Biathletes ski and shoot at McMiller Sports Center
original photo by Ted Nelson
Biathlon athletes multi-task at McMiller Sports Center in South Kettle Moraine State Forest on Saturday. Multi-task is the current hot catchword in the corporate world. In a cubicle to multi-task means the ability of an employee to talk to clients on the phone while crunching Microsoft excel spreadsheets and then have the wherewithal to drop everything when the boss needs a report run and then pick up where they left off without a beat missed.
On Saturday at Kettle Moraine biathletes were competing in a sport that requires an even more impressive example of multi-tasking than the adept coffee drinking office worker. They cross-country ski as fast as possible, then take a few deep breaths, stop on a dime, and shoot at a target and hope to hit a bull's-eye. The combination of target accuracy and cross-country ski speed determines the winner.
If I was a manager conducting an interview one of my first questions that I would pose to a prospective employee would be for them to give me an example of a time that they had to multi-task. If the employee would answer “on weekends I ski as fast as I can for several kilometers then stop and take a breath and shoot accurately at a target 50 meters away,” I would reply with one word “Hired.”
What was enjoyable about this race was spectator accessibility. Sometimes endurance race spectating can be quite boring as the viewer stands in one spot and everyone passes in a flash and then if lucky they might pass again. This was not the case with this week's biathlon.
All the action took place at the start and finish line. Not only did racers start and finish at the same spot, but the rifle targets were 20 feet away and the racers also did a lap at the same point. So a spectator could see the start, finish, racers skiing a lap, and shoot all at the same place. They even had a warming hut with a burning stove that had plexiglass to allow viewers to see the target range in a toasty environment.
It was even possible to ski with the racers as they were on the trails used by recreational skiers as long as they were given plenty of space. No one wants to get in the way of a race and it is not a good idea to obstruct a skier with a rifle slung over his or her shoulder.
Congratulations to champion multi-taskers Mike Conway and Stephanie Holmes in the open race. In the novice event Krzysztof Karpiel and Erica Claas proved they are not novices as they took the crown in that event. Great job to the winners and all that participated and thanks go out to the Wisconsin Biathlon Association for hosting such a fun event close to Chicago.
Biathletes take a lap in between shooting targets
original photo by Ted Nelson
The Wisconsin Biathlon Association is the only biathlon club in Wisconsin and the McMiller Sports Center is the only biathlon range in Wisconsin. Illinois residents are fortunate that this range is only two hours away from Chicago as there are no biathlon ranges or clubs in Illinois.
To find driving information to McMiller Sports center from Chicago click here. Check back here for future articles on how to get started if interested in becoming a biathlete.
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Comments
As a person who target shoots, I have great respect for the Biathletes. To shoot (well) after the physical exertion of skiing is amazing.
I totally agree with your caption on slide #17(?) about taking kids to outdoor family events. Far, far better for the kid and the family than the aloneness of video games.
I am curious, did you ever compete in something like this? I would like to see an article written about your personal experiences if you did. This is something that I would like to introduce to my daughters.
Sounds like fun for tose into that.
I like the multitask question!
I so admire the people who can do this.
Gee, is it fair? Your snow sticks around for so long; ours simply melts away in a few days. Worth a visit!
It would take me several lifetimes to be good enough to compete in this arena. ;-) This reminds me of Tim Ferriss' yabusame video (available on Kevin Rose's vimeo account). Very adverturesome and very cool... just google those words if you're interested in checking it out.
I'd love to check out one of these races some day.
This sounds like a neat event..and it does indicate the competitor's ability to endure a challenge..
Cheers..
That is so cool, Ted. It makes me want to do one, just so that I can say that I have done it at a job interview...awesome, awesome article. Love it.
Todd, I have never shot a gun although I have skied quite a bit. I would love to give it a try, and I may give it a shot (literally) next year.
After your stories, we will watch this event with renewed interest at the Olympics.
sounds like fun and a real challenge! thanks Ted, I enjoyed the slides.
Regarding slide 17: those kids belong to me. Nathaniel (red hat) is 5, and Julia (back, with blue coat) is 6. They have been skiing with the Peak Nordic Kids group for 3 years, and LOVE the sport of XC skiing. Julia was delighted to see that "girls" can do biathlon as well. Biathlon is a great spectator sport.
Hey Mark, adorable children and that is awesome that they are so involved in such a great sport at such an early age. Kudos to you and your wife for getting them interested.
I have heard, probably by Bob Costas during a Winter Olympics, that the original biathaloners were the Finns, who successfully fought off the Russian invasion of their homeland after WWII. They bravely took on the Russians with just skis and guns. They shocked the world by stemming the Russian invasion (though they did lose some territory). Check out the current Winter Games. You'll probably get the same story again (and probably from BC, also)
OK, after doing some actual research, it looks like the Russians invaded Finland before WWII, and that biathlon actually has existed for centuries. But it does look like the Finns combined skiing and guns quite effectively in the defense of their homeland. Their agility and ability to get around in the winter weather reeked havoc on a Russian army totally unprepared for the conditions they were facing.
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