Molly Schull doesn’t have much free time. Between her commitments to band, orchestra, classes, homework and a social life, in fact, it’s amazing that she has any. On the rare occasion that her schedule does open up, Schull ’13 says she likes to spend her time doing “anything outside” from mountain biking to running to water- and cross-country-skiing. To kick off the New Year, this Exercise Science major will be dedicating every free second to training for her favorite cross-country ski race, the American Birkebeiner.
A race that begins in Cable, Wisconsin, the Birkebeiner or “Birkie,” finishes in Hayward, Wisconsin – Schull’s hometown. This 2012, its events will be held from February 23 to 25. Patterned after the ski marathon the Birkebeiner Rennet, which has been held in Norway since 1932, the American Birkebeiner also honors a historic Norwegian event. In 1206, two warriors called “Birkebeiners,” because of the birch-bark leggings they wore, skied infant Prince Haakon to safety during the Norwegian civil war. Haakon would later become King of Norway, and the Birkebeiner warriors would become a Norwegian symbol of courage, perseverance and character (http://www.birkie.com/). Although none of today’s skiers wear birch-bark leggings, and even though the American race is not quite as old as Norway’s, 2012 will mark the American Berkie’s 39th annual year in running.
Comprised of several events, the Birkie consists of: two Birkie marathon races, a 50K freestyle race and a 54K classic race, the 23K Kortelopet race, and the 12K Prince Haakon race. Last year, Schull competed in the Kortelopet, which does not finish in her hometown of Hayward, like the Birkie. “As soon as I finished [the Kortelopet] and that finishes in Cable,” she said, “I knew I wanted to be able to ski down the main street of my hometown.” This year, Schull will compete in the 50K Birkie race.
Because of Schull’s hometown connection to the event, she says she feels like she has been involved in the Birkie her whole life. “It’s such a huge part of our community, because it brings so many people in,” she said. Indeed, over 11,000 skiers of all levels and ages come to race the Birkie each year, and over 20,000 spectators from around the world come to watch (http://www.birkie.com/). “When I was little I did the Barnebirkie,” she added – the race for children ages 3 to 13.
This year, training for the Birkie has been a challenge for Schull. “With the weather right now, I have to be really flexible. I can’t ski with no snow!” she laughed. While her skis rest in her dorm room, Schull has thrown herself into an intensive workout regimen of her own devising, to prepare for the race as best she can. “For skiing, since there’s such a large upper body component, I’ve really started to lift weights, so I’ve been doing a lot of upper body endurance-type lifting,” she said. Schull has incorporated a lot of running and swimming into her workouts too. Each week, she says, she runs about 30 to 40 miles, spends three days lifting weights, and two days swimming.
A self-described healthy eater already, Schull also has plans to modify her diet come-race time. “I actually start focusing in on what I’m eating the week before,” she said. “So, the week before, I try to eat a lot of complex carbs – and a lot of food in general! But, [it’s] healthy food. I try to pretty much cut out sugary desserts and I solely focus on food as energy.” Schull says she will also start tapering, or reducing the length of her workouts, the week before the Birkie. “The day before I’ll take the day off completely, or go out for like 10 minutes or something to get my legs loosened up. The night before, I just try to eat something very stomach-neutral,” she said.
Although this will be Schull’s first time skiing the 50K Birkie, she has had plenty of experience competing in races: running, mountain biking and cross-country skiing. This year alone (in 2011), Schull skied in the pre-Birkie, the Kortelopet, and the Birkie trail half-marathon; she competed in the St. Olaf triathalon; she ran the Ice Age Trail, a 15K race, and she ran a half marathon in Portland, Oregon; then she biked in the Chequamegon Short and Fat, a 16-mile mountain bike race in her hometown.
Her favorite type of race, Schull says, is the half marathon. She has been running in them for four years, and since she began, she estimates, she has run at least 12 to 15. “I started running as a stress reliever in high school, and my mom did half marathons,” Schull said. “My senior year, she suggested we train for one, so we trained…and made it a destination vacation. [We ran] the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in San Diego.” Since she began running, Schull says, she has become especially enthusiastic about trail running. “Huge crowd races (the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon had 30,000 people doing it) are less appealing to me, and more smaller races in the woods are more of my thing now,” she said.
Whatever type of race Schull is running, biking, or skiing in, she says what motivates her is simply reaching her goal of being well prepared for the race. “I like the satisfaction that I feel at the beginning of a race, to see where I started and where I ended,” she said. Due to the inhospitable training conditions for the Birkie, Schull says she has an additional goal for this race: “My goal is to just make the race as pleasant as possible. So, not to be in extreme physical pain by the end!”
While Schull continues to train for the Birkie’s February start date, she says she is looking forward to a number of things about the event. “Growing up, I’ve always wanted to do it,” she said. “It’s kind of weird, but it’s this energy you get from being around a lot of people who are undertaking the same challenge you’re doing. For me the challenge of doing something I haven’t done, the distance I haven’t skied – knowing what a rush it’s gonna be skiing up mainstreet in my hometown, all these people cheering at the end…” Scull’s cheerleaders, she says, will be a number of her friends, who will come to watch her cross the finish-line, as well as her family. And of course, what she’s really looking forward to after the race is: “Eating! Eating a huge dessert – and whatever I want!”
The Scoop on Schull
Favorite pre-race power snack? “Oatmeal! Because it’s a really good source of complex carbs and you can mix stuff in it, like fruit or honey or cinnamon. You can always do something different with it, so it doesn’t get old.”
Did you ever make a bad pre-race food choice? “The worst food choice I’ve made is not eating. But sometimes races start at 8 a.m. and you have to be there early, and you have to drive, so I’m not hungry and I don’t want to eat.”
How do you pump yourself up pre-race? “I usually don’t have a hard time getting psyched up. I’m usually really exited!”
Do you ever get nervous before races? “I’m always super nervous! That’s one thing that’s different [in each sport:] running, skiing and biking. In running it’s all you to finish, but biking there can be equipment malfunctions, and in skiing [you can have] slow wax on your skis. So running to me is the purest form of racing.”
What’s next for you after Birkie? “I’ve been thinking about doing a Full Trail Marathon, or an Ultra [Marathon] on a trail. I don’t really have an interest in pounding my body on pavement for a full 26 miles, but it would be cool to do a Trail or Ultra Trail Marathon.”
Schull’s best advice to Ole women: “It’s really important to make fitness a priority, because your body is with you forever…the way you treat it now is going to influence how it treats you in your later life! Take care of your body through healthy eating and exercising!”