I Got To Shake The Real Bill Koch's Hand!

by Sophia Hodges

This last weekend I went to the Bill Koch Festival in Notchview, Massachusetts. We stayed at The Crowne Plaza hotel, which was 12 stories high. The next morning we went almost straight to the Festival. It was cold, but perfect weather for skiing! There were lots of kids there. Kids from Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and even New York! The skate relay was about one and a half kilometers for the J4's, about two kilometers for J3's, and about one kilometer for the J5's. Thanks to Mike Hussey and Barney Hodges, we had really fast skis. My partner, Abby Grab, from Mt. Mansfield Nordic ski club, and I had a really good race and had lots of fun too. That night there was awards for the skate relay. My brother, Sam, got fourth! The next day we did the classic individual race. It was a klister day, so Mike and Barney took a while making our skis the perfect racing equipment. I liked that race because there was an individual start instead of a double-pole. We all raced fast and hard and (again) had fun. My favorite part of the Festival was when I got to shake the real Bill Koch's hand! I think that the Bill Koch Festival is a great way to show that the Frost Mountain Nordic team really has the heart for Cross-Country Skiing.