James Netz
The Birkie will return to almost-normal this year.
For the past two years, Wisconsin’s leading COVID expert, Dr. Patrick Remington, has urged people to take precautions to limit spread of the virus while living as normally as possible within their own comfort zone.
And to Remington, that means still taking part in one of the state’s great winter traditions — the annual American Birkebeiner cross country ski race. He entered his first Birkie in 1978 and plans to be on the starting line again, this time with his wife, Kate, and isn’t worried about anything except getting to the finish.
In fact, Remington hasn’t seen any studies suggesting that outdoor gatherings of any size pose a major health risk, even with all the heavy breathing normally associated with a cross country ski marathon.
“These respiratory viruses just don’t transmit very well outdoors, so skiing is probably one of the safer things you can do,” says Remington, UW-Madison professor emeritus of public health.
Held annually on a hilly 50-kilometer trail through the forest between Cable and Hayward in northwest Wisconsin, the Birkebeiner has managed its way through climate change and lack of snow, with the race canceled only twice since its beginning in 1973. It remains the largest cross country ski race in North America.
American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation
Where do the Birkie skiers come from? Most come from the Twin Cities, with the Madison area coming in for the silver.
But the COVID pandemic created perhaps the biggest challenge to an event that brings some 13,000 skiers from 46 states and 22 countries, along with 25,000 spectators, to the Northwoods each February. The Madison area alone provides 1,000 skiers, the largest number of participants behind those from the Twin Cities.
Last year, with COVID raging and vaccines only starting to reach the general public, Birkie officials retooled the event and offered skiers a chance to participate on a looped course over a five-day period to spread everyone out. Skiers who didn’t want to risk travel to the Northwoods could opt for a “virtual event” that included self-timing at venues like Madison’s Elver Park while still getting credit for completing their race.
Still, with an estimated economic impact over $20 million — including 4,100 hotel room nights — organizers were anxious to return closer to normal this year and bring back the traditional finish on a snow-covered Main Street in downtown Hayward.
“We’ve been very intentional in our approach to our COVID-19 health and safety protocols and are confident we can hold a safe and fun event,” says Ben Popp, executive director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation.
Race organizers continue to follow the guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, which does not recommend masks for outdoor use. Face coverings will be required, however, for all indoor events including the bus rides that ferry skiers to the start line on race morning.
Obviously, race officials are urging anyone with COVID symptoms to stay home. They also want anyone with a positive test since Valentine’s Day to skip it, too.
“If you’re sick or think you might have had some exposure, please do the right thing for everyone else,” says Popp.
Otherwise, the weeklong Birkie events — which begin Feb. 23 with an untimed tour and conclude on Feb. 26 with the signature marathon events — will go on amid the greatest global health crisis in a century.
Dr. Patrick Remington
Remington, whose own resume includes a stint at the CDC in Atlanta, says the precautions in place seem appropriate given the current state of the pandemic. He notes that cross country skiers as a demographic group are probably 90 percent fully vaccinated and are taking steps to remain healthy.
“We’re in a very different place in the pandemic than we were a year ago,” says Remington. “Most people have had a chance to get vaccinated and frankly if everybody was doing the responsible thing, we’d be in an even better place.”
COVID concerns did force cancellation of the Boston Marathon in 2020 for the first time in its 124-year history, but the race returned last fall. Boston is returning to its regular April slot this year, with the requirement that all 30,000 runners be fully vaccinated. Surveys showed 93 percent of racers last year were already vaccinated.
Madison’s largest running race, the annual Crazylegs Classic, was canceled in 2020 due to COVID and held virtually last year but UW-Madison officials are planning on a regular event for April 30, 2022, with no restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Birkie is urging all participants to get vaccinated and is working with a Hayward-area health provider to offer free drive-through testing throughout the race.
“Last year we worried about people bringing COVID here, but this year we are more worried about overwhelming our hospital if people are taking too many risks out there on the course,” says Popp, advising against the so-called “cold turkey Birkie” where participants attempt to tackle the difficult event with little or no training.
Popp notes there has never been a fatality during the American Birkebeiner, but says there are usually a few ambulance calls for broken bones or other injuries.
Almost lost in the concerns over COVID are the near perfect snow conditions on the Birkie trail itself. Worries over a late February meltdown in the Northland have faded with predictions now of a stretch of cold and snowy weather.
That’s fine with Remington, who has turned his trips to the Birkebeiner into an annual family event. All four of his kids have done the race and his daughter Beth is coming this year from Colorado, along with his son Jake, coming from Wauwatosa.
In his younger days, Remington would train hard for the Birkie to keep his qualifying slot at the front of the race. That often meant getting home late or squeezing ski outings into between work commitments.
“To be honest, skiing down here has gotten really tough with the changing weather,” he says. “You used to be able to count on snow from December into March but that just isn’t the case anymore.”
As a result, more venues in the Midwest have turned to making snow for cross country skiing including new CXC trails in Middleton and Lapham Peak outside Milwaukee. The Twin Cities also provides artificial snow at three public trail systems.
The American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation has invested in snowmaking at the start area in Cable and on trails of the old Telemark Lodge, which was demolished this summer after falling into disrepair after years of vacancy. The foundation is looking at future development there centered around an active outdoor lifestyle.
In fact, the Birkebeiner, which started with 35 skiers back in 1973 as a way for race founder Tony Wise to promote his Telemark resort, has turned into a big business unto itself, with 25 full-time staff members and 44 events held over 16 weekends throughout the year.
Popp, who took over as race director in 2013 from former Madison resident Ned Zuelsdorff, has grown the Birkie with a focus on attracting new and younger participants (as did Zuelsdorff, who established a fat bike race element among other ancillary events). With roots in the Northland, Popp has also worked to convince the locals of the positive impact silent sports can have on the region.
“Ben Popp is a force,” says Remington, who would be skiing his 30th Birkie this year but opted to ski the half-length Kortelopet as a Wednesday tour due to a family conflict on the weekend.
Remington can still recall his first race in 1978, which he did at the urging of older brother Jim. Back then, the race started at Telemark and took skiers over the biggest hill right at the start. He remembers going out way too fast at the beginning on badly over-waxed wooden skis and spending the rest of the day getting passed by more seasoned competitors.
“I was doing a lot of running back then and thought I was in great shape but I must have had a thousand people go by me,” he recalls.
These days, Remington takes a much calmer approach to skiing the Birkie and says his days of beating his brains out to save a few minutes are long past.
“When it becomes more work than play, you have to ask yourself what’s going on here,” he says. “At some point I realized I had enough work in my life without adding more.”
Bob Pearl
This after-race scene from years past is the scenario that Dr. Pat Remington recommends skipping this year.
So what does Dr. Remington advise for staying safe and healthy during the 48th edition of the American Birkebeiner? Wear a mask on the shuttle bus and avoid the bars after the race.
“With apologies to the business owners in northwest Wisconsin, our approach will be to take our party back to our own cabin,” he says.
Tough advice, but sometimes the doctor knows best.
[Editor's note: this story has been edited to reflect that Zuelsdorff established the fat tire bike race.]
