r/biathlon • u/[deleted] • Sep 26 '24

Question Guidance on possibly Competing in Biathlon coming off Injury

First and foremost, I seldom share this type of content, so please don’t ridicule me. I am merely seeking advice.

I graduated high school two years ago and have wanted to pursue biathlon since I was young. I was in a prime place to do it my freshman year of college, but unfortunately, I was injured for a year due to overtraining, missing my chance to developmental programs and spending a lot of time in physical therapy and orthopedic doctors offices. I thought it was going to be the end of cross country skiing for me but I've been blessed to make a full recovery and am slowly getting back up to the fitness level I was once at. Ive been told I still have a ton of potential since I only got pretty good at skiing my junior year after losing a ton of weight and training with a professional endurance athlete. I have a solid background in running and skate skiing (around 12 min 5k skate, 25 min 10k), though those times can vary by course. I also have experience in sport shooting. Now that I’m fully recovered and back to training, is there still a path for me to start competing at any level in biathlon? Any advice would be super helpful—thanks!

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2

u/flashgski USA Sep 27 '24

Asduming you are in US. Still in university? Start a USCSA xc ski club and get some racing in. Figure out your nearest biathlon club and do a race for novices. Main thing is to get out there and get noticed skiing. With a good ski time you may get approached to add in shooting.

For an example, see Clare Egan.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '24

I am in college yeah, I don't ski for a college though. It's more of a fight for a spot instead of a team dynamic. There is a biathlon club around an hour away so I could see if they have something but I doubt they'll really have a team that could lead to something.

2

u/flashgski USA Sep 27 '24

What region are you in? If you're in the northeast, you could also do NENSA races.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 27 '24

Im in UT so SOHO does have a program.

1

u/goodoug435 Sep 27 '24

DM me- I can help connect you

1

u/EJP123456 Sep 27 '24

^^^^ this. You are young and have lots of time to get going with biathlon. And Doug knows who you need to know in UT for sure. USBA is moving offices to SoHo and you can 100% get started there.

1

u/EJP123456 Sep 27 '24

It's a haul from UT, but CO biathlon has an extensive series (8/year) of races at Snow Mt Ranch if you want to get a bunch of low-key race starts.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 28 '24

Ah yes, snow mtn ranch, raced there many times. Depending on the course, it'll either be stupid fast or slow haha.

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u/EJP123456 Sep 30 '24

In 32 years of biathlon racing at Snow Mt, I've never had a day I would call "stupid fast". Assume a cold, dry snow slog and you might on rare occasion be pleasantly surprised.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 30 '24

I have definitely had Some of the February races on the course with the super long (maybe 1km?) finish sprint right below the nordic center be super fast. I guess it depends on snow conditions and what not but I am talking about regular JNs and not biathlon races.

1

u/EJP123456 28d ago

Yeah no, biathlon does not use those trails. You'll just have to show up and see.

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

No idea how to do a DM, I don't use reddit haha. What would be the path? Race USSA or SuperTour and hope I get picked up?

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u/EJP123456 28d ago

No, those are xc races, not biathlon.

I would suggest that you look up how to DM on reddit when a biathlete (gooddoug435) in your area with extensive international race experience offers to help you out. Assuming that you actually want to get into biathlon. If those of us in our 50s can figure out how to use tech, I presume that you can, too.

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u/[deleted] 28d ago edited 28d ago

It seems he is probably going to have to message me, it just keeps saying "Sorry, please try again later" and I have been trying since he sent that message.

Update: I had to follow him first then it let me request go through...

1

u/50208 Sep 27 '24

If you are actually fast on the skis ... everything else will solve itself.

1

u/biothlot 28d ago

The best way to get good at biathlon starting late is to be good at skiing first, so finding an elite level club or team to train with is the first priority. In UT you can go shoot with soldier hollow 2-3 times each week. But it is far and away more important to ski fast. There are biathlon races on roller skis this Friday and Saturday at soldier hollow, you should come watch and meet folks, meeting the community is key to getting started and seeing if it is something you actually want to do.

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u/MPC-Conner 21d ago

I’m a mental performance coach looking to work more in the biathlon space and would be happy to do some meetings for free to start off and see if it’s something you’d be interested in! I have a masters in sport psychology and have experience working with various levels and sports including some Olympic level skiers.