Greatest Show on Snow

For some local professionals, the storied Birkie Nordic ski race is about setting goals and reaching new heights

Story by Jeff Potts

It’s been called “The greatest show on snow,” but for thousands of cross country skiers the American Birkebeiner – the 51 kilometers (about 32 miles) between Cable and Hayward in Wisconsin’s Northwoods – are more of a proving ground than a performance arena.

Each year thousands of athletes ranging from Olympians to weekend warriors don their skis, grab their poles, and set out for a journey that changes their life, or at least can change one’s outlook on life. That’s been the case for a number of Fox Valley skiers who’ve tested the grueling race course.

For Bob Hernke, community relations leader for Wisconsin Public Service Corp. in Oshkosh, the race – dubbed the “Birkie” for short – is more about the experience than the results.

Like most of the nearly 7,000 annual participants at the starting line for this storied event, Hernke doesn’t worry about winning the Birkie. After all, he said, there are literally Olympic caliber athletes that participate in this event. Instead, the true test lies in the difficult task of finishing the exhausting race.

Hernke has the distinction of being a true “Birkebeiner” – a title bestowed on a skier after finishing the race 20 times. He’s actually finished the Birkie 21 times and plans to see that number grow in coming years.

“Crossing the finish line is the most elated feeling in the world,” said Hernke, a veteran of this largest cross-country ski race in the Western Hemisphere.

Hernke compares the Birkie to a championship NASCAR race or the Boston Marathon – a test of endurance designed for the world’s most fierce competitors.

Throughout the course of the year, Hernke stays in shape by swimming, running, aerobic exercise, pilates and yoga – anything that can help him compete on that one Saturday in late February.

“It all helps you to become a better skier,” he said. “Endurance, speed, a lot of determination and a lot of flexibility – the same set of skills you need to succeed in business, or life.”

While the allure of the Birkie for many is the fact it’s the largest race of its kind in North America, it’s not necessarily the competition that makes this athletic showcase so desirable for participants. Instead, it’s the camaraderie and the respect that comes with finishing the marathon event year after year. That’s a fact not lost on Oshkosh’s Tracy Piontkowski, who has finished the race 14 times.

“I don’t even look at it as a race,” he said. “I know I’m not going to win it”

Piontkowski, an investment advisor with Monroe Insurance in Oshkosh, describes the Birkie as a “celebration of skiing.”
“It’s just an awesome experience to be a part of something so large – you have 7,000 skiers,” he said.

Piontkowski recalled his very first Birkie when somewhere between Cable and Hayward everything came into perspective.

“I cannot believe I paid to do this,” he recalled thinking, “I’ll never do this again!”

But the mind can work amazing wonders, and he quickly forgot about the weather, he forgot about the hard work, and he just focused on the finish line.

“When they put that medal on your neck, it’s an amazing feeling,” he said. “Wow! What a sense of accomplishment.”
While it has taken both Hernke and Piontkowski anywhere from three and a half to five hours to finish the race over the years, Oshkosh’s Jim Rauchle has the distinction of being one of the area’s best finishers. An 18-year veteran of the race, Rauchle has finished as high as 64th place – in a time of just under two and a half hours.

Considered by many to be an elite cross county skier and a regular top 200 finisher in the Birkie – a goal for most of the competitive skiers in the race – Rauchle modestly points to the accessibility of the race as one of its biggest draws.

“Everybody is aware of the elite wave (the top 200 skiers in the race),” he said. “What’s special is that a normal citizen racer gets to line up with Olympic caliber athletes. You get to walk in and put your skis down right beside them. How many other events can you do that at?”

The aura of it all
In its 35 years, the American Birkebeiner has become North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon, regularly attracting more than 7,000 participants and more than 15,000 spectators, down slightly when the weather doesn’t cooperate. The race begins in Cable, Wis., with each skier placed within one of 10 different starting waves based upon the skier’s finish the previous year. New entrants are automatically placed at the back of the pack.

In the true spirit of the Birkie, everyone who finishes is welcomed by screaming fans, ringing cow bells, and last minute encouragement as spectators line the streets of downtown Hayward.

No matter where in the pack a skier finishes, this is the just reward for their hard work, not only on race day, but for the rest of the year. Even the elite skiers recognize the importance of encouraging skiers to reach their goal of the finish line.

Rauchle, who typically outpaces thousands of other skiers, makes a quick change after finishing. He almost instantly transitions from elite competitor to cheerleader.

“After the race I change clothes as fast as I can and then start welcoming the skiers in,” he said. “These people are wearing their emotions on their sleeves at this point. You can just see it in their faces just how much this means, so you run up and congratulate them.”

Across the board, skiers allude to the fact the real prize of the Birkie is seeing strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hand. There’s a unique bond among those that have finished this grueling testament to athleticism, for to have finished the Birkie is to have tasted the best of what the sport of Nordic skiing has to offer. It’s a bond that ensures the Birkie will continue for many future generations of cross-country skiers.

The support for the achievement of simply finishing the race goes well beyond the recognition of a medal or the congratulations from an elite class skier. As race day winds down, some participants just won’t be able to complete the race before darkness sets in.

But the skier who becomes the final finisher of the day receives almost as much recognition as those who crossed the finish line hours earlier. They’re recognized with what’s referred to as the “sweeper award” because one person has the task of sweeping up the last dusting of snow from the course. That competitor is treated to a hero’s welcome as race day comes to a close.

“That’s the thing - above and beyond the time – the most important thing about the race, like in life or anything you do in the corporate world – it’s finishing,” said Hernke. “The ‘Sweeper’ gets very special attention for having the determination, audacity or internal fortitude to finish.”

A race for anyone? Almost.
The 2008 installment of the American Birkebeiner is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 23. Anyone can participate, and everyone who finishes wins, although not in the traditional sense. While you don’t have to be an Olympic caliber athlete to compete, participants also don’t discount the fact this is a grueling and challenging nearly 32-mile course of some of the most difficult terrain in Wisconsin.

Some participants train relentlessly throughout the year. Others simply stay in shape knowing every little activity during the 364 days leading up to the next race could potentially shave seconds or minutes off their time.

Even the elite skiers, like Rauchle, say it takes dedication throughout the year to achieve consistency and success in terms of finishing the race. Still, don’t be discouraged. If you enjoy cross-country skiing, the Birkebeiner is the ultimate test of competitive spirit, and likewise it’s the ultimate reward when you cross the finish line in Hayward.

Information on how to participate in the American Birkebeiner is available through its Web site at www.birkie.com.

While race participation is encouraged for anyone who enjoys Nordic skiing, everyone is welcome to attend the race day celebration.

“As long as the weather is O.K., you’re going to see so many wonderful sights, sounds and goofy people,” said Rauchle. “It’s a spectacle you don’t want to miss.”

 Jeff Potts is a freelance writer from Oshkosh.

“Out of the Office” is a feature in New North B2B highlighting the more unique, out-of-the-ordinary hobbies, thrill-seeking activities or avocations engaged in by members of our business community.