How Do I Wax for a Marathon

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How Do I Wax For a Marathon?

I've been waxing successfully for shorter distance classic skiing for many years but when skiing marathons the kick wax doesn't last. What can I do to better prepare my kick wax to last longer? Note that given my slow speed I'm on the trail for several hours and thus have to expect that temperatures will climb significantly during the day, so the softer wax I need later in the marathon would be a hindrance to glide early in the day. I've seen recommendations for ironing on multiple layers of wax, but doesn't scraping off the excess after ironing on each layer negate the effort of builiding up layers? And if you are building up layers in the kick zone, doesn't that detract from glide?

Please help me understand how to improve my waxing for marathons!

Thank you!

Hello,

There are a few things that can certainly be done to help you improve the overall durability of your wax for a long race. You hit on one when you mentioned ironing in a base layer. Swix VG35 Base Binder is a great wax to get on the ski with the help of an iron the night before. The VG35 wax has a range that is wide, and if you get down to that layer you will still have something that will kick. However, the primary responsibility of this wax is to hold the wax you put over it on your ski base.

Often times a layer of Swix Blue Extra is your next best layer. Blue Extra has a unique characteristic in that it will physically harden when the temperature gets cold, and soften as it gets warm - a wax with a brain, if you will. This helps a great deal as you begin to experience temperatures rising over the course of a long race, and it is not a wax that we've seen have too much icing happening when you are near it's large range.

Here's the trouble with your question: it is nearly impossible to cover a super soft (warm) wax with a cold wax. It can be attempted, but the nature of your warmer waxes will often result in a combining of your colder layer and your warmer one. This will almost always result in slower skis in colder temperatures. We would have to suggest that if you know the temperature is going to warm up during the course of a race, you're happy with the line of waxes you have chosen for your early-race layers, and you're willing to sacrifice a few minutes to get them back you bring a warmer wax and cork along for the race. Re-waxing happens even at the elite level if the course conditions change, and it can often be the person who stopped to put a new layer down that comes out on top.

Finally, if you have doubts that your skis are stiff enough to keep your wax pocket off the snow, you should have them flexed. We see many skiers skiing on skis that are simply too soft for them. During a shorter race you might be able to get away with this, but in longer races a properly flexed ski is going to be the ticket to success!