US Nat'l Championships - Grand Rapids, MN

Hello from Minnesota. This will be just a quick update since I'm heading out the door in a few minutes for the third and final race of the North American and US National Championships Biathlon series. The week has gone very well so far. The courses here at Mt. Itasca are very challenging - just the type of venue that is excellent for a year-end race series. Race organizers stockpiled snow early in the season and have done an excellent job of grooming and keeping everything in top shape. On Thursday we raced a 10k Sprint. I didn't shoot exceptionally well, missing four of ten shots, but I still skied into fifth place. Yesterday we skied a 12.5K pursuit. There was a fair amount of gusting wind so shooting conditions were challenging throughout the day. I finally found a groove with my shooting and missed 1,0,1, & 1 in each of the four stages to tie with one other man for the best shooting of the day. Great shooting and solid skiing moved me into second place in the US National Championships race. I couldn't be happier with my progress so far this year! I've posted a picture below from Monday's race. I'm heading out for a 15k mass start so check back soon and I'll have more pictures posted and more details up. Happy Easter weekend!