Wholistic Fitness

Dewa Ilg (photo right; with her Dad/Coach) nabbed 2nd Place in Women’s Overall as her Dad took a strong step to defending his 60+ podium at season opener “WinterStart 5k Classic” at Grand Mesa Nordic Ski Area last Sunday

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According to Durango native and author of THE WINTER ATHLETE,  Coach Steve Ilg,  “For a few of us there are really only two seasons; Winter and Waiting-For-Winter.”

Last Sunday at the Grand Mesa Nordic Ski Area outside Grand Junction, Colorado,  Steve, his daughter Dewa, and several other Durango nordic ski racers finally got to test their race ski legs and lungs at Race #1 – a 5k Classic into an optional 5k Freestyle race known as ‘WinterStart’ which kicks off a gruelling 4-month long Grand Mesa Nordic Ski Race Series which tests nordic ski racer over both the traditional Classic (aka; kick-and-glide, or diagonal stride) and the newer more popular Skate style over distances ranging from 5k to 20k.  Two factors figure into each of these races;  world-class grooming, and HIGH (10,600′) altitude.  Nordic (aka; cross-country skiing) has repeatedly proven itself in scientific tests to be the ultimate endurance sports for to be successful in it, the upper body must be equally as strong and as enduring as the lower body.   Most other endurance sports such as cycling and running do not requires such a wholistic full-body fitness. Even rowers are bodyweight supported like cyclists.

To Ilg – the only 2x cover athlete of OUTSIDE Magazine and considered by many to be the most accomplished athlete/coach across all Winter Sports from ice climbing to winter quadrathlons,  states “The only other sport that comes close to nordic ski racing in terms of intensity/amplitude/endurance is ironically, the traditional activity that began all other winter sports thousands of years ago; Snowshoeing.  If you’ve ever done a qualified Sport Snowshoe race?  Then you know.  If you haven’t?  And you still think of yourself as a good endurance athlete?  Don’t even toe the Start Line of a Snowshoe Race.  50 meters into it your HeartRate has PR’d and you still got 10k to go…Trust me, at least in Nordic ski racing? You got glide!”  

At WinterStart this year, conditions were relatively tropic with a race time temp of 0-degrees celsius with near zero wind.  Teenagers stole the podium spotlight as Durango High School’s Jack Purcell (15) won the Classic 5k Overall in 16:36 pipping Southwest Nordic Race Series multi-champion Brett Wilson (39) of Durango for the ‘W”, while Dewa Ilg (17) another DHS multi-sport Letter Athlete was 2nd Women Overall in 20:36 while her father Steve Ilg (62) finished a few heaving breaths in front of her in 20:06 securing himself in good early position to defend another AG Victory or Podium in late March.

Unlike many of the other racers here,  most of Durango’s skiers had to race this race without ANY touch of skis on snow!  So, kudo’s to all of the Durango nordic skiers below who raced and finished! Think SNOW!

5k Classic (counts toward Series points)

Jack Purcell (15)   1st     16:36

Brett Wilson (39) 2nd    17:02

Steve Ilg (62) 12th            20:06

Dewa Ilg (17) 15th             20:36

Archer Nicovich (12)  17th        20:38

Daniel Murray (46)  18th     20:47

Michelle Wilson (37)  25th    22:19

Ellie Bruckbauer  (15)  26th   23:23

Janelle Dingler (13) 29th        23:57

Keith Nicovich  (12)  37th     25:59

You can virtually ski this Race Course with Coach Steve Ilg during his and Dewa’s cool down after the race on and anytime after Monday, 12/16/24 after 6a MST at SteveIlgYouTubeChannel