March 25, 2008 (Fairbanks, Alaska) – Having hosted countless Besh Cups, the Junior Olympics and even the world Cup in 1984, Fairbanks is no stranger to big-time ski races. But never before has Birch Hill Recreation Area held U.S. National Championship races — until now.

“Basically (the U.S. Ski Association) needed a place to put it on, and they know that we generally put on a good race,” said John Estle, competition director for the Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks.

The U.S. Distance National Championships — comprised of a Skiathlon on Friday and a marathon on Sunday — concludes the Tour of the Golden Heart Spring Series that opens Tuesday evening with interval-start freestyle races and continues Wednesday with exciting classic sprints.

“The whole U.S. Ski Team is going to be here and a lot of the top skiers from around the country,” added Estle.

Headlining that 90-skier list is Kikkan Randall of Anchorage, who with a sprint win last December in Russia became the first American woman ever to claim a Nordic World Cup race.

Joining her from the U.S. Ski Team are sprinting specialists Andrew Newell, Torin Koos and Chris Cook, along with Kris Freeman, the top American distance skier.

Newell and Koos each boast World Cup sprint podium results and are signed up to compete in Wednesday’s sprints along with Cook.

Freeman, meanwhile, will get plenty of competition from Ivan Babikov, a Factory Team skier for x-c.com who recently obtained Canadian citizenship. The former Russian won twice — handily topping Freeman — at the shorter U.S. Nationals races in January in Michigan. While Babikov isn’t eligible for U.S. national titles, he can claim prize money here.

Though the first two races will be selectively skied by the out-of-towners, virtually everyone will participate in the national championship events. The skiathlon on Friday starts with a women’s 15km race (7.5km classic transitioning into a 7.5km freestyle) followed by a men’s 30km (15km classic plus 15km freestyle).

Skiers will need to recover quickly from that effort for Sunday’s challenging classical marathon course, which covers 30km for women and an epic 50km for men.

With the exception of the marathon, the races are being contested in the evening to take advantage of the long daylight hours, to maximize attendance and exposure and to ensure a volunteer work force, explained Estle.

The races will feature the entire Alaska Nanooks squad – led by NCAA champ Marius Korthauer and sprint standout Vahur Teppan – and most top local juniors.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Nanooks coach Scott Jerome. “We’re one of the few places in the country where you can pretty much guarantee good snow this time of year. We have great trails and one of the best event staffs anywhere in the country. It’s tremendous that Fairbanks is hosting.”

The races are also a homecoming for a quintet of former locals now living elsewhere: Tyson Flaharty, Kate (Pearson) Arduser and Becca Rorabaugh of Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage; Owen Hanley of Team Rossignol; and former Nanook Sigrid Aas, a Norwegian who easily won Saturday’s Sonot Kkaazoot 42km marathon.

Most of the stacked APU squad is coming to Fairbanks after wrapping up the Canadian National Championships Sunday on the 2010 Winter Olympics trails north of Vancouver, British Columbia.

The complete schedule is as follows:

• Mar. 25, Tuesday: 5km freestyle: interval start, 6 p.m.

• Mar. 26, Wednesday: 1.1km classic sprint: qualifying round at 5 p.m., followed by a break and then elimination heats.

• Mar. 28, Friday: U.S. National Championship Skiathlon: women’s 15km followed by men’s 30km, 5 p.m.

• Mar. 30, Sunday: U.S. National Championships Marathon: women’s classical 30km followed by men’s 50km, 11 a.m.

Matias Saari is a reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner