Morgan Arritola, Ketchum, ID, 23, 5/13/86
Caitlin Compton, Minneapolis, 29, 11/7/80
Kris Freeman, Andover, NH, 29, 10/14/80 (2002, 2006)
Torin Koos, Leavenworth, 29, 7/19/80 (2002, 2006)
Andy Newell, Shaftsbury, VT, 25, 11/30/84 (2006)
Kikkan Randall, Anchorage, 27, 12/31/82 (2002, 2006)
James Southam, Anchorage, 31, 6/5/78 (2006)
Liz Stephen, Montpelier, VT, 22, 1/12/87

(name, hometown, age as of opening ceremonies, birthdate, (past Olympics))
Source: USSA

More info:

http://fasterskier.com/2010/01/ussa-announces-2010-olympic-team/

Today I skied in fresh powder, mild temperatures and sunshine. Heaven!

After a very busy month of training and fundraising Brandan and I are off for my Olympic Qualification races!

This has been one of the most challenges years for me (for many reasons) yet I am so motivated and excited to start the season off strong and continue to get faster every week

Brandan and I are under one of the tightest budgets imaginable. We are leaving with just enough money (not all the fundraised checks have cleared yet) to get to West Yellowstone. Please check in often to hear funny stories (that’s right Dave I will have more to share!) and news of success from both of us.

I cannot thank everyone who helped organize and come to both my Fundraisers eanough! You were all incredible and I wouldn’t be heading out West without your help. I am so lucky that there are such wonderful people in the Twin Cities Ski Community. I know I will make you all proud

A few people I would like to thank here are: Piotr Bednarski, Ben Kremer, Cheryl + Jeff DuBois, Kate Ellis + John Harrer, Kuan + Heidi Teoh, Angie Robinson, Dave Christoperson, Mary Vancura, Kevin +Deb Ivens, Brandan Ostroot, Ahvo Taiple, Jan Guenther, Andy Turnball, Rudi Hargesheimer (Midwest Mountaineering), Kim Rudd, Mary-Beth Tuttle, Luke Skinner, Fast Wax, Ian Harvey, John Munger,  Peter Hanson, Bruce Adlesman and everyone else who contributed to the silent auction items. I would also like to thank the huge crowds that showed up for my fundraiser, and those who could not, who sent their words encouragement and support for this journey. I will never forget what you have done!

I have learned so much from my experience this year and what I have taken from this all is…creating an Elite Racing Team is more than just talking about it. This takes a lot of planning, sacrifice and money. Anyone out there considering starting their own team should have a very thorough budget and business plan before they start recruiting athletes. Especially very poor athletes (no matter how fast they are!) I give CXC and the US Biathlon Team a lot of credit now that I have seen how difficult this all is and how far they helped me get. I hope I can help other athletes in the future pursue their dreams by sharing my experiences and guiding them to the best opportunities available.

I will leave you with a quote I received from a very nice gentelman at the Mobil station where the van is being prepared for the trip.

“The race is not won by the swift and the quick, it is won by the one who endures to the finish.”

• Paypal link:
  
  
• Send money directly – Feel free to mail a check to:
  Caitlin Compton
  225 Cedar Lake Road North
  Minneapolis, MN 55405

A huge thanks to everyone who contributes. If you have any questions about thoughts on other ways to sponsor please see the Sponsorship page for information and how to contact me further. Thanks, Caitlin

Click here to view the embedded video.

I have now been training and working with Piotr Bednarski and feeling like my old self again! We have been conservative in our approach but kept our goals high and the results have been awesome. I am happy to be working with Piotr (I have known him as my coach and friend longer then any other coach). Piotr exemplifies a great coach, he took me under his wing this fall and helped me when others thought I wouldn’t make it. Thanks, Piotr

I currently live in a part of Minneapolis known as Uptown. It is a vibrant area just southwest of Downtown that boasts tons of small shops, coffee houses, art galleries and restaurants. It is a fun place to live with so much going on all within walking distance. The only trouble with living in Uptown is the cost of living here. Ben and I don’t get to experience Uptown the way others do because we are always on a budget but it’s fun to be around it all.

Last year Ben and I were lucky to get our current apartment because they needed an on-site caretaker. We had a huge reduction in rent but the work was pretty hard and sometimes really gross. When we heard, after a year of living here, that they no-longer needed us to care-take we knew immediately that we couldn’t afford to live here! So it was time to move elsewhere.

Our budget is pretty tight so we ended up searching through tons of apartments and most were too much for us. I finally found the perfect spot last week! We had a list of criteria that we were looking for but most important was the price.

It is an upper unit in a duplex located in the Harrison Neighborhood of Minneapolis. We now have a big backyard, a huge basement, free laundry and the ski trails are a block and a half from my door! We will care-take at our new apartment too so we will be saving some on rent but doing some extra work too.

With Theodore Wirth Park (the site of the 2011 XC Junior Olympics) outside my back door there are countless recreational activities available. I will be contacting the local high school called Harrison Academy and will begin working with their students this fall. I will update soon about what the plans are for the upcoming weeks.
I am also happy to report that my symptoms have subsided and I am back to feeling like myself. Training has been going well and my energy has been great!

My mother, who was also born in NYC and lived there most of her life, lives in MN now too and this was our first MN State Fair together! We laughed and joked about what was the most important part of the Fair if you are a true Minnesotan. We decided that just going was the most important part and now we had to schedule this in as a “must do” every year if we want to feel like true Minnesotans. We lived it up at the Fair and enjoyed good food, expos, games, and people from all over the state.

It was awesome! We walked forever and saw almost everything the fair had to offer! The biggest disappointment of the Fair was that the Cow, Pig, and Chicken barns were not open by the time we stopped by. We remedied the need for livestock by visiting the baby barn and got our fill of newborns from the farm world! Everything from bunnies, piglets, new born calves and baby chicks. This was by far my mom’s favorite part of the fair!

My mom was pretty exhausted by the time the evening was over and I was a little worried about her. When I called to check on how she was feeling the next day she said she was in the best mood she had been in for months! It’s great that a simple Fair can bring so much happiness to so many people this time of year. Even Lahti was psyched to get his new chew toy octopus when we got home.

The Octopus was such a hit he only lasted about 5 minutes before the apartment was covered in stuffing and tentacles.