On October 7th 2023, four skiers arrived in Rector, PA, for the third and last climb of the Linn Run Rollerski Series.  After a cool night, the asphalt was still a bit wet when the time trials started.  Denny, Jim and Naomi were on classic rollerskis, while Riccardo chose to skate.  Naomi skied 5.2 miles (8.3 km) with a climb of 1130 ft (344 m) from the Adam Falls parking lot to the top of the paved road; the others skied 7 miles (11.3 km) with a climb of 1540 ft (470 m).

Naomi reached the top of the climb after 1:13:05 and would have been the first to arrive there if she had not stopped to remove her jacket or heard Riccardo's pole-tips clicking on the road sooner.  As it was, Riccardo reached the top first, he passed her at full speed and finished a few seconds later, after 51:32. 

Denny and Jim came into view shortly afterwards.  As previously, they pushed themselves all the way and found the energy for a final head-to-head sprint after 75 minutes of striding or double-poling uphill without respite. Jim’s time was 1:15:47, while Denny concluded in 1:16:54. Denny reported: “I didn't feel overly fatigued this time around, and ended up doing more double-pole and kick double-pole” while Jim said that he “double-poled everything until the last 1.5 miles or so when that was just not an option for me anymore.”

In the end, all participants recorded their best performance on the last time trial (despite complaints about body parts and equipment  malfunctions), enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and views of Linn Run State Park and practiced for the next ski season.  Get ready for winter and rollerski with us!