I used to always say that I’ve never had a bad race on klister wax. Well, this was no exception – in a way!! I’ll admit I was a little concerned when the supposedly tough klister I used to “warm up” on only lasted 1.5 km. On one ski the wax actually froze and broke off – surprising since I’ve successfully used this combo as cold as -15 C. Anyway, the racing certainly wasn’t boring. Around 52 skiers started the open men’s race. Creative start grid seeding combined with very icy tracks led to some interesting clumping of skiers on the first couple climbs. Certainly not poetry in motion! Several skiers that I saw broke poles; one even had his ski shoot off on a downhill! The trails at hardwood can be described as rolling, short steep climbs and many curvy downhills. Great trails for skating, not so much fun when you’re trying to keep wax on your classic skis though. Luckily there wasn’t a ton of classic skiing to be had, mostly some version of the herringbone (flail) transitioned into rabid double poling! I was more pleased with my own effort compared to other races this season, could have used a touch more wax though, thankfully it was only 10k. The NBN Junior team posted some good results and is looking forward to more success in upcoming races.