I wanted to give some kudos to the many many many people who made an awesome weekend of racing happen in Madison this weekend. A lot has to happen in order for an event of that magnitude to take place. I saw the volunteer schedule for the weekend; it was huge and complex and involved a lot of people. Some jobs get the spotlight and get direct recognition, like Yuriy Gusev who pretty much organized the whole thing and got the money to make it happen. And Paul & Jonathan Phillips who photographed the event. and Taylor Robbins who announced all weekend. But then there's the guy on the top of the bridge all day who rakes the snow back onto the crest of the hill after people ski by and push it all down the hill. This is an important job since without his efforts all of our skis would be ruined by the metal material of the bridge. So, man in the yellow jacket, wielding a rake on top of the bridge, I salute you.

And then there were all the ladies at the start line and registration who were cheerful and nice all day long. I don't know about y'all out there, but I can't always do cheerful for a full day when I'm standing around outside in the cold. And they didn't even make fun of me when I forgot to get my timing chip and didn't realize it until 15sec before my start so someone ran it over and strapped it on my left ankle for me just in time. I would have made fun of me. Who shows up to a race and just doesn't know that they need to get a timing chip? At some point I hope I stop making these embarrassing rookie mistakes.