It was even cold enough to ski with a windbreaker over my racing suit. Besides the intense cold, and the New York competitors, this race was different from my first Prospect race in three ways. First, although originally advertised as a freestyle race, it was being held as a classic technique race. This was wise because the snow was so deep that skating would have been like trying to slide through mashed potatoes. Third, the distance was supposed to be five kilometers, instead of 7.5.
Prospect seems to be generous with distances, however.
It was widely agreed that the course was over six kilometers. Dad started with the masters men several minutes ahead of me. That was an advantage in this race, because waiting for the start in that cold wind was brutal. The junior girls started after all the adults, and I had the last number of the junior girls. Finally, it was nearly my turn.