the Western Canadian Championships held in both Lake Louise and Canmore Alberta!

Jan. 15 Classic Distance
Men
30) Andrew Brisbin
33) Stuart Harden
34) Kai Skinstad
44)
Nate Gerwing
45)
Grant Novak

Women
7) Andrea Dupont
10) Ember Large
11) Emma Camicioli
13) India McIsaac
15) Gillian Gowling
16) Ilona Gyapay


Jan. 16 Classic Distance
Junior Boy
38) Nicholas Bardak

Jan. 17 Sprints
Junior Men
7) Pearce hanna
10) Nate Gerwing

Senior Men
7) Stuart Harden
22) Kieran Baird
26) Andrew Brisbin
30) Evan Girard
37) Grant Novak

Junior Women
2) Ember Large

Senior Women
1) Andrew Dupont
3) Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
10) Emma Camicioli
11) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Girls
3) India McIsaac
10) Gillian Gowling

Junior Boys
9) Nicholas Bardak

Jan. 18 Distance Skate
Men
22) Andrew Brisbin
27) Stuart Harden
35) Kieran Baird

Junior Men
1) Pearce Hanna
49) Nate Gerwing

Women
2) Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
4) Andrea Dupont
12) Emma Camicioli
17) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Women
1) Ember Large

Junior Boys
23) Nicholas Bardak

Junior Girls
3) India McIsaac
10) Gillian Gowling

Juvenile Girls
15) Anna MacIsaac-Jones

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RMR @ U23/World Junior Selection Races (Duntroon, ON Jan. 8/10/11)

1/12/2015

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A huge congratulations to Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt and Maya MacIsaac-Jones for qualifying to represent the Canada at the 2015 U23/World Juniors in Kazakhstan!

Jan. 8 Skiathlon
Senior Men
29) Andrew Brisbin
31) William Poffenroth

Senior Women
3) Andrea Dupont
4) Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
20) Emma Camicioli
22) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Men
7) Pearce Hanna

Junior Women
3) Maya MacIsaac-Jones
8) Ember Large

Jan. 10 Sprints
Junior Women
1) Maya MacIsaac-Jones
10) Ember Large

Senior Women
2) Andrea Dupont
6) Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
18) Emma Camicioli
24) Ilona Gyapay

Junior Men
33) Pearce Hanna

Senior Men
25) Andrew Brisbin
34) William Poffenroth

Jan. 11 Distance Skate
Junior Men
6) Pearce Hanna

Men
37) William Poffenroth
41) Andrew Brisbin

Junior Women
3) Maya MacIsaac-Jones
12) Ember Large

Senior Women
4) Olivia Bouffard-Nesbitt
7)  Andrea Dupont
19) Emma Camicioli
26) Ilona Gyapay


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Soldier Hollow Training Camp

11/10/2014

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From September 27th to October 11th, one of Canada’s high performance racing teams, Rocky Mountain Racers (RMR), headed down to Park City, Utah for their two-week long high altitude training camp.

RMR is comprised of just over 20 high-performance athletes in both cross-country and biathlon from all across Canada. Led by coaches John Jaques and Luke McGurk, the team’s athletes focused on both high volume and high intensity during their camp.

Long 4-5 hour workouts were completed on the various mountain passes surrounding Park City and Salt Lake City while intensity sessions, time trials, and shooting practices were reserved for the excellent facilities available at Soldier Hollow.

Because of RMR’s cross-country/biathlon mix, Soldier Hollow was the perfect place for training sessions to occur; coaches were able to co-ordinate shooting practices for the biathletes with simultaneous roller-skiing sessions for the cross-country side of the team.

Utilizing Soldier Hollow’s biathlon range, extensive set of roller-ski tracks, and advantageously close proximity to Park City, RMR held several intensity sessions and time trials at the former Olympic site. The hilly climbs the facility offered also gave the athletes an opportunity to have a dry-land time trial with a course very similar to what they will face during the ski season.  

“It’s inspiring to train in the exact spot that I saw my Olympic heroes win medals at during the 2002 Olympics,” RMR athlete Andrew Brisbin stated. “[Soldier Hollow] is the most difficult and technical rollerski track that I’ve been on, meaning it most closely resembles a world-cup caliber ski course through its lung and leg busting climbs and quick descents.”

Andrea Dupont, RMR skier and one of Canada’s top female sprinters, also enjoyed training at the former Olympic site. “I’ve had some of my best time trials and intensity sessions at Soldier Hollow. The high altitude and challenging courses make it an excellent place to train.”

When not focusing on intensity sessions or shooting practices, the team explored the many other mountain roads available for roller-skiing in the area, including Mirror Lake pass, Wolfe pass, and Guardsman Pass. They concluded their camp with a 4-5 hour altitude run at 9000ft. on the trails above Park City.

With their last camp of the season complete, RMR athletes are now in their final stages of preparing for the racing season and the upcoming NorAm races at West Yellowstone, Bozeman, Rossland, and Whistler.

For any athletes or coaches interested in exploring Soldier Hollow as a future training possibility, please use the following contact information:

Richard Hodges
richard.hodges@soldierhollow.com
1-801-558-5804

Maya MacIsaac-Jones, RMR cross-country skier

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