April 10, 2013 (Truckee, CA) – Rising U.S. Ski Team star Liz Stephen pulled away from her teammate Kikkan Randall, of World Cup and World Championship fame, on a long climb to win the women’s 30km CL title at the U.S. Distance National Championships on Wednesday. The win capped a great season for Stephen with several podiums and a number of personal bests.

Stephen solos in to victory... © Mark Nadell

The sunny, warm weather was in sharp contrast to Monday’s SuperTour Finals hill climb at Sugar Bowl, in which Stephen also beat Randall in a race up Mt. Disney in 50-mph winds. Temperatures dropped to the 20s overnight, allowing the National Championship race officials to set tracks for the classic race. But by the 10 a.m. start, it was moving into the 40s and 50s.

Stephen, who competed in the 2010 Olympics and skis with the Burke Mountain Academy in East Burke, Vermont, completed three laps of the10-kilometer course in 1 hour, 41 minutes and 54 seconds. Randall came in just over a minute later. Rosie Brennan also of Alaska Pacific University finished third, one minute behind Randall who is also an APU alumni.

Randall lead from the start... © Mark Nadell

U.S. Team member, Jessie Diggins, who won the USA’s first-ever gold with Randall in the team sprint at the Nordic World Championships, broke away from the chase group to finish fourth at 4+min behind Stephen.

Randall was first off the line and established a small lead as the racers covered a flat section, climbed a small hill and wove their way to the first descent before the first big climb. As they came up that long hill, Randall and Stephen skied side-by-side, keeping a steady pace with a sizable gap over the chase group.

Diggins takes 4th © Mark Nadell

Racers had the option of switching skis as they came through the start/finish area if their kick wax was not working well. Both Randall and Stephen said they opted out of a ski change on each of the three laps.

“Mine were slow, but everybody’s were slow,” Stephen told Trax. “We talked about getting a second pair and Kikkan said ‘let’s see how it goes out there’.” As they came through the first and second laps Randall told Stephen, “Screw changing.”

The veteran Randall said her skis were running fast but as the snow warmed, she was having trouble keeping her strides smooth and efficient. “This is such a technique thing,” she said of classic skiing in soft, warm snow. “My arms and shoulders were cramping really bad heading into the last lap and I was just trying to keep my pace up.”

Brennan lands 3rd on the podium... © Mark Nadell

During the final climb on the second lap, Stephen said she began to pull ahead of Randall and decided to keep going. “On the long, gradual hill on the second lap I kind of started a gap and I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep it at that point,” Stephen confided to Trax. “I wasn’t super sparky feeling today and the skis were slowing down big-time.

“I was trying not to fall on my face and I think all of us were, on this mashed potato stuff. It was so suctiony. I wasn’t sure I had the energy to go but I just decided, why not now. What’s the worst that could happen.”

After she crossed the finish line, she grimaced in pain. “I haven’t done that many crunches in like two months,” she said. After sharing hugs all around, they opened a couple of bottles of champagne and toasted the end of a successful racing season.

Champagne time... © Mark Nadell

Randall will rest, but keep her focus on the coming season, when she’ll head to Sochi, Russia to compete in her fourth Olympic Games. The 2014 Winter Games begin Feb. 7.

On Tuesday, her uncle, Chris Haines of Gardnerville, Nev., said she has the physiology and focus to be the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal in cross country skiing. He should know. Haines was on the U.S. Ski Team in 1976 when his teammate Bill Koch won a silver medal at the Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Randall - next round is Sochi... © Mark Nadell

Randall’s aunt, Betsy Haines, competed in the 1980 Winter Olympics, also in cross country skiing. Randall said growing up in a family of Olympians put her on that track from an early age. “It took me a while to figure out what sport I wanted to do, I certainly had the cross-country influence,” she said. “I had to try a few things first but found that I really like cross-country. So it’s been really fun to have that family history.”

“For me, from an early age, the Olympics were such a familiar thing,” she added. “I vividly remember being at my grandparent’s house when I was 5 years old and watching the ’88 Olympics on TV and thinking, ‘yup, I’m going to do that some day.’

Full results HERE.
More photos HERE.