The Seder-Skier Podcast

Power meters are common in cycling as a training and performance tool. We chat with the CEO of Skisens, Johan Hogstrand, about a product gathering power data in ski poles! Very interesting for all of you training/science junkies!

First 30 - Ever wonder how well runners, rowers, and kayakers transfer to XC skiing? A 6 month program which looked to take elite athletes in those sports in order to prepare them for the Beijing Olympics took place in China, and the research, published in August 2020, is the first of its kind.  We discuss some surprising results which have implications for coaches, masters athletes, and anyone else who may have come to XC skiing as a second sport.  Last hour - we interview the legend - Ivan Babikov. The 3x Olympian's Cinderella story is an inspiration for all of us - not just sports fans. Well worth the listen - go to the 30 minute mark to start the interview.  Brought to you by USSPC - let us know if you need new poles for winter - it's coming!

We talk with another multi-athlete superstar who has decided to buck the trend of selling themselves to one sport early on, instead choosing to enjoy, learn from, and experience elite success in both running and skiing. The UAF freshmen is sticking around Alaska, which means her rise in the international ski scene is sure to continue, especially if she can continue to avoid long stretches of rollerskiing.....

The Seder-Skier listens to a lot of sermons during those long hours on the bike and skis, and we decided it might be cool to talk about questions we have relating to them. Our first sermon comes fresh off the press (October 4th, FBC of Leadville, Pastor Tanner Thetford; "Jesus Take the Wheel?"), and wasn't listened to via an audio download. However, our normal Q&A which takes place after the sermon was cancelled this week.  I just had to ask Pastor Tanner some questions, and thought a few of my listeners might be interested in the topic. The first 10-12 minutes is me giving a brief summary of the sermon. Skip to about the 12 minute mark to hear my question and answer (that is right, I did pose my own answer to my question, but am looking for some sharpening from Tanner as well as some of my other friends in Christ.  Basically - we ask if there is inherent contradiction in the statement: "Because God is in control of all things, we should trust in Him rather than taking matters into our own hands." By harmonizing two Pauline texts - Ephesians 1:11 and Philippians 2:12-13, we pose our own answer, but wish to allow Pastor Tanner and some of our other friends in Christ to illuminate a correct interpretation of this text and some others. 

Sick of the constant stream of sports news? Ever wish someone would just make a sports show only when there was enough important stuff to talk about? We won't commit to daily, weekly, or monthly podcasts here. Instead, we'll make a show when we need to --- Up today: "What hope is there for MN fans? Is Eliud Kipchoge a modern day Lance Armstrong? Who I am cheering for in the NBA finals and why you should care --- plus, some Vikings news that doesn't really have to do with the current Vikings at all." Hey, at least listen to the first 2 minutes and our world famous open/intros...

Interview with US Ski team member and NCAA champion Ben Ogden on life in the pandemic, training, mountain biking, Johannes Klaebo, and the state of skiing in the USA. 

The two-time Olympian has been busy raising two kids and working as the Nordic program director at the Aspen Valley Ski Club. This January, the club is offering a $5,000 prize purse at the Owl Creek Chase, a 25K point-to-point course from Snowmass to Aspen. We chat about that, Simi joining Kilian for his 14er project, what she's up to as a club director, opinions on RMD / New England and development in general and more. Vail Daily story on Owl CreekRegister for the Owl Creek

We caught up to the 28 year old in Finland to talk about what it was like having an older brother who won 6 world titles and an Olympic gold medal in Nordic combined, her training philosophy, her outlook after winning the final sprint world cup (and placing fourth in the discipline season standings), and what she's trying to do to catch up to Jonna Sundling. Head on over to EnjoyWinter for all your Nordic ski needs this season!Go to Seder-Skier.com to become a member of Gripwax Nation today!

Anderson launched the Ely ski program from scratch back in the 1990s and guided the Timberwolves to prominence over the next two decades. She coached the boys to a state title in 2010, countless section championships and runner up finishes going against section 7 rival Duluth East, and guided Erin Bianco — a current BSF World Cup skier — to the individual title in 2017.We reached out to hear her ski story, how she built such a successful program, and her advice to coaches trying to do the same. Ely has one of the smallest student populations for schools with cross-country skiing, yet she continues to attract a team that makes up almost 10% of enrollment at the high school. The Ely ski team is a club team that is funded only from community supported fundraisers. Paula is involved with the yearly acquisition of funds to secure that another ski season will take place in Ely. She not only works to make sure the funds are developing, but that the skiers are developing as well by leading a summer workout program. Her ability to individualize the training for her athletes is a unique skill. 

Even though he's fresh off his best season yet, Ketterson just missed making the U.S. Ski Team criteria. The NMU All-American and 2-time MN state champ used the slight to his advantage this off-season, heading to multiple altitude camps, spending time in the snow tunnels and getting on-snow in Livigno this October. I was curious to see what his mindset was as he enters his late-20s and wanted to know what inspired his new Youtube channel.Enjoy!

Do we even need to write a show description?

Doug Edmonson, the 1966 Minnesota State High School Nordic Ski co-champion — he tied with the legendary late Dave Quinn — joins the show today to talk about his book: "Norm Oakvik: The Inconspicuous Coach — Memories of a Beloved Coach and. history of Minnesota Nordic Skiing." This one is for all you fellow history buffs, stat junkies and Nordic nerds. Thanks Doug!To buy Doug's book, go to the Birkie Store or Amazon — search 'Minnesota Nordic Skiing' to view the 3-part series.

Another rambling dissertation on a bunch of random topics!- Early snow in Leadville- Don Quinn is to skiing what Dick Vitale is to college basketball- How Jessie Diggins made her way into a date night conversation with my wife....and what you can learn from it....- Clips, clips and more audio clips- Breaking news on random ski podcasts?- Russia takes- Different definitions of pragmatism - US development

Growing up in a family of skiers to a legendary Minnesota high school ski coach, Erin Moening has "loved Nordic skiing right from the start." After capturing three top-5 finishes at the state meet, Moening continued her career at Northern Michigan. She worked as a wax tech at NMU at the end of her time under Sten Fjeldheim and developed a passion for coaching.After experiences as a coach/wax tech with the U.S. Ski Team and stints at Team Birkie and elsewhere, the full-time software engineer and coach is passionate about capitalizing on the cross-country ski energy pulsing through our country right now by providing resources for coaches and opportunities for athletes.At her website, MoeningTheTracks.com, she writes: American Nordic skiing is experiencing an all-time high. We now boast Olympic Champions, World Champions, World Cup Medalists, and Junior World Champions. On the World Cup circuit, American coaches and wax technicians are at the top of their fields, continually improving each year. However, few in the U.S. possess this level of expertise and experience.With actual World Cup coaching and waxing experience being rare, it’s incredibly difficult to gain elite coaching opportunities in the U.S.. Resources are limited, and finding high-quality ones is even more challenging. My goal with MoeningTheTracks (pronounced Man-ning) is to promote a culture of information sharing and knowledge transfer in the ski community, specifically in the Midwest. On today's show, we chatted about her recent coaching conference, meeting athletes where they're at, the intersection of club/high school ski competition, trends in the sport at various competitive levels, father-daughter athlete dynamics and more. Plus, we gave Erin a chance to share some of her own World Cup hot takes for the 2025-2026 year.Visit MoeningTheTracks.comBearskin Lodge coaching conference - March 20-22The Seder-Skier is an EnjoyWinter ambassador. Visit EnjoyWinter.com for all of your skiing needs this season!

The results page from the Junior World champs women’s 5K interval start classic on Jan. 30 2018 in Goms, Switzerland has names current World Cup fans will surely recognize. In fifth is Kristine Stavaas Skistad. A couple places back, Frida Karlsson, Moa Lundgren, Mathilde Myhrvold and Hedda Oestberg Amundsen. The silver medalist that day: Hailey Swirbul. After collecting an individual skiathlon bronze a couple days later, Swirbul went on to make 2 World Champs teams, an Olympic squad and claim a World Cup podium. Then, before she was even 25, she was out of skiing. Now, more than two years after her last start in Lahti on March 26, 2023, Swirbul is back. In this conversation, we dive into the story behind her comeback, the pathway back to an Olympics, what she’s learned while away and her opinion on why all too often, skiers leave the sport early. Plus, a Keegan Swirbul update for the cycling dorks out there.The Seder-Skier is an EnjoyWinter ambassador. ⁠Visit EnjoyWinter.com⁠ for all of your skiing needs this season!

The Minnesota-born skier joins to talk about her start in the sport, her career at Colby College, US Ski Team Trail to Gold Fellowships, coaching philosophy and more!

We recorded this conversation back on July 4 but I forgot my producing stuff when I went back to Minnesota for vacation!MSU head coach Adam St. Pierre joined to chat about a recent Facebook thread which came out of Jim Galanes' Fasterskier op-eds on U16 Junior Nationals and development. Both St. Pierre and Galanes have been on our show and we appreciate their willingness to share their opinions and ideas. Enjoy!

We break down everything from ... - the 2025 Birkie Classic- how to go from NCAA All-American to a Ski Classics pro- DP technique- intersection of scientific research and ski content creation- SKIMO- Which Americans would be good ski classic athletes (actually, JK, we kept that stuff off the record)You won't want to miss this show!

Last month, we brought on Spud Nordic ski coach Eric Wicklund to chat about how he makes things work in Moorhead. Inspired by that conversation, we decided we needed to hear more about how the team started. Today's guest is Tom Dooher, who coached cross-country and track and field at Moorhead High before starting the Nordic team in the fall of 2014. We picked his brain on how he built a program capable of sustained success, navigated challenges and built a culture where every athlete matters and relationships are what really matter. Enjoy!Moorhead High School Nordic competitive historyGirlsState Qualifiers Pursuit Celine Kjernsval (2016)Sofie Overturf (2017,2018) (2)Kate Ludwig (2017,2018) (2)Abbie Ishaug (2020*, 2023)Kennedy Olson (2020*,2022,2023) (3)Octavia Nerguson (2020*)Olivia Watson (2020*)Siri Overturf (2020*, 2022) (2)Jamie Raske (2020*, 2022) (2)Ava Nelson (2020*)Jacki Johnson (2025)Addy Stordahl (2025)*Denotes team qualifiersState Sprint Relay QualifiersJamie Raske & Siri Overturf (2022)Abbie Ishaug & Jackie Johnson (2023) (Fifth place finish)Chloe Pesek & Izzy Kupitz (2024)Team Section ChampionshipsGirls - 1st (2020)Individual Section ChampionsAbbie Ishaug (2020)State Team FinishesPursuit - 12th (2020) State Relay FinalistsAbbie Ishaug and Jackie Johnson - Sprints - 5th (2022)All StateAbbie Ishaug 17th (2020)Northstar Conference Team Champions (5) (2018, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025)BoysState Qualifiers Pursuit Isaac Wicklund (2018)Jack Lee  (2018, 2019)Max Rogers (2022)Zaine Braaten (2022, 2023 - all-state) (2)Logan Olson (2024, 2025*) (2)Wes Brouillard (2025*)Eli Schlichting (2025*)Ian Schimmelpfennig (2025*)Barrett Hicks (2025*)*Denotes team qualifiersState Sprint Relay Qualifiers Tavan Schlichting & Jack Holston*Best Team Finish at Sections  Boys - 2nd (2025)Individual Section Champions  N/AState Team FinishesPursuit / Relay - 9th (2025)State Relay FinalistsN/A  (Best finish - 17th (2025))Support the Seder-Skier!⁠⁠⁠Our supporters:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠EnjoyWinter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Atomic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sporthill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We take the 4Cs: cquestions, comments, concerns AND compliments at sederskier@gmail.com.Keep on striving. Keep on skiing.

Joining us on the show today is Steamboat Springs WinterSports Club head U20/U18/U16 cross-country ski coach Josh Smullin! Show notes: start - 20 min: SederSkier fitness update/Double UP Winter Park race report/ Mt. Massive trail run 20:00 - end: Josh Smullin!Smullin's illustrious ski career spans top-level junior national showings, a 4-year career at CU and numerous SuperTour and American Ski Marathon Series podiums and wins as a member of Team Rossignol. The father of two holds degrees in kinesiology and sports psychology and was an assistant coach at the University of Utah before landing at SSWSC, where he has guided countless athletes to junior, college and international successes.Josh is has also been the de facto KING of Colorado loppet ski racing for the better part of almost two decades. Let's just say, if he shows up at the starting line, the rest of the field is fighting it out for second.If there is anyone who can speak to the state of xc skiing and development — and share a fun race story or two — it's Josh. We picked his brain on his upbringing, philosophy, opinions on the current JN/U16 "controversy"/conversation and more....and we already thought of 100 more questions we probably should have asked!! Nonetheless, we hope you enjoy the show!Support the Seder-Skier!⁠Our supporters:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠EnjoyWinter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Atomic⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sporthill⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We take the 4Cs: cquestions, comments, concerns AND compliments at sederskier@gmail.com.Keep on striving. Keep on skiing.Joining us on the show today is Steamboat Springs WinterSports Club head U20/U18/U16 crosscoach Josh Smullin