Roller Loop Hype - Michaela Keller-Miller
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- By Michaela Keller-Miller
Roller Loop Hype
Throughout the past several years, roller loops have been gaining traction throughout the US. With numerous scattered throughout the country, roller loops are becoming a vital training tool and a great alternative to road roller skiing. There’s still a time and place for skiing on the roads (i.e. to add variety, sustained grades, no roller loop access, etc.), but roller loops are an excellent way to mimic winter courses as they typically pave preexisting cross country ski trails.
I feel very fortunate to live a three-minute bike ride away from the Craftsbury Outdoor Center’s roller loop. This is the Green Racing Project’s home course, and we utilize it frequently for all types of workouts. It’s especially useful for the biathlon team, as we can ski at the shooting range in the summer. Without a roller ski loop at a biathlon range, biathletes oftentimes do running combos. These are where you either shoot periodically throughout an easy distance running session or do running intervals before coming into the range to shoot. Having a roller loop makes it far easier to mimic winter competition conditions.
Aside from the more obvious biathlon benefits, loops are also awesome for practicing transitions and speed training in a more controlled environment. There are far more snaking turns and rolling terrain on roller loops versus roads. This is helpful as these are places where a lot of time can be made up during races. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend checking out the new Midwest roller loops (either in Cable, Wisconsin or the Ariens course outside of Green Bay, Wisconsin). These are great opportunities to practice skiing intentionally through transitions going into an uphill, over the top of a hill, or through any dips. They’re also just a fun place to get hyped on skiing in the summer and fall without worrying about inattentive drivers!
Here’s a tour of the Craftsbury Outdoor Center roller ski loop. This was taken during a Level 3 workout where we repeated skiing a lap at L3, followed by shooting at the range. After the L3, we skied four 45-second Level 5/sprint pieces on a section that requires varying technique and cornering.)
Happy looping!
Michaela Keller-Miller