How Fast could a Men's Olympic XC Skier run a 5k?

As far as I know, the best 5k from a norwegian skier is 13:57 from Anders Aukland. Also have a 8:02 3000. He has an olympic gold, a wc gold and two wc silvers in nordic skiing.

There is a race in Anchorage that turned 50 a couple years ago, the Arctic Valley Run. It is a 12.6-mile run up and down a mountain, mostly on a gravel road. 6.3 miles and 2,500' of elevation gain going up, 6.3 miles and 2,500' descent going down.

In recent years, it has been won in 1:23, 1:38, 1:33, 1:29, and 1:22.

The course record was set back in 1982 - 1:06:44 (5:17.8 pace). The record holder is Jim Galanes, who was a 3-time US Olympic cross country skier in 1976, 1980, and 1984.

Ben Ogden has a few solid-but-not-earth-shattering results to his name from his younger days:

https://www.athlinks.com/event/141032/results/Event/1004002/Course/2190996/Bib/238

https://www.athlinks.com/event/141032/results/Event/724967/Course/1192993/Entry/332603536?source=internal

https://www.athlinks.com/event/142100/results/Event/553323/Course/824644/Bib/126?source=internal

And I don't know how long or fast his leg was of this reasonably competitive marathon relay last spring:

https://data.burlingtonfreepress.com/vermont-city-marathon-results/detail/blood-sweat-skiers-robin-jackson-benjamin-ogden-adam-terko-katie-vargo-steve-vargo/288287/

Not as fast as they can ski it, that's for sure. That's why they live way up north, in the snow.

Before there were cars, bikes, horses and such, they were the fastest people on Earth.

Sub 15 for sure

It probably varies a lot between athletes. Sometimes fitness translates well between sports, sometimes it doesn't.

Could you imagine being on the elliptical / arc trainer or ski erg at your local gym and then that guy getting on the one next to you?
Enough to give anyone an inferiority complex…

Ben True was a xc skier in hs and college idk how good he was. But usually all of the guys from Maine who competed at high level in running were decent skiers. They weren’t the best but were pretty high up in the results. I wonder if there are some other examples from other states people have.

Ben True was on the NCAA championship Nordic Skiing team at Dartmouth, he ran 13:02. If you had all the olympians train for the track for a year I wouldn't be surprised if you had some run under 13:30. Someone else pointed out one of the few who has run on the track and had a sub 14.

https://www.letsrun.com/2012/randall-0418.php

Glenn Randall (Colorado legend) from Dartmouth was national champ in XC skiing, just missed footlocker in high school by 1-2 seconds back in the 8 qualifier system. 30:00 10k at Penn relays right after XC skiing nationals one year. I think he got close to All American in XC running.

They have the fitness for sure, but quite different training. XC does lot lend itself to running speed.

speaking of max Vo2:

Kristian Blummenfelt, the Norwegian Olympic gold medalist and Ironman champion, recorded an extraordinary, record-setting VO₂ max of 101.1mL/kg/min
101.1mL/kg/min
in 2026.

I raced Noah Hoffman one time in an XC 5k back in 2019. He ran around 16 low for the 5k on a hilly course. I out kicked him but I remember being super impressed with the fitness level of XC skiers. On a track he would’ve been at least 15:40.

They would have to lose weight too. World class xc skiers today are muscular. An extreme example is Edvin Anger who weighs around 100 kg but still runs 10k in 31 minutes.

If only Randall had managed to hang on and win Boston in 2012 after tearing it up in the early stages. It would have been one of the greatest Boston moments in the 21st century along with Kawauchi's win in 2018.

XC skiing tends to favor taller athletes. Longer arms and legs are an advantage. Klaebo is 6'. Ben True is also 6'. So that kind of keeps XC skiers from just putting on running shoes and dominating distance running. But looking at it the other way around, you have to wonder why more distance runners aren't using XC skiing for cross training when available. When I was training for the marathon, I spent a week up at my dad's place in Vermont. They had a lot of snow and there really wasn't anywhere to run without having crampons which I did not have. But there was a nice Nordic center nearby. I could go out and hammer it on XC ski trails and the next day my legs felt just fine.