Great track greets skiers
By BILL HARRIS, Journal Sports WriterArticle Photos
Andre Golovko, the winner of the men’s 51-kilometer classic event, praised the Noquemanon crew for the work they’d done on getting the trail in such good shape.
“This trail was perfect,” he said. “The tracks were in good shape, and it is one of the best races that I’ve skied in.”
Golovko is a two-time Olympian and longtime veteran of the Factory team, and he came to Marquette all the way from Kazakhstan.
Another skier who traveled to Marquette from out of the country was Kerrie Fabius, who came to ski in her first Noquemanon from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.
“My boyfriend is a racer who lives in Grand Marais, and he and bunch of his friends were coming down here to race and I thought I’d try it, and it was really fun,” Fabius said. “This was my first ever classic race further than 20K.
“The trail was beautiful, and it was a really nice sunny day, the track was in really good shape, there were hills and flats, and it was really fun,” Fabius added.
Being from Canada, Fabius, who finished eighth in the 51K Classic, admits that she didn’t know anyone that she was racing with, but said she didn’t have any trouble making new friends.
“I don’t really know anyone here, but I met and skied with a really nice group of people, and everyone was really friendly and positive. I definitely want to come back next year.”
No matter how many skiers the Noquemanon brings in from outside of Michigan and from abroad, skiers from Marquette will always be the foundation of one of the area’s biggest winter events.
Marquette resident Bob Baldwin skied in his first 51K event this year, though he has skied the half-marathon in previous years.
“This is the first year I’ve done the full race, I’ve done the half-Noque once,” Baldwin said. “It was really nice today, it’s just super sunny out, and since there is just a little bit of new snow, not many people were in the tracks, but it felt pretty fast out there.
“The weather is just about as nice as it gets,” he added. “It’s not too cold, and not too warm, and the sun makes it about as good as it gets.”
Baldwin took 15th in the 51K Classic race.
