March 02, 2010 (Whistler, BC) – Team USA’s Kikkan Randall of Anchorage Alaska was very positive after racing the women’s Olympic 30km mass start classic race on Saturday at Whistler Olympic Park. Despite the tough race and cold drizzle, which plastered her signature pink curls to the back of her neck, her smiles still came easily – and rightly so. She was the top U.S. skier, placing 24th in a distance and discipline that are not normally her specialty. Randall didn’t decide until the last minute that she would start the race, but she and her coach determined it couldn’t hurt.
“I flip flopped a lot during the week, since I hit my goals in the sprints and the team sprint,” she explained. “I could have easily stopped and said: ‘Hey, that was a great Olympics.’ But at the same time, I knew I was in good shape and I’d never raced 30km at a major championships before, so it was a great chance to get good experience. When you know you’re in good shape, there’s nothing to lose.”
Randall seems always keen to gain experience and continually get better at what she does. She spoke of her plans for the upcoming quadrennial: “My goal is to become an all-rounder, so my goal in four years is to become competitive at every distance. I think this experience is really going help me do that.”
Randall was pleased with how her 2010 training peak has panned out and she’s excited for the rest of the season. “I think we hit it [her peak] really well. I hope I can take the fitness that I have now and continue it through the final World Cup season. I have some really good races coming up still. It’s good, I hope every year I extend the peak a little bit more, but ultimately it’s great to perform at a big championships.”
Another example of her desire to improve, driven personality and positive outlook is in the details. For example, Randall has always been plagued by cramping at the end of long races: “I think the more I do these [long races], I can experiment with different pre-race strategies, and ultimately, maybe as I get more fit, it’ll get better. If you lay it out there on the line, at least it puts you in a good position, and then if you cramp, you’ve just got to try to fight it off.”
The 27-year-old skier was also keen to talk ‘shop.’ She shed some light on her race plan and how things panned out over the taxing endurance event. “I talked strategy with my coach, Erik [Flora], yesterday and he said in his experience it’s worth it to try and hang in there for the first 10k or so, as usually things will settle out after that. So mentally I just wanted to get into the pack and try to stay close to the front..”
The plan was a success according to Randall: “Energy-wise, I felt pretty good at the end. The cramping hindered me a little bit, but overall, I think I paced it really well.”
Randall stuck with the same pair of skis the entire race despite tricky snow conditions and many other competitors choosing to change skis. “It was kind of nice to come through the stadium, see people peel off, and know I was getting a few seconds advantage on them going out, and they would have to catch me. My skis worked great, good kick, maybe a little slow in spots, but overall I was pretty happy,” she said.
Not only is Randall a skiing talent, she is a gracious competitor, speaking highly of her fellow racers adding that she’s motivated by the high level of competition in the women’s field. “It’s great to see the women’s field so competitive,” she added, commenting on the tight race for gold between Justyna Kowalczyk (POL) and Marit Bjoergen (NOR) that Kowalczyk won by a narrow 0.3s.
The Olympics may be over, but for Randall there’s a lot of racing left. She heads to Europe on Monday with the national team for three weeks of World Cup racing, and then it’s back to the U.S. “Still got a month of racing left,” she continued.
As she packs her luggage in the Athletes Village and files away her 2010 Olympic experiences, she says she will go leave with a feeling of contentment. “You know, coming in and knowing that it wasn’t a skate sprint, and that a medal was a hard possibility, I’m really happy. I hit all my goals and really just felt strong, and really felt I got in there and skied with some of the best in the world, so I feel really good about it,” she said.
In addition to being pleased with her Olympic performances, Randall was excited about the host nation: “It’s just been so wonderful to compete in North America with so many friends and family here and everything so comfortable. Canada has done a wonderful job of hosting the Games here. Good races topped off with a superb Olympic Games – the whole experience has been great.”
