March 14, 2011 – The 3rd Annual New England Ski Museum’s Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon at Omni Mount Washington Resort took place on Saturday, March 12.  With 251 entrants this was the biggest field ever for the event which is a fundraiser for the New England Ski Museum.

The 3rd Annual New England Ski Museum’s Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon at Omni Mount Washington Resort took place on Saturday, March 12.  With 251 entrants this was the biggest field ever for the event which is a fundraiser for the New England Ski Museum.

Justin Freeman who represented the U.S. in the 2006 Olympics was the repeat winner in the full marathon (40 Km) race with a time of 2:02:57.  He was followed by two Williams College ski team members, Mark Johnson and Philip Tosteson.  Emily Blackmer, a Dartmouth College skier, won the women’s marathon in 2:37:01; with Laura Dewitt of Newington, Conn., and Mary Stewart of Stowe, Vt., placing second and third.

The half-marathon (20 Km) race was won by John Ogden of Landgrove, Vt. (1:04:59); Sabra Davison who races for the VTXC team out of Stowe, Vt., was the women’s winner (1:09:34).  Two Stratton Mountain School racers, Nick Murphy and McKenzie Fisher were second and third in the men’s half-marathon; Davison was followed by Andrea Vogl, Shelburne, Vt., and Poppet Boswell, Strattton, Vt.

Most of the major New England ski clubs were represented, including Mt. Washington Valley Nordic, Ford Sayre, Cambridge Sports Union, Stowe Nordic, Northwest Vermont, Craftsbury Nordic, Berkshire Trails, Maine Nordic, Andover (NH) Outing Club, Gunstock Nordic, and many more. Several college, high school and ski academy teams also sent racers to the Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon.  Racers and untimed participants ranged in age from 11 to 75, and were approximately evenly divided between the full and half-marathon distances.

The event was notable for taking place following a week of extremely inclement weather which the Omni Mount Washington Resort Touring Center managed by redesigning the two-loop course to make the best use of abundant snow-cover on its extensive trail network.  The course featured a mass start on the scenic golf course and included some of the center’s most popular forest trails including Bridal Path, Beech Hill and Crawford Hollow.

The Omni Mount Washington Resort and CNL properties hosted all participants and eighty marathon volunteers at a post-race awards banquet in the Grand Ballroom. All racers, tourers and volunteers received a free hat compliments of SWIX, CocaCola and Powerade along with goody bags that contained gifts from sponsors including the Alpine Clinic; PainCare; Skadi ski scrapers, Darn Tough socks, SkiErg ski holders, and more.

Two local groups, the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Center and Jackson Ski Touring Foundation contributed volunteers and homemade bread, and professional timing services respectively.  Lyndon State College ski area management students helped manage the race course and a team from the Friends of Tuckerman Ravine worked with resort staff to manage the parking lot.

The New England Ski Museum’s Bretton Woods Nordic Marathon at Omni Mount Washington Resort is a major fundraising event for the Ski Museum.  The event’s combined contribution of financial and in-kind sponsorship along with racer entry fees, sales from event souvenirs (photos) and a commission from the proceeds of a SWIX tent sale is projected plays an important role in supporting the museum’s mission of “supporting the future of skiing’s past.”

The New England Ski Museum, located in Franconia Notch State Park, is open daily through the end of ski season. www.skimuseum.com.

25km Results HERE.
50km Results HERE.