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Thousands of Scandinavian hobby skiers "finish" 50+k courses every Sunday. Not racing, but walking/"jogging". 50k on skis is like ~10 miles running.
"Finishing" a 50k nordic ski race is more comparable to putting in one of the weekly long runs you'd do in preparation for a marathon race. Even if the criteria were nordic racing at the limit of one's fitness level, it's something that can reasonably be done many times per season, which is what the elites do.
Your question is a bit loaded because you're asking for sub 3 marathon, which is a fairly decent effort (remember the old adage that there is no such thing as an easy marathon) vs. just finishing a 50K ski race. And of course a lot depends upon the skill of the skier. But sub 3 would be more difficult than just finishing, just like running a sub 3 marathon is easier than a run of 3:45.
I've raced into the dozens lot of each, and the physiological effort is fairly similar. You can usually push harder in a 50K ski race, at least part of the way, because you'll get some recovery on downhills. But just like a marathon, if you go out too fast, go too hard in the middle of the race, or do not fuel/hydrate properly you will pay a price with glycogen depletion later in the race.
You can recover much more quickly from a 50K ski race. Back to back loppets are common, and many fit skiers will do three or four in a month to six weeks/usually toward the end of a ski season.
It's much harder to run a
Maybe I'll just wait until BW answers.
Oyler wrote:
Maybe I'll just wait until BW answers.
oops made a word error. It should read:
But sub 3 would be more difficult than just finishing, just like running a sub 3 marathon is more difficult than a run of 3:45.
When I was 16, I did my first skiing marathon in 3h with little training (maybe 10 times) and while I was reasonable fit I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have been able to run a 15k. The funny thing is that you don't even need a nice technique, assuming an average coordination.
Nice to see some other nordic skiers here on the forum!
I think both events are very similar, assuming a roughly equal finishing time (and assuming you are actually racing rather than "touring).
Simply finishing a 50km ski is easier than simply finishing a marathon, however.
-- Former ski racer / 10 yrs nordic ski coach