Birkie registration closing

Birkie registration closing

Registration for the American Birkebeiner ski race and its shorter companion, the Kortelopet, will close at 11:59 p.m. today, Thursday, October 23, with 10,500 skiers in the field for the iconic event on February 21, 2015.

The capacity of the Birkebeiner, in Hayward, Wisconsin, has been expanded each of the past three years, and skiers have still grabbed up all the available bibs in October. In the past 10 years, participation in the Birkebeiner events has grown from roughly 6,500 to beyond 10,000.

“I think it speaks to the job the community does hosting 10,000-plus skiers every year; it is a great event, party, happening, and everyone wants to be a part of it,” said Ben Popp, executive director of the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation. “We got a ton of good feedback from participants and learned a lot last year, so there are some very cool changes coming this year to really make the Birkie experience that much better.”

Slots for the 12K Prince Haakon race are still available, with a field limit of 500.

Popp also confirmed Thursday that a skier bridge over Highway 63 in Hayward will be in place for the 2015 races and the finish on Main Street. That will allow traffic to flow through the northwoods town, while skiers push through their exhaustion up and over the bridge.

Tom Held writes The Active Pursuit blog for silentsports.net.