[Scott Johnston]

Sophia Laukli’s win on the final stage of the Tour d’Ski up that 450m steep climb on the Alpine ski run is a really impressive accomplishment.  I don’t know her or her training. However, I see that she is connected with and trained by a top Norwegian coaching program.  I suspect that her summer running program is just part of her overall base-building approach, which can then be tuned to the higher intensity required in Nordic ski racing.  Sophia also has a light body and small size that really helps her on courses with a lot of climbing.  Nordic skiers have historically done well in off-season running, even when not specifically trained for running races.  In other words, in the summer, they are just racing off their base.  Several years ago, US Ski Nordic Ski Team member David Norris broke Kilian Jornets’ record at the Mountain Marathon in Alaska.  Kilian needs no introduction. David is not so well known. He was a very good US skier but not world-class by any means, and he did this as part of his summer training program.

Accumulating a high volume of aerobic base training on your feet will always be helpful in any sport.

Scott