Northug should retire and take up 10k running

What elite skiers have retired from nordic skiing and gone on to have careers in elite running? I am genuinely curious and I'm not trying to jerk you around. I know Alsgaard and Bjorn Daehlie were rumored to have very fast 800m through 3000m times, but even their times were not considered elite.

I haven't studied this. I would think that nordic skiing is more kind to age than running. There is less impact on the body....though there is a much higher emphasis on upper body strength in skiing. That could make it harder for an older guy to keep up, but Northug is like 26 years old!

Miles Davis wrote:

What elite skiers have retired from nordic skiing and gone on to have careers in elite running?

Not elite skiers. Skiers just make good runners. Paavo Nurmi did part of his training by skiing.

But I'm just insulting Northug, he wouldn't really make a good runner. And I must have jinxed Bjoergen because she lost.

with a name like NorThug he would make an awesome west coast rapper.

Going in the other direction, there were stories after Montreal '76 that Frank was considering taking up competitive Nordic skiing.

Björn Dählie, arguably the greatest male XC skier ever, had a 10000m PB of 29,30, and today´s world class skiers are a lot bigger and more muscular than he ever was. Back in the 70s, it was possible for good skiers to switch to running (like Ingrid Kristiansen), but since then XC skiing has changed completely and today it is much more of a strength/power sport.

well.. wrote:

Björn Dählie, arguably the greatest male XC skier ever, had a 10000m PB of 29,30, and today´s world class skiers are a lot bigger and more muscular than he ever was. Back in the 70s, it was possible for good skiers to switch to running (like Ingrid Kristiansen), but since then XC skiing has changed completely and today it is much more of a strength/power sport.

Therese Johaug, Elizabeth Stephen, Jessie Diggins, are super skinny and tiny.

Ben True switched focus to running pretty successfully. Morgan Arritola is doing well as mountain/trail runner.

AK AK AK wrote:

well.. wrote:

Björn Dählie, arguably the greatest male XC skier ever, had a 10000m PB of 29,30, and today´s world class skiers are a lot bigger and more muscular than he ever was. Back in the 70s, it was possible for good skiers to switch to running (like Ingrid Kristiansen), but since then XC skiing has changed completely and today it is much more of a strength/power sport.

Therese Johaug, Elizabeth Stephen, Jessie Diggins, are super skinny and tiny.

Ben True switched focus to running pretty successfully. Morgan Arritola is doing well as mountain/trail runner.

Johaug is a lot more muscular than any female world class runner:

Her 3000m PB is 9,06 - solid, but not world class.

Who the hell are Ben True and Morgan Arritola? Not world class XC skiers.

No kidding. It's well established that nordic skiing and distance running are complementary endurance pursuits. Success in one will correlate well to success in the other...at a high school level. The higher the level of competition, the more the two disciplines diverge. Northug's bio says he weighs 180 lb. That's pretty beefy for a runner.

well.. wrote:

Johaug is a lot more muscular than any female world class runner:

http://img2.custompublish.com/getfile.php/975430.92.pxrrddetds/E67W8342.jpg?return=www.langrenn.com

That shows she is toned/cut, but still really skinny. She is certainly as skinny and light as a typical elite distance runner:

!/image/1414002515.jpg_gen/derivatives/derivative_article_980/1414002515.jpg

Kristin Stormer Steira

Steira and Heidi Weng in the back have no thighs:

I have seen several elite skiers from my country running and it never was anything exceptional. Martin Koukal (world champion in 50km -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Koukal

) ran something like 35:00 in 10K.

Lukas Bauer (having several Olympic medals and wins in Tour de Ski ahead of Northug -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luk

áš_Bauer) ran something like 33:XX in 10K. Martina Sablikova (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martina_Sáblíková) ran in the same race and was less than one minute slower which is interesting as she is a female speedskater.

Many of our skiers are quite good mountain runners though; but more often they do mountain biking during the summer season.

Some years ago I asked Anders Södergren, one of Sweden´s greatest skier ever, his PB on the running scene. These were his results:

5000: 15.23 min (15.40 min as a 16 yo)

1500: maybe 4.40 min as a 15 yo

I think the average elite skier is of sub elite national class. Its a bit different muscles that are used but the "motor" is the same. Good technique is quite crucial in skiing...

So Northug takes gold this morning in the 15K FS.

http://www.fiscrosscountry.com/news/petter-northug-takes-his-gold-15km,3770.html

Kristin Størmer Steira has done very well in running she was the Norwegian champion for cross country running and the 5000m in 2010 with a winning 5000m time of 16:02. This time would not be able to contend with the top in the world but I think that if she just focused on running then she would probably be running around 15:30ish or fasterhttp://www.google.ca/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=kristin+steira+störmer&source=images&cd=&docid=Dbt_8v9Ti2kHcM&tbnid=b3xU6edVGAnFyM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kondis.no%2Findex.php%3Faid%3D88662%26k%3Dsjef%25252Fforsiden%26mid&ei=KsIuUdXGDoKiyAG19IDwDA&bvm=bv.43148975,d.aWc&psig=AFQjCNF4W4ZI2w1xVkJ2MMqTO23-nX0_XA&ust=1362105222310994

gerald12 wrote:

So Northug takes gold this morning in the 15K FS.

http://www.fiscrosscountry.com/news/petter-northug-takes-his-gold-15km,3770.html

Yes, Northug proved he is still a great champion by utterly destroying the entire field and making Cologna and Legkov look like clowns. I was wrong, he shouldn't retire until after Sochi at the earliest.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Yes, Northug proved he is still a great champion by utterly destroying the entire field and making Cologna and Legkov look like clowns. I was wrong, he shouldn't retire until after Sochi at the earliest.

The russians had terrible skies, thats 20-30seconds lost + negative feedback meaning they won't give it their best. Who cares if its 5th or 7th place.

Cologna didn't seem to have great skiies either.

Regarding running, todays skiiers are terrible runners.

Northug once participated in the junior national champs in 3000m steeple. Got bronze....because nobody hardly runs steeple in Norway.

Hes big and heavy.

Barakus Obama wrote:

The russians had terrible skies

Then they should have used better ones. Stupid excuse.

Anyhow that doesn't account for Legkov being 3 minutes back and Cologna in 8th. They couldn't hack the pace Northug set and they gave up.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Barakus Obama wrote:

The russians had terrible skies

Then they should have used better ones. Stupid excuse.

Anyhow that doesn't account for Legkov being 3 minutes back and Cologna in 8th. They couldn't hack the pace Northug set and they gave up.

Hah, its not that easy. It's not even just about the skiis, its what you do with the skiis. Thats not the job of Legkov or Cologna. Norway have a far superior team to prepare the skiis, especially compared to Switzerland.

But sure, they gave up when they realised they wouln't get a medal. Russians probably missed with their peak aswell, they were in far better shape during Tour de Ski.

Obviously you didn't watch this race. They gave up because they were taken off guard by the extreme pace and failed to react in time. Bad skis are just a convenient excuse for being owned. Whatever makes them feel better about it.

The Swiss can't be too much worse at waxing skis than the Swedes, Canadians and Estonians, or Cologna wouldn't win so consistently in world cup. But he lost to them too.

And I suppose the Russian crew is worse than the Germans, French, Italians, Swiss, Americans, Czechs and even Belorussians. They all had "better skis" than any Russians.

FYI, Petter and Marit have their own wax technician to dial in their skis. Unlike the other teams and even the norwegian team where four guys wax 15 skis. Northug's and Bjorgan's skis are usually right on.