Congrats on 20, Jay!

wrote:

Yeah, Botvinov is a tall guy but he's not built like Smirnov. Smirnov
was a guy you wouldn't want to **** off. I met Botvinov at the '97
American Birkebeiner where he set the full course record of 1:57 for
51 kilometers. The course that year was the fastest ever in my 20
Birkies (BTW, I'm a Birch Leggings Club Memeber now that I've
completed 20 Birkies!). Anyway, my time that year was 2:27! Yes, it
was the speed of the snow... Just like Muhlegg who won the Birkie in
'99, Botvinov was one of the nicest skiers I've ever met. I'm not
commmenting on whether there was doping involved with the Austrian
Team this year...

Jay Tegeder
"Keep training, lycra never lies!" JT