Anchorage Daily News

Anchorage's big chill didn't keep biathlon racers away from Kincaid Park on Monday, but it made for some interesting post-race fashion discussion among the boys.

With temperatures dipping below zero on the second day of racing in the World Youth/Junior Biathlon Trials, the flesh- freezing weather was the dominant topic of the day.

"Everything gets cold," said 20-year-old Wynn Roberts of Battle Lake, Minn. "Your fingers get cold. Your feet get cold. Other body parts get cold."

Which brings us to duct tape. With the cold snap expected to continue into today's final day of racing, a strip of Alaska's favorite accessory, placed strategically below the belt, could ward off some of the wind and cold.

Just remember to put it on the outside of your underwear, one mother noted.

Jake Prince, a 14-year-old from Service High, wore four layers below his waist Monday. "Under Armour shorts, wind briefs, a thermal layer and my racing suit," he said. "And I could feel my kneecaps going numb."

His plan for today?

"Another thermal layer," he said. "And maybe some duct tape."

Sam Humphries, a 15-year-old from North Yarmouth, Maine, said he's never raced in colder weather. When he finished his 7.5-kilometer race, his finger tips were white. He pronounced them frostbitten as he warmed them over a heater inside a tent while thinking about home.

"It's 40 degrees there today," Humphries said. "All the snow is melting."

Nothing's going to melt anytime soon at Kincaid. Monday's races came off despite the cold, which is good, because about half of the 46 racers are from Outside and have plane tickets to escape the frigid north on Wednesday. The three-race series is being held on three straight days, leaving no wiggle room for a postponement.

International racing rules say a race cannot start if it's minus-4 or colder. At about 11 a.m., the National Weather Service reported a reading of minus-9 at the airport, right next to Kincaid.

Piotr Bednarski, director of athlete development for the U.S. Biathlon Association, said race officials had a temperature reading of zero on the course at 10 a.m., an hour before athletes began zeroing their rifles at the shooting range. When the race started at noon, it had gotten colder, not warmer.

"It's about minus-4, minus-5," Bednarski said as racers headed onto the course for races of 7.5 kilometers for girls and younger boys and 10 kilometers for older boys.

Cold weather adds another challenge to a sport filled with challenges, the chief one being that it combines the aerobic sport of cross-country skiing with the sport of riflery, which requires a low heart rate as well as a steady hand.

The rifles work perfectly in sub-zero temperatures like Monday's, Bednarski said, but accuracy can be compromised.

"The (shots) don't group as tight," he said.

Sam Dougherty of Anchorage said even during Sunday's race -- when temperatures were in single digits -- the cold made it difficult to shoot. His gloved trigger finger was numb, and he had to check to see if the finger was actually on the trigger before squeezing off each shot.

"They have to keep their hands warm," Bednarski said. "If you start during the zero and the first lap with warm hands, you're usually OK. Sometimes people put mittens on for the first lap (over their gloves) and then leave them behind at the range."

Cold hands were at the root of Humphries' plight. He put hand warmers inside his gloves when he first arrived at Kincaid, but removed them at race time so his hands would be unencumbered. When he slipped off his gloves to do that, his hands got cold and stayed cold the entire race.

Humphries has never suffered frostbite before, and when asked if anyone had examined him and told him it was actual frostbite or not, he said no.

That inspired a small laugh from Roberts, who stood next to Humphries as the two warmed up inside the tent.

"I don't need a diagnosis to know it's cold," he said.

MONDAY'S WINNERS: Wynn Roberts lived up to his name in the 10-K junior boys race. He claimed the win by a huge margin, finishing in 40 minutes, 20.8 seconds with five missed targets out of a possible 20. It was his second big win in two days -- he won Sunday's race by more than 80 seconds and he won Monday's by more than two minutes.

Grace Buotot of Fort Kent, Maine, is enjoying similar dominance among the girls. She won Monday's 7.5-K race in 33:34.6, shooting cleanly in both prone stages and missing just three standing shots -- the fewest misses Monday by any athlete, boy or girl. She was more than a minute and a half ahead of second-place Addie Byrne of Minnesota.

In the boys 7.5-K race, Humphries won by almost seven minutes, despite his numb fingers.

After today's final race, the U.S. Biathlon Association will name its team for next month's World Youth/Junior biathlon championships in Canmore, Alberta. The United States can send as many as 16 racers -- four junior boys (ages 19-20), four junior girls, four youth boys (ages 16-18) and four youth girls. Only 10 spots are up for grabs, though, because no junior girls are competing at this week's trials and two junior boys have already secured spots on the team, including Wynn Roberts.

Find Beth Bragg online at adn.com/contact/bbragg or call 257-4309.

Girls 7.5-kilometer race (4 shooting stages: prone, prone, standing, standing) -- 1) Grace Boutot, Maine Winter Sports Center (MWSP), 33:34.6 (0 misses prone, 0 misses prone, 2 misses standing, 1 miss standing); 2) Addie Byrne, Mt. Itasca (Minn.), 35:11.8 (2-2-0-2); 3) Hilary McNamee, MWSC, 36:30.1 (3-1-1-2); 4) Mary Bernard, MWSC, 38:33:8 (4-2-4-0); 5) Sarah Cresap, Alaska, 38:49.0 (0-3-1-0); 6) Andrea Mayo, MWSC, 40:58.0 (1-4-4-0); 7) Jessica Caron, MWSC, 41:21.3 (1-2-1-3); 8) Stephanie Dow, Alaska, 41:48.5 (3-1-2-2); 9) Molly Susla, MWSC, 43:00.1 (3-1-3-5); 10) Jasmine Neeno, Alaska, 46:10.0 (2-2-2-3); 11) Mackenzie Wonders, Alaska, 47:07.2 (4-3-4-3); 12) Kelly Kjerlien, Mt. Itasca, 47:16.0 (1-0-2-1); 13) Amanda Del Frate, Alaska, 50:07.4 (3-2-4-4); 14) Jenna Ruzich, Nisswa, 54:03.1 (2-2-2-2).

Boys 7.5 kilometer race -- 1) Sam Humphries, MWSC, 36:37.2 (3-1-1-3); 2) Jake Prince, Alaska, 43:28.8 (2-3-4-4); 3) Emerson Conger, Nome, 45:26.5 (3-3-2-5).

Boys 10 kilometers -- 1) Wynn Roberts, Mt. Itasca, 40:20.8 (1-0-2-2); 2) Ethan Dreissingacker, Ethan Allen (Vt.), 42:37.9 (0-2-2-1); 3) Nick Michaud, MWSC, 44:29.2 (2-3-1-3); 4) Nick Peterson, Vermont, 45:26.8 (1-1-1-2); 5) Raleigh Goessling, Duluth, 46.17.7 (2-4-2-4); 6) Conrad Roberts, Nisswa, 46:59.7 (4-4-3-2); 7) Preston Butler, Green Mountain (Vt.), 47:01.7 (4-3-2-4); 8) Wayne McClure, Alaska, 47:06.8 (2-3-1-3); 9) Kelsey Boyer, Fairbanks, 47:19.3 (4-4-2-3); 10) Seth Downs, APU, 47:32.1 (2-4-1-4); 11) Casey Smith, Methow Valley, 47:39.8 (2-4-1-2); 12) Willie Neal, Sun Valley, 47:56.5 (4-4-4-1); 13) Sam Dougherty, Alaska, 49:17.6 (1-3-3-3); 14) R. Eliot Neal, Sun Valley, 49:26.7 (2-2-4-5); 15) Ben Greenwald, Twin Cities, 49:54.8 (1-3-2-3); 16) Michael Gibson, Jericho Range (Vt.), 50:24.3 (2-3-4-3); 17) Jared McClure, Alaska, 50:40.0 (3-1-1-1); 18) Matthew Coleman, Methow Valley, 51:57.6 (3-4-3-2); 19) Jack Novak, Alaska, 52:07.2 (4-2-5-5); 20) Zeke Maamori-Cortez, 52:20.2 (2-4-3-2); 21) Ray Wonders, Alaska, 52:58.8 (3-1-4-3); 22) Christopher Burgess, Alaska, 1:00:42.2 (2-2-3-4); 23) Remington Roher, Methow Valley, 1:04:29.3 (3-4-2-3); 24) Ed Soto, Alaska Air National Guard, 1:19:14.5 (3-2-3-2).