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In this episode, we talk with Alayna Sonnesyn (SMS T2), who is coming off of her fourth consecutive victory at the American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin. But the path between these victories, especially over the last two seasons, has not been smooth or direct.  Alayna has had standout results on the SuperTour, but that has not directly translated into consistent results on the World Cup, leaving her navigating the tricky waters of being what is often dubbed a “bubble athlete”. Last season, her reach goal was to make the Beijing Olympic Team, which would require putting all of her eggs into whichever race-pathway-basket was most likely to get her there. Ultimately, she was not named to the team, and a positive COVID test shortly thereafter rubbed salt in the wound. She also ended the season one FIS point shy of making the objective criteria for National Team selection in 2022.  Alayna has been open about all of these setbacks both on social media and her blog - in particular, how difficult they can be to process in the moment. However, on paper, she has translated this journey into a career-best season. She’s cracked into the heats of two World Cup freestyle sprints, finished 26th in a 20k skate in Davos, and clocked the 5th fastest time of day in the same event during Stage 4 of the Tour de Ski in Oberstdorf, GER. She even beat SMS T2 teammate Jessie Diggins on a downhill segment.   Alayna talks through these experiences, where she’s at now, and of course, the Birkie during this episode. We also chat about her new podcast project, Extra Blue – which is well worth a listen – and who her dream guest and conversation would be. The answer is surprising. Just a heads up – we did have a few connection issues which caused a few audio bumps. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we chat with Hailey Swirbul, who took an alternate path to the World Cup this season, prioritizing her own mental health and aiming to rediscover her love for cross-country skiing along the way. Listen in to hear her discuss the challenges she's faced in transitioning into a professional athlete, along with how the Olympic experience contrasted the Olympic fantasy. She also discusses difference in summer training this year, highlights from domestic racing in period one and two, including a sweep of US Nationals in Houghton, and more. Thanks for listening. 

It’s been a minute! Our first guest of 2023 is the one and only Ben Ogden, who’s had a standout season of racing on the World Cup. In this conversation, we discuss the factors that have contributed to his development as a professional skier, from mindset, to training, to an effort to make the World Cup lifestyle sustainable long term. We also discuss his recent trip back to the Northeast, what has made collegiate racing “special”, and more. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, Julia Kern discusses season highs and lows, and her resilience in overcoming setbacks as she continues to build momentum in her ski career.

APU's Rosie Frankowski reflects on the 2021-22 race season, falling just short of her goal of a second Olympic team, and an upcoming transition in life and training.

In this episode, we have U.S. Ski & Snowboard Development Team Coach Greta Anderson to discuss her first year in the role and the growth and progress of the U.S. development program which feeds the success we now see on the World Cup. We take a look at highlights of the 2022 FIS Junior and U23 World Ski Championships, which took place in Lygna, Norway last February, discuss athletes newly named to the U.S. Ski Team, as well as the initiatives and philosophies within the development program which help these athletes thrive holistically, while taking steps forward in their ski careers.

In this episode, we have U.S. Ski & Snowboard cross-country program director Chris Grover on to discuss the tumultuous last two years of navigating the pandemic, including the many ways in which it created strain for the team, particularly as Omicron variant surged during the months leading into the 2022 Beijing Olympics. It’s been a hard two years, but this conversation extends well beyond the impacts of the pandemic. We also discuss equal distance racing, the 2022-23 roster for the U.S.Ski Team, which features a number of talented young men, team selection for World Cup, World Championship, and a new gender equity initiative proposed to the FIS by US Ski & Snowboard which incentives nations to invest in developing women ski technicians and utilizing them at World Cup events.

Jessie Diggins adds her voice to the conversation surrounding the impact and significance of body comments in the media, and awareness of pervasive underlying issues in sport, speaking from the perspective of someone who has experienced an eating disorder and since become an advocate for awareness and support in that realm. She also discusses her season, the 2022 Olympics, and what keeps her going in the sport now that she has earned an Olympic medal of each color and some of the top championship results in American xc ski history.

Last weekend, roughly 200 intrepid skiers lined up at the base of the Mount Crested Butte ski resort, awaiting a midnight race start that would send them 40 miles north through the rugged Elk Mountains to Aspen, Colorado. Among the masses, most of whom were on lightweight ski mountaineering or alpine touring setups, was a pair looking to return the Grand Traverse ski race to its cross country ski roots. The pair was Simi Hamilton and Ben Koons, wearing Fischer skate skis that had seen World Cup air time.

Though the FasterSkier team would select other highlights from the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, one of the most read articles we produced featured the responses of members of the ski community to a story published on February 8th by the New York Times. In this episode, a panel discusses why these comments are detrimental and voice opinions on how media can better cover endurance sports, while being mindful of the concerns of athletes.

In this episode, we’ve got Chad Salmela and Kikkan Randall on to discuss the experience of calling the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games, live from a booth in Stamford, CT.

In this episode, we have Sydney Palmer-Leger, Sophia Laukli, and Novie McCabe. Each is a member of the U.S. Cross Country team, and they are also all teammates at the University of Utah (UU), where they are coached by Miles Havlick and Fredrik Landstedt. Laukli and McCabe were recently named to the 2022 Olympic Team and are soon headed to Beijing, while Palmer-Leger will race in the RMISA collegiate circuit for the next few weeks before flying to Norway for the FIS Junior World Championships in Lygna.