Ep 32: Tracks That Shape Us: Skiing Through Career, Motherhood, and Identity with Erika Flowers and Annie Van Fossan

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. 

I welcome Team USA ski racer, Luke Jager. Luke is from Anchorage, Alaska where he grew up skiing for Alaska Pacific University. From a young age, Luke stood out as a top American junior and solidified this notion in 2019 when he, was a key member of the men's relay team that won World Junior Championships. An outstanding result at the time and what has really set the bar for Team USA at these international junior competitions. Luke went on to ski at the University of Utah where he continued to balance racing the NCAA schedule along with international competitions, his first world cups, first World Championships, and the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. In this episode we talk about some of these highs and we also discuss how over those years the progress hasn’t always been linear… It’s been both a blessing and a curse to have grown up with such a talented group of other guys. How it’s hard not to compare yourself and your progress to those around you. We talk about how Luke has worked to overcome some of those disappointing moments and at the end of the day keep the focus on his love for skiing. But we also acknowledge through both of our experiences how sometimes that easier said than done!Luke and I go on to chat about what it means to no longer be on the US National team, what that means for him this winter, and what his training has looked like this summer to prepare for the winter ahead. I hope you enjoy this episode with Luke!

On this episode of Extra Blue, I welcome guest, Mary Kate Cirelli. MK and I discuss her experience with disordered eating starting as a young athlete and her path to recovery. We also talk about what it’s like to carry that with you for the years to come. How it’s nearly impossible to never let it affect you again, but that it also doesn’t need to define you. We chat about MK's challenges on another college team and how she navigated that, as well as the struggles that occur when moving on from the sport. I appreciate MK being so willing to share her story on Extra Blue and we both agree that we hope this episode serves as awareness to the realities of disordered eating as an athlete and how a support system can make a huge impact.Resources:Eating Disorder Hotline: https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/treatment-for-eating-disorders/eating-disorder-hotlinesThe Emily Program: https://emilyprogram.com/Talking to High School Students About Eating Disorders: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/talking-students-eating-disorders/

From National Champ to World Championships, on this episode of Extra Blue I welcome guest Kate Oldham. Kate had a standout season this past winter, winning her first national title in the 10k skate in Anchorage, qualifying for her first World Cup where she DOMINATED, enough to qualify her for the World Championships in Trondheim, Norway. Although it was a whirlwind of a season, I had a front row seat to watch as Kate handled herself with grace, allowed herself to be patient and strategic, and race with the ebb and flow of a ski season. Kate and I frequently roomed together during our travels this winter and it was super fun to get to know her better and about her journey from Colorado, to Vermont, to Montana. Battling through covid uncertainty, and searching for the right place that felt like home to her. Kate recently graduated from Montana State University and has joined the BSF Pro Ski team in Bozeman, Montana where she is preparing for her first Period 1 on the World Cup come November. 

How to Wax for a World Cup Podium! On this episode of Extra Blue I welcome World Cup skier, Gus Schumacher, along with his wax technician, Chris Hecker. We catch up with Gus about how his summer training is going and how he’s been trying to find as much snow as he can this summer, whether that be in Bend, OR or on the Glacier in Alaska. We also talk to Chris about how he’s working with the US Ski Team this summer to conduct more ski, grind, and wax testing on snow, with travels to Bend, OR, Norway, and the Ramsau, Austria to get on glaciers.Later in this episode we get into the nitty gritty of Gus’s ski fleet and how Chris supports him throughout the World Cup season by managing his fleet, testing skis constantly, preparing them for race day and ultimately working with Gus to pick out the best ski, grind, and wax for each race. We dive into the step-by-step process that went into waxing for Gus's second place finish at the Falun World Cup this past winter.