As a semi-retired competitive athlete, I enjoy making comparisons between different sporting disciplines. What I'm finding so far is that the speed skating splits are nearly exactly 50% of what they are for the track 5K, yet the times for the X-C ski races at 10K are slightly slower than world class track times for 10K.

I do know from the research that the VO2 max levels are the highest for cross country (X-C) athletes. Lastly as a personal observation, when I used trekking poles in the GoreTex TransRockies Run in '07, I found that using my arms with my legs really gave me a more total workout and eased the workload on my knees by about 30%.

Alex

Correction: the 10K times are slightly faster than world-class track times

Looking forward to seeing some more X-C racing. Hopefully the snow conditions stay the same for the duration of the race? The waxing setup is critical for getting the maximum speed out of the skis. Hoping for the best for these wonderful athletes.

Alex

The men's 1.6 km sprints (about 1 mile) have times that are equivalent to world-class 1500M times on the track. There are no hills on the track or slippery surface but they do get to really get a strong push with those poles!

Alex