This week's U.S. Cross Country Skiing Championships might have been one to forget with Anchorage's string of subzero temperatures, but it was two-time Olympian Kikkan Randall who made the final day one to remember.With a near full moon glowing in a clear sky and a bitterly cold wind blowing off the Cook Inlet, Randall cruised to victory before a hometown crowd in the women's classical sprint Thursday evening at Kincaid Park.
"It was like skiing in the moonlight," Randall said. "I thought to myself for a split second, 'Wow, this is pretty cool.' Then, wait, back to racing."
The 26-year-old Anchorage star refocused on her task to hold off Alaska Pacific University's athletic Laura Valaas in the final stretch to capture her 10th career national championship.
Though Randall won the 1.2-kilometer race by more than two seconds, it was perhaps her hardest fought national title. She was one of many nordic skiers battling a cold war against Mother Nature.
The windchill Thursday dipped as low as minus-24 at Kincaid Stadium, with wind gusts reaching as much as 25.5 mph.
Even so, Randall thought it felt just right outside. The actual temperature was around minus 1, warm enough to legally start the sprint races.
"I've never had to race when it's this cold and windy," Randall said inside a warming hut. "I've done some in the pouring rain, done some with hardly any snow. This was just a one-of-a-kind race.
"It was amazing they pulled it off."
The race capped a week of frustration, with four of the six days canceled because of temperatures too cold to legally start the events. According to race rules, the mercury must read minus 4 or warmer at every point on the course.
As Anchorage was hit with one of the longest cold snaps in history this week, relentless subzero temperatures made race conditions hard on everyone, Randall said.
"It wasn't easy," she said. "You go from hot to cold, hot to cold. You put on so many clothes to warm up, then strip down to your spandex suit."
But the cold never seemed to bother Randall's performance Thursday. In four of the women's heats, including the finals, Randall never trailed.
She used the U.S. Nationals as a tune-up for the World Cup circuit, which starts up again next week.
"In the World Cup field, there's no dollying around," she said.
A pair of other Alaska skiers weren't messing around either.
Amy Glen, a 2006 state Skimeister for West High, finished 6.7 seconds behind Randall to finish fourth in the women's final. It was an impressive accomplishment for the UAA freshman.
Glen advanced to the finals after rallying in the semifinals. Only three skiers from her heat moved on to the final round, and she earned the spot after blowing past University of Utah's Parker Tyler in the last half of the race.
Mike Hinckley, another former state Skimeister, took second in the men's classical sprint. The University of Denver senior finished just one second behind U.S. Ski Team's Kris Freeman.
Hinckley's said this winter is his last year of competitive racing.
"I figured I might as well do the best I can," he said.
Hinckley has been skiing at Kincaid Park since elementary school. He's dedicated his life to skiing since then and it paid off. In high school he won back-to-back Skimeister awards for Service in 2005 and 2004.
He was thrilled for this week's homecoming, even with the chilly temperatures.
"I'm pretty used to racing in the cold around here," he said. "It could have been a little nicer, but we did the most with what we got."
More than 200 skiers got to experience Kincaid Park's new sprint course, a fan-friendly venue. At some vantage points, spectators on Thursday could view skiers over the entire sprint event.
"Anchorage really stepped it up to hold an event like this," Hinckley said. "And it really paid off."
For Randall, a skier who spends most of her winters outside the United States, winning her first national championship in Anchorage was special because her family was there to watch.
Ronn Randall greeted his daughter with a warm hug after Kikkan racked up her seventh national title in the classical sprint event.
"I never get to hug her after races," Ronn said.
His hug never felt better after a long week of hardly any racing. Other than Thursday, the only race that was held was Tuesday's freestyle races.
Though racing was a bust for the most part, Kikkan got to spend three weeks at home. These days, that never happens.
"The way winter goes, I only get five or six days at home before I take off and travel," she said. "To be here for three weeks and see the whole ski community out here -- everyone was fired up."
Find Kevin Klott online at adn.com/contact/kklott or call 257-4335.
By KEVIN KLOTT
kklott@adn.com