Ep 36: Gear West Birkie Athlete Panel feat. David Norris, Jessica Yeaton, Reid Goble and Anna-Maria Dietze

Gear West presents this elite-athlete panel coming to you LIVE from the Birkie Expo hosted by me, Alayna Sonnesyn. Featuring David Norris, Jessica Yeaton, Reid Goble and Anna-Maria Dietze. We dive into fueling strategies, racing tactics, training preparation, and the love and joy of skiing the American Birkebeiner. How do we race to win the Birkie? What keeps us coming back for more? Listen to find out! 

On this episode of Extra Blue I welcome Development Coach for the US Ski Team, Greta Anderson. Over the past several years, Greta has been quietly shaping the future of US cross-country skiing. She works with the national team staff to support junior athletes, oversee camps, guide World Juniors and U23 athletes, and help strengthen the pipeline from grassroots skiing all the way to the World Cup.A former Alaska Winter Stars skier and APU athlete turned coach, Greta has spent her career working across club programs, World Juniors trips, and national team development roles. She’s known for her belief that happy people race fast and that development is about building the whole person, not just the athlete.In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to develop world-class skiers in the U.S., what success looks like at 12, 16, and 23 years old, trends she’s seeing in the pipeline, and where she hopes U.S. skiing is headed in the next five years.

Jack Young’s path to the top of U.S. cross-country skiing hasn’t been linear — and that’s exactly what makes this conversation so powerful.From growing up as a multi-sport athlete to fully committing to skiing, Jack reflects on the decisions, sacrifices, and mindset shifts that shaped his rise from college racing at Colby to the World Cup circuit. This episode was actually recorded over a year ago but there are some great takeaways from Jack that are relevant today. We talk about breakthrough moments, including a career-defining sprint result in Davos last year, and the quieter, harder moments that don’t always make headlines — navigating disappointment, managing expectations, and learning how to stay grounded when the goals are big and the outcomes aren’t guaranteed.This episode is about progress over perfection, trusting the process, and redefining success when the finish line keeps moving. Jack was recently selected for Team USA for the Winter Olympic Games. Congratulations, Jack! However, he also found out he might not have a start in any of the races. In this episode, Jack shares what he's been going through recently and how he's been dealing with these polarizing emotions. Whether you’re an athlete chasing a dream or someone learning how to stay patient through uncertainty, Jack’s perspective is honest, thoughtful, and deeply relatable.

On this episode I welcome Luci Anderson! Luci is a U.S. biathlete from Golden Valley, Minnesota, and a lifelong skier who grew up racing in the Midwest before going on to ski for the University of New Hampshire. After graduating in 2024, Luci found herself at a crossroads, unsure if she was ready to walk away from competitive skiing, but also curious about what else might be possible.That curiosity led her to try biathlon, a sport she’d always been intrigued by, but had never actually trained for. Within a year of picking up a rifle for the first time, Luci went from U.S. Biathlon development camps to racing on the IBU Cup, the World Cup, and even the World Championships, all in her debut season. For those who aren’t familiar with the biathlon world, the IBU cup circuit is essentially a step just below World Cup. It is still incredibly competitive and has athletes from all nations racing. It’s something that the Biathlon world has that the cross country circuit does not, to help support the development of athletes in the sport.In this episode, we talk about taking risks, learning something completely new under pressure, and what it’s like to live between two sports. Because Luci is ALSO racing Cross country world cups!! I think Luci’s story reminds us that sometimes the most exciting paths are the ones you don’t plan for.

Today’s episode is about what it means to grow, evolve, and keep skiing at the center of it all, even as life adds new roles, new priorities, and new finish lines.I’m joined by two incredible women who embody that balance: Erika Flowers and Annie Van Fossan. Both Erika and Annie are former professional cross-country skiers, both competed on the collegiate EISA circuit and then for the SMS T2 ski team. Both have gone on to pursue leadership positions in their careers, become mothers, and continue to keep skiing close to their hearts. In our conversation, we talk about the transition from racing professionally to building fulfilling careers, the lessons skiing instilled that now guide their leadership and motherhood, and the evolving definition of “having it all.”Both Erika and Annie recently became mothers. And both have spoken beautifully about the tension and joy of this season; loving their children deeply while also honoring the other parts of themselves: the athlete, the professional, the dreamer.Most of all, we reflect on how skiing, whether it’s racing, coaching, officiating, or simply gliding through the woods, continues to shape who they are and how they move through the world.I hope you enjoy this episode of Extra Blue with Erika and Annie!Link to NNF: https://nationalnordicfoundation.networkforgood.com/projects/256302-d25-xc-2025

On this episode, I welcome Johnny Hagenbuch to talk about his build up for this season while training with the Sun Valley Ski Education Foundation. Johnny grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho and you’ll hear just how much the SVSEF program had an impact on him, particularly, from the former program director, Rick Kapala. We also discuss Johnny's time as a junior in Sun Valley, and what it was like to be a part of a winning Junior World Championship relay team just one week before the world shut down for Covid. Johnny shares what it was like to train through Covid and how he learned a lot about himself and how sometimes you have to chase happiness over training hours. He’s carried that sentiment with him the past few years while he attends Dartmouth College, racing on the EISA circuit while chasing World Cup goals as well. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Johnny as we dive into what gets him fired up for ski racing and for the winter ahead of us. Johnny's Strava: https://www.strava.com/pros/45561878Johnny's IG: https://www.instagram.com/johnsteelhagenbuch/NNF Drive for 25: https://nationalnordicfoundation.networkforgood.com/projects/264502-alayna-sonnesyn-s-fundraiserTeam Birkie Online Auction: https://www.32auctions.com/TeamBirkie2025

Strength for cross country skiers of all ages and abilities. On this episode, I welcome US Ski team strength coach, Tschana Schiller. Tschana is the leader for all things related to strength for cross county skiers in the US. She has been with the ski team for over 20 years and has brought so many insights into the philosophy of strength for us cross country skiers. She works with athletes like Jessie Diggins and Gus Schumacher but really her strength concepts get trickled down into clubs all across the country and are incorporated into many young athletes programs. Today we are diving into what skiers should be focusing on and how to get to the start line feeling their like strongest and best self. We talk about where the areas of focus should be for young skiers in high school or starting college. We then talk about the time-crunched athlete and how they can make the most of a few minutes out of a packed schedule. Finally, we talk about the secrets behind strength training for world cup athletes! I hope you enjoy this episode with Tschana Schiller!

Today’s guest is someone who has inspired me since I was a teenager on the Wayzata ski team.I sit down with Maggie (Pierson) Bowman to talk about the realities of being a woman in endurance sports; the pressures, the expectations, and the ongoing challenge of balancing athletic goals, career ambitions, and family planning. Maggie shares how the pressures she felt around body image and performance in high school and college shaped her philosophy on training, recovery, and self-worth. Maggie was a Wayzata runner/skier, where she was MY team captain when I was in 8th grade. She went on to become a 14-time All-Conference athlete at Luther College, the Dean of Students at The Blake School, and now a full-time running coach. Maggie has built her career on creating supportive spaces where women can talk openly about fueling, cycles, and long-term health. We dive into how she’s reframed success, what it means to pursue sport through different life stages, and why it’s so important to give women permission to dream big, while honoring their bodies and their lives beyond racing.

Sammy Smith is a member of the U.S. Ski Team, a D1 soccer player at Stanford University, and one of the most exciting young athletes representing Team USA right now. At 19, she’s a World Cup regular on the ski circuit, with a silver medal from the 2024 World Junior Championships in Planica, numerous top-30 World Cup finishes, and a growing reputation as one of the U.S. team’s top sprinters.But her story goes far beyond skiing. When she’s not chasing podiums on snow, she’s competing on the soccer field for the Stanford Cardinal, one of the top collegiate soccer programs in the country, and she’s already represented the U.S. at the Under-17 Women’s World Cup and the Pan American Games.Today, we’re chatting about how she balances two elite sports, at an incredibly high level, with some fierce competitiveness, as well as what she’s learned from setbacks and success, and what it really looks like to chase big dreams in both summer and winter.Link to Go Big Foundation: https://www.gobiginc.com/Link to Sammy's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samanthasmith__7/

On this episode I welcome Adam Witkowski and Skylar Patten. Both Adam and Skylar are new athletes to Team Birkie and recent graduates from Michigan Tech University. Both Adam and Skylar have faced numerous injuries over the years. We discuss how they dealt with training through injury, rehab, and staying motivated and driven throughout the healing process. There’s no easy way to say it, injuries suck. But these two have put their heads down through the healing and rehab process to continue pursuing their goals in ski racing.