Season 19/20 Recap by The Numbers

The 19/20 season has come to a premature end. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy in this trying time. This year I produced decidedly mixed results but was able to take away some tangible positives which I will build on next year. A special thanks to my family, coaches, teammates and sponsors who continued to encourage and support me through a challenging season.

(Projected) Physical Training Hours: 755 hours

Total Rounds: 15,129

Dryfire Time: 62 hours

Biathlon Races: 21

Cross Country Races: 3 

Wins: 4

Top IBU Cup Place: 47th  

World Cup Starts: 0

Classic Races: 0 ☹  

An Actual Update

Clearly, I have neglected this space for the past few months. Here is the short version of how last season wrapped up and how the 2019-2020 campaign has begun.

I qualified for a second IBU Cup tour in February and March of last season. I raced at the European Championships in Belarus and an IBU Cup in Estonia. Neither race series produced good results. I was very tired from the first half of the winter and my first professional training and racing season. Regardless I gave my best effort in each race, had some solid performances, learned about new race formats, learned where I most need to improve and received outstanding support from the USBA staff, my coaches and teammates.

I wrapped up my year with US National Championships in Jericho, Vermont. Again, the racing was nothing to write home about, but it was great to compete at the venue as the broader biathlon community. Young athletes, Masters racers and up and coming juniors mixing it up with senior athletes is inspiring and offers valuable perspective to all involved.

After a two-week break, I jumped back into training in Craftsbury. So far, I have had a steady build up into the training season with quality training.

I would like to thank Madshus Skis, Lost Nation R&D Biathlon Stocks and Leki Ski Poles for supplying me with amazing equipment for the 2019-2020 season.

I am also pleased to welcome Yarmouth Printing and Graphics and Estabrook Maine to my supporters’ group.

Follow me on Instagram @roggoessling91 for regular updates.    

Back Up

A lot has happened since I last updated this blog on May 4^th. I moved to Craftsbury Common, Vermont, joined the Craftsbury Green Racing Project team, gained new coaches and teammates, added the backing of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and made a plethora of other changes to my sporting and personal life.

Being a supported professional biathlete on the best private team in North America is a privilege I am grateful for every day.  

The training year has whizzed by and I am now in the thick of the competition season. Here is a brief summary of the training year and the first trimester of the race season.

Spring 2018

I arrived in Craftsbury and began training in earnest. The most difficult parts where adopting a new style of skiing and adjusting to the sheer volume and intensity of the training. I took each challenge in stride and improved with every workout.

Summer 2018

The most intense period of summer training was punctuated, as it is every year, by rollerski races in Jericho, Vermont. These races would play a role in selecting who raced in Europe in December. I realize this seems like an odd way to select athletes for a winter sport, but this is how US Biathlon likes it, for some reason… I produced flashes of quality during the competitions but was left frustrated and off the pace of my peers.

Fall 2018

I continued to make incremental gains both skiing and shooting. I got the opportunity to attend a training camp with the National team which was a huge boost to my training because it allowed me to get new perspectives on shooting and skiing, while exposing the areas I needed to improve most.

The focal point of the fall was a 3-week training and competition trip to Soldier Hollow, Utah. The purpose of the trip was to spend time training at high altitude and qualify for the first period of European Competition via rollerski competitions.

I trained well in Utah but came up just short of making a team for December. I was very disappointed in myself, and this feeling was compounded by all my GRP teammates qualifying to race in Europe. I was happy to share in their success but felt like I was letting the team and myself down by not making the cut.   

November 2018

In November my GRP teammates and I traveled to Foret Montmorency, Quebec for two early snow camps. Each a week long these skiing focused periods where very helpful for me. After Foret, I focused on preparing for December IBU Cup Trials which took place in Soldier Hollow, Utah, this time on snow. I tried to keep focused and realize that most of the season was yet to come.

December 2018

December brought the defining moments of the season in the form of IBU Cup Trials. These races ran in conjunction with US World Junior Championship Trials. The coming together of different age groups and biathletes from around the country was very cool, the passive behavior of the organizers was not. Huge thanks to the heroic efforts of the few individuals to made the races happen. The races where very challenging for me, but I overcame some bad shooting and poor ski selection adversity with a renewed belief in my ability and good ski form.

My efforts earned me a place on the January IBU Cup team. Qualifying for these races was the culmination of my career to date.

January 2019

I raced IBU Cups 4, 5 and 6. In Poland, Germany and Switzerland. During the trip I had the opportunity to be promoted to the World Cup, but I was not able to perform at that level. I enjoyed the trip immensely.

Even on days when I did not perform well, I was grateful for the opportunity to race in Europe and improve my biathlon. My best result was 40^th place in Germany, which qualified me to race at the Open European Championships in Minsk, Belarus this February.

The journey back to the international level of biathlon has tested me far more than I expected, but the feeling of finally breaking through was well worth the effort. By qualifying to race at the senior level in Europe I feel like a weight has been lifted from my athletic conscious. The duration of my absence was notable enough for two IBU officials to question if I was eligible to race, “Is it possible that your last race was 7 years ago??” In fact, it has been 7 years since I last raced in an IBU race, it was January 2012 at World Junior Championships.

It took longer, and was much harder than I expected in 2012, but I’m back to the international level, and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon.  

 

Craftsbury Green Racing Project

I am very happy to announce that I am joining the Craftsbury Green Racing Project. It’s a privilege to be part of this successful club. I am very grateful to my coaches, teammates, and the Craftsbury Community for their warm welcome and faith in my potential. You can read about the team I am joining here: https://www.craftsbury.com/general/about-the-center/news/detail/2030/

To follow my teammates and I check out https://greenracingproject.com/. I will continue to post updates here and on my personal social media accounts.  

Season Finale and 2017/2018 by the Numbers

I finished the 2017/18 race season in Craftsbury, Vermont last weekend. I had hoped to travel to Utah to race at the US Biathlon National Championships, but I was unable to make the trip. When it became clear that Utah was out of the question, I decided to make the US Supertour Finals my primary goal for the end of the season.

With a borrowed car from my parents, the hospitality of John Madigan, wax help from the UNH Ski Team and the company of my friend Russell Currier the final races of the year where fun and productive. I was able to spend some time with several old friends I do not often get to see, which made the weekend extra special.  

Initially, I was only planning on racing the 15km freestyle at Super Tour Finals, but I was given a one-day contract on the US Biathlon All-Star Relay Team for the National Club Relay Championships.

The 15km skate race was a mass start affair. Racers where lined up based on the points they had earned during the season. Having no cross country points this season and no grounds to ask for a better start position I started the race in the very last row, 118th of 125 racers. This start spot made reaching the front of the race a difficult task. I went all out from the gun but was unable to get attached to the front pack before it accelerated away on the first loop. I managed to move up to 57^th place, passing 61 racers in the process.

Photo-Katrina Howe 

The relay was a ton of fun. I am very grateful to Susan, Claire, and Russell for inviting me to join their team. The race consisted of 4 legs of 5km, with 2 skate and 2 classic legs spread evenly between men and women. With 3 Olympians in the team, I was nervous I would let the side down, but thankfully I held my own against the other skiers on my leg. Our team posted a respectable 10^th place finish ahead of some top cross-country clubs.

I would like to wish all the athletes racing in Utah good luck and a fun series, I am cheering for you back East!

In the coming weeks I will assess my season and the options at hand for the future. Part of those assessments will include my training and finances from the past year. The Biathlon year runs from May to May. Here are some figures from the 2017-2018 season.

715: Projected total physical training hours

122: Shooting hours

6313: Shots

9: Biathlon races,

2: Cross Country races

2: Countries visited

8,017: US Dollars spent on biathlon training and racing

0: IBU Teams qualified for

0: IBU Teams selected for  

I would like to once again thank all my friends and supporters. Without your contributions, I would not have had a season at all. This season I would like to give special thanks to my Family, James Upham, Bill Meyer, the Kjorlien Family, the Auburn Ski Club, Team R.A.D., Sam Dougherty, Jackson Biathlon, Joel Hinshaw, Mr. Knight and everyone else who helped me, even though they didn’t need to.   

Mid-Winter Blues

Winter is my favorite season. I love snow, cold and all the fun the winter season brings. I have never understood why the middle part of winter gets people down in the dumps. This winter, I experienced my own version of the “Mid-Winter Blues”, but not because it was dark, cold and snowy.  

That's some nice skiing

As I noted in my previous post, my non-selection to the European Championships team put to rest any ambitions I had of racing overseas this season and consequently the chances of my being included in a national training group next season. I did my best to stay focused on improving myself at every opportunity and enjoying the winter season. After a few days of bitter disappointment, I expected my normal outlook to return. Instead, I continually felt sad, unmotivated and depressed. Despite the lovely winter atmosphere, miraculously good skiing in Southern Maine, and the absence of competition stress, I felt lost, frustrated and directionless. Losing my primary goals of racing in Europe and progressing to a national training group hit me much harder than I expected it to.

  

I should note that technically, I still had a chance to qualify for European competition. The February North American Cups in Jericho, VT and Lake Placid New York where listed as selection races for March IBU Cup Racing in Russia. I knew that even if I was selected for this tour, I would not be able to afford to go. Furthermore, the selection criteria for next season’s national training groups did not contain any objective standards for March European racing. After some deliberation, I decided that I should put the time and energy I devoted in the training year to use and race some biathlon.

The NorAm in Jericho was much like the rest of my season, a mixed bag. I was graciously hosted by the coaches of the Mansfield Nordic Club. Check them out here: http://www.mansfieldnordic.org/, they are doing amazing work for Nordic sport in Vermont. I shot 86% prone over the race weekend, received some excellent race day coaching and felt fast and fit on skis. On the other side of the coin, I struggled shooting standing and did not have competitive skis compared to other top athletes. The USBA same wax protocol was not put into effect for this NorAm. Consequently, some of my competitors and I where at a serious disadvantage to those athletes whose teams could apply multiple layers of expensive wax to their skis. So far, I have not seen any sign that these races where used to qualify athletes to race in Europe, so ultimately, the gap in wax preparation did not matter. I ended the weekend with a terribly long, rainy, dark and windy drive home.

Lacking the funds to travel to Lake Placid, I took the opportunity to help others reach their goals. I graciously accepted an invitation from my former coaches Cory and Steve to help prepare skis for the University of New Hampshire at the final college carnival of the season in Middlebury, Vermont. A weekend helping others, seeing old friends, feeling for fast skis, and unplugging from my normal routine was the perfect reset to help me shake the last of my “Mid-Winter Blues.” I am very grateful to the UNH Skiing community for all they do and have done to make me feel like a part of something bigger than myself.

A second uplifting force came in the form of the sublime performance of Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggings in the Team Sprint at the Olympics. Their GOLD MEDAL performance brought joy and inspiration to all corners of the Nordic world, especially right here in the USA. I am so excited to see the generation of athletes they have inspired bring home Olympic Medals of their own.   

I will not be traveling to Utah of US Biathlon Nationals. Instead, I will be jumping back into cross country racing at the US Supertour Finals in Craftsbury, Vermont at the end of March. I will be racing the 15km freestyle race and aiming for a performance which outdoes my current 132 USSA point status, a number more than double my personal best of 65. (USSA points are like golf-lower is better.) 

If you are interested in more regular updates on my biathlon life and otherwise, follow me on the social media.   

Valcarti-No Way

I enjoyed a great Holiday Break from racing with my family. My parents selected and excellent Christmas tree, some of my extended family visited, and I reveled in snow-globe dreamy skiing in Southern Maine.

Ruby, the Christmas Dog 

During the festive season I put in a training block to prepare for a North American Cup in Valcartier, Quebec. Valcartier is a challenging course, which has treated me well in the past. I was excited at the prospect of producing good results. This North American Cup was highlighted by US Biathlon as a focal point in their selection of the European Championships team. Although I couldn’t shoot between Minnesota Trials and these races, I was confident I could carry my good shooting form into the competitions.

I was glad to have my dad along for this race weekend to help with driving and logistics. His help was invaluable in what turned out to be the wildest weather weekend I have ever experienced. Biathlon races only get canceled in extreme conditions: cold, wind, fog, etc. The forecast was not promising, but I suspected that at least one race would go off. My father and I left for Quebec on Friday. During the drive it was raining and a steady 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We arrived at the venue to find that training had been canceled for the day. This was not surprising, but unfortunate, as it deprived me of the chance for some shooting training before the race.

I awoke the next morning to about 8 inches of snow on the ground and temperatures in the low teens. I have raced in very similar conditions to this in Quebec and around the world, so I had no doubt the race would go on. The race did go on, and the organizers did all they could to provide the best possible conditions. The ski tracks where very soft and powdery, the penalty loop had to be abandoned due to puddles, and heavy snow persisted during the race. The racing was equally difficult for all the competitors. I struggled in the soft snow and picked up 5 penalties on the range. I felt okay about my race, and was relieved not to make any gigantic mistakes. The next day I learned that I finished 4^th, 1 second out of 3^rd. 

This is what skiing on Saturday felt like. 

The forecast for Sunday was very cold, and the organizers shortened and delayed the race in the hopes of still running the competition. When I arrived at the venue the race had been canceled, and the car thermometer clearly told why. It was 20 degrees below zero, Fahrenheit! This represented a 70-degree swing from Friday afternoon! The US Biathlon representative on site initially told the competitors that an official, optional time trial would take place. It would not count against selection for the European Championships, but would still be considered. I prepared to race, but later, the USBA official canceled the competition outright after conferring with club coaches at the race. I did some light training following the announcement and after skiing one loop of the course it was very apparent that racing would have posed a serious risk of bodily harm.   

Yeah no racing happening in that cold... 

I drove home on pins and needles waiting to hear who had been selected to the European Championships team. This nervous feeling of anticipation, excitement, and dread continued into Tuesday morning. Noon Tuesday passed with no contact, a time at which a US Biathlon official indicated to me a decision would be made. On Tuesday evening I found out through unofficial channels that I was not selected to the team. I had a feeling I would be left out, but I was nonetheless gutted to miss out on the last European race opportunity of the year. I looked over the criteria and my results and I feel I had a good case for being selected. These selections where done subjectively by a committee, and not objectively based purely on race results. Since my recent results where strong, I would like to think I had something to do with the extended deliberations, but I will never know.

As sad and discouraging as not being selected is, I am very proud of the level of performance I have been able to achieve with no venue, no in person coaching, no teammates and no funding. I am also proud of my comeback for zero fitness after a long and intense spell of mono in the summer of 2016. This season, I have beaten all but 6 of the American Men’s field at least once on-snow. Of those 6, I have never raced 5 of them on snow. This isn’t the same as making a team, but it does give me some small amount of solace.

My peak fitness in August 2016. 28 minutes walking was all I could muster. 

Looking ahead I will be staying close to home, working, and skiing as much as I can. I may participate in a North American Cup in February and, if I can, race at the US Biathlon Nationals in the end of March in Utah, but my season is essentially over.  

I would like to wish everyone racing in Europe good luck, and once again thank my family, friends and supporters.  

Thanks

My sincere thanks to everyone who has helped me on my way through the Nordic World. 

You made my journey possible. 

IBU Cup Trials

The IBU Cup Trials was the focal point of my season. These competitions offered a chance to race in Europe and qualify for the 2018 US Olympic Team. The IBU Cup Trials always take place in Coleraine, Minnesota. Coleraine is one of the venues I have raced at the most in my life. I have raced at this venue every December (with a 2-year hiatus for college) since I was 13 years old (13 years ago!)

The series consisted of 4 races, (3 Sprint races and 1 Mass Start) over the course of 5 days. After 3 weeks of quality training in Canmore and a nice rest at home I was optimistic about my potential for success. My goal for the series was to be one of the top 2 athletes overall and move on to the final phase of Olympic selection in Europe.

The first race was a sprint, with 2 shooting stages of 5 shots each in a 10-kilometer race. I skied well, but missed 3 targets. This performance left me about 1min behind the winner in 6^th place. This was my best performance of the year, and left me with renewed confidence and optimism for improvement in the coming 3 races.

The second race was the same format as the first, and my performance was incrementally better. I missed 2 targets, and maintained good ski form. Again, I was 6^th, about 1 minute behind, and just outside the level of the best athletes.

The 3^rd day of racing was a Mass Start race. The whole field raced head to head over 15km with 4 shooting stages. I picked the wrong skis, rushed my shooting, and let my emotions get the best of me. I had hoped to make my bid for the team in this competition, but I finished well behind in 10^th place.

After an off day, I was eager to put together a race which showed my true quality. The final sprint race was my best biathlon performance in years. I missed 2 targets on a very windy day and fought off some serious fatigue to post a respectable ski time. I finished in second place. As my former coach Vladimir put it, “Good race, Raleigh, a little too late thought.”

Shooting with some of my favorite Minnesota biathlon friends. Right before it all went wrong in the Mass Start 

I finished the series in 5^th or 6^th place, depending on which selection criteria you used. In one set of selection guidelines, US Biathlon declared that the best 2 of the 4 races would be used in the final ranking. In a second set of selection criteria, 3 of 4 races where to be used. Thankfully, the top two positions where not effected by this oversight, and the top ranked athletes where selected.

I had hoped to gain perspective on what my path forward should be from the results of these Trials. Resounding success or crushing defeat would have left me with a clear path forward, instead I am left tantalizingly close to excellence, with a podium to prove I have the potential to be among the best. 

Pushing for the Podium! 

My final ranking left me in 10^th or 11^th in the US, after all the trials races. Far from a top 5 Olympic-Team ranking, but in the mix with the athletes tipped to be the next National A Team stars.

In the coming weeks there are more selection races which could qualify for to race at the European Championships and on the IBU Cup. Attending the trials races and funding a potential European race trip present financial hurdles I could have to overcome, but neither are out of the realm of possibility.

For now, I am looking forward to spending some quality time with my family for the Holidays and entering 2018 as happy and healthy as possible.       

This is the face you make when you podium, but don't know what to do next. 

Photos by Karen Brown and Gregory Haugen

Canadian November

November is a bipolar month for biathlon training. In November some of the hardest dryland training takes place. The amount and intensity of the exercise increases. At the same time the amount daylight and enthusiasm for running and rollerskiing decrease at a nearly equal rate. On the other end of the November spectrum is on-snow training camp. After a 7-month separation from skiing, the first days on snow are among the most fun training days of the year.

This season I experienced the full range of November biathlon training. Early in the month I worked hard to improve on the weak areas I had identified in the October rollerski trials races, and tried to put in hours at my job to finance my upcoming travels. The hard rollerski sessions where driven in part by the light at the end of the tunnel with was skiing on snow in Canmore, Alberta Canada.

Following the October rollerski trials, I reached out to Patrick Johnson, a biathlete from California with the idea of sharing the cost of a training camp in Canmore and a race trip to the IBU Cup Trials in Minnesota (More in this in another post). I had only briefly met Patrick prior to coming to him with this proposal, but he gamely agreed! Patrick is a supremely talented biathlete and excellent person. We got along famously throughout the camp in Canmore and the race trip to Minnesota. I am very grateful to Patrick for agreeing to travel with me.

My time in Canmore was filled with quality biathlon training, some poor North American Cup race results, and lots of breathtaking scenery. Canmore is on of my favorite places to be, and I always enjoy my time there. The Bow Valley is #1 on my list of ski vacation destinations. In Canmore I was a guest athlete of the Auburn Ski Club (http://auburnskiclub.com/asctc/biathlon/)  and Team R.A.D. (http://www.canmorenordic.com/team-rad/). Both clubs welcomed me as one of their own and provided me with great coaching and training buddies. A special thank you to Rachel at team R.A.D, and Glenn, Lenka and Joel from ASC for their help.      

The training camp in Canmore allowed me to build some race form, get my skis legs under me and adjust to shooting on a regulation size biathlon range. I steadily improved my fitness and skills throughout the camp. After Canmore, I spent a few days at home resting and resetting before traveling to my home state of Minnesota for the IBU Cup/Olympic Trials races.

Check out the next post on this blog for a recap of these competitions.  

Sparks, but no Fire

I am back in Southern Maine after a weekend away at the last round of World Cup rollerski Trials in Jericho, Vermont. The races did not produce any good results, but I still feel that I made progress since the first rollerski competitions of the season in August. Even though the shooting results remained poor, I felt much more in control on the sometimes (very) windy range. On the tracks I finally began to feel that I was carrying better speed and my economy was improving. Racing is the best way to improve as a biathlete, and I am looking forward to racing on snow, instead of pavement.

My fall training went well, but it was not enough to meaningfully close the gap between myself and the rest of the field. After analyzing the results of both weekends of summer racing I have determined that my performances are on a similar level to those I produced in 2014. This is frustrating considering the 2,000 or so hours of physical training I have completed since then. I have had to deal with some illness and injures in that time as well, but I had hoped my general fitness would be at a higher level. The positive spin on this analysis is that I still have lots of room to improve in ski speed and economy.

Outside of the race results, I had a great time in Vermont. The weather was pleasant, the venue was in excellent shape, and I got to spend some time with new and old friends. My pals Jake Brown and Paul Schommer where very kind to invite me to a dinner hosted by local ski coaches Adam Terko and Liam John. Adam and Liam both coach for the Mansfield Nordic Ski Club. Mansfield is a dynamic and successful club, which is forging a stellar reputation in the New England ski community.  I am not the only person to draw this conclusion, as Adam was named the New England Nordic Ski Association’s Coach of the Year in 2017. Check out all that Mansfield Nordic does HERE.     

The next important competitions are the IBU Trials in Coleraine, Minnesota in early December. In the eight weeks between now and then I am pushing all my chips into the center of the table. Going “All In” sounds cliché; however, I feel that the act of pushing my training, time, and finances to the limit adds elements of excitement and finality which will further motivate me to bring my best.  

   

Dusting Off, Clawing Up

August and September have flown by and the biathlon calendar is turning to the business end of the year. Over the next two months my training a will become more intense and specific as I sharpen my shape before the winter racing season begins in late November.

As incongruous as it seems, the 2017-2018 season has already begun. In mid-August I traveled to Jericho, Vermont for a training camp culminating in the first round of rollerski selection races for the Period 1 World Cup. I had been feeling good in training leading up to this week and I was optimistic about producing good results, but the results did not reflect my feelings. I was well off the pace skiing and did not produce acceptable shooting results. Accepting these results was difficult considering the work I had put in to get back into a competitive position for these races. These competitions did leave me with a clear direction for my fall training and showed I have lots of room to improve. You can find photos of the event here: http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/us-biathlon-rollerski-championships-photos/.

Since the August races, I have put in quality training, highlighted by a trip to Fort Kent, Maine for a rollerski training weekend with my friend Russell Currier. Since I don’t have the facilities to do shooting and rollerskiing at the same time when I am at home, trips like this are crucial to training progress.  Russell has two Top 10 World Cup results to his name, and has been one of the most consistently speedy biathletes in the US over the past 8 years or so. You can find Russ’s blog here: http://russellcurrier.blogspot.com/. I believe Russell is one of the most honest and engaging Nordic bloggers on the scene.

I will train and work at home for the next two weeks before traveling back to Jericho, VT for more rollerski selection races on the 14^th and 15^th of October. My goal is to be the most improved athlete at these races. I am confident I can achieve that standard. In a spot of positive news, I am now able to complete high intensity running and shooting training again due to improved strength in my dodgy left ankle.

Looking further ahead, I am hoping to travel to Canmore, Alberta Canada in mid-November for an on-snow training and competition camp, but I will have to wait and see if my finances will allow it. After November, it is full speed into the December Trials races held in my home state of Minnesota. These competitions will be the “make or break” point for my Olympic bid.  

There are many other athletes like me who are striving to represent their nations at the 2018 Olympics. The University of New Hampshire has created a page highlighting current and former Wildcats who are working to represent their nations at the 2018 Olympics. I am very proud to represent UNH and carry on a tradition of Olympic level excellence. You can find profiles and updates from the featured athletes on this page:  http://unhwildcats.com/sports/2017/8/16/olympic-central.aspx?mobile=skip

To follow my journey though this Olympic season, follow me on Instagram: @roggoessling91 and Twitter: @TheRGoessling.  

Reality Check-In

This blog has served as a public archive of my biathlon and cross-country ski racing endeavors the past 8 years.  I use this page to share my thoughts, feelings and experiences with family, friends and supporters. I have not updated this page since the mid-point of last season. My lack of updates has not stemmed from a lack of content. Instead, I have struggled to select which aspects of my experience I wanted to share. Race recaps are not fun to write when the competition was a complete disaster, and training updates are not enjoyable to share when the preparation is not going well. With the first competitions of this Olympic season approaching, I thought it was time to gather my thoughts and share the state of my biathlon life. Before I address the present, there is some catching up to do.     

The end of last season was very difficult for me. Most of my results where poor and a few where marginal. I produced two good results, 6^th place in the Mass Start at US Nationals and 3^rd place in the second round of the US World Cup Trials.  My slower than expected recovery from mononucleosis, solo training, nagging injuries and lack of quality biathlon training all contributed to my poor results. After decompressing from the season, I was left at the same crossroads I faced in past, should I continue to push for international success, or begin a life outside of elite Nordic sport.

I agonized over this decision. After some time, I decided that I needed to give myself a chance at finding my athletic ceiling. The idea of quitting after two seasons which were marred by illness, injury and overtraining left a bad taste in my mouth, especially when I knew I was capable of much more. After deciding what to do, I had to figure out how to do it. I applied to a few professional teams in the hopes of gaining financial support, coaching and teammates. I was not selected by any of the programs I applied to. I was however, able to find a coach. James Upham is serving as my coach this season and I am very fortunate to have his help. Over the course of his career James has coached many of America’s finest Olympic and Paralympic biathletes to international success.

Under James’s guidance I have been training out of my parent’s home in Yarmouth, Maine. I complete most of my workouts alone, but I am sometimes joined by members of the BNS Acceleration project, a group of junior athletes James coaches in the summer months. I have a part time job with a local nonprofit, which allows me to train as much as I need. I enjoy the balance of working and training, even though it often leads to some very long days.  

My body is finally responding normally to training stimulus and I have seen improvement in my physical fitness, ski technique and shooting stability. I no longer take my health for granted and I am grateful for every day I get to spend outside doing what I love.  Even with these improvements behind me, I am stuck with periods of uncertainty. I wonder if I can reach an international level without the benefits of top class venues, funded training camps, teammates and sponsorships. At the worst of times I wonder, if in the face of these disadvantages, I have even a small chance at reaching my goals. 

I am not without support. My family continues to support my continued pursuit of excellence. My coach James volunteers his time to guide my training. Cory Schwartz and Steve Monsulick at UNH generously assist my training and racing whenever they can. Dick Knight, a local landowner has given me a place to practice shooting. The Southern Maine Biathlon Club, Jackson Biathlon Club and the Fort Kent Outdoor Center help my training efforts with venue and equipment access. Rossignol Skis and Alpina Ski Boots give me access to affordable and top-quality equipment. I am forever grateful to Phil Rogers, Bill Meyer, Brent Smith and my other youth coaches and mentors for giving my career a flying start.
   

I know I have the talent, and the work ethic to succeed. I know I am doing it the hard way and nobody but me and my supporters are planning on my success. This entire process is an exercise in mental toughness and self-belief, two areas which I have sought to improve my entire career. My strategy is to meet my financial and logistical disadvantages with confidence and mental toughness.  The most daunting challenge is not the competition or the circumstances, but the dissenting voices in my head and the pressure I put on myself.

This season will begin next week in Jericho, Vermont with the first round of World Cup selection races on rollerskis. I have prepared as best as my circumstances have allowed and I am excited to test my physical strength, mental toughness and shooting skills against the best in country. My goal this season is the qualify for the US Olympic Team. You can read about how the team will be picked here: http://fasterskier.com/fsarticle/inside-scoop-us-biathlons-olympic-criteria-bernd-eisenbichler/

To stay updated on my training and racing you can follow me here and on my Instagram @roggoessling91.

Thanks for reading.