Austin resident skis at NASTAR championships
Published 8:57 pm Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Austin resident Mary Nelson has always felt comfortable on skis, but there were moments where she had her doubts last week when she competed in the Nature Valley NASTAR (NAtional STAndard Race) National Championships of downhill skiing at Winter Park Resort, Colo.
She was racing on the steepest run at Winter Park, which she discovered early on when she went to retrieve her coat.
“I went to grab my coat and it was so steep that I couldn’t even hardly walk up the hill,” she said. “By the time I climbed up to get my coat, I was sweating and I didn’t even need it.”
The second thing that could’ve thrown Nelson off was on the second day of competition when her pace-setter, Phil Mahre, who won 27 World Cup races in his skiing career, lost a ski on the way down.
“I thought if he’s losing his ski, who knows about me,” Nelson said.
While many of the 1,000-plus participating skiers took a tumble over the week, Nelson never fell and she was pleased with her fifth place finish in the gold division for females ages 55-59.
“I was thrilled to get to the bottom and I was thrilled to go. It was the trip of a lifetime and it was just too much fun,” said Nelson, who has now made three trips to the NASTAR championships in her lifetime.
In 2004, Nelson skied in the silver division and she qualifified for this year’s championships by skiing in February at Winter Park.
Austin residents may be familiar with Nelson on skis whether they know it or not. She plays the role of the Christmas Elf every year at Christmas in the City and skiing has always been a big part of her life.
“I’ve been racing for a long time,” Nelson said. “My dad got the whole family skiing when we were little and now my whole family skis.”
One of Nelson’s favorite parts of NASTAR is meeting skiers from all over the country. This year, she ran into Mary Vanek of Eagan, Minn., who is the daughter of Cecelia Delaney of Austin.
Nelson’s dad, Greg ‘Bud’ Johnson and her husband, Mike Nelson, purchased her a brand new pair of skis for the first time in 14 years before she competed and she thanked them for their support.
“I couldn’t have made the trip without them,” she said.
Nelson is likely to compete in NASTAR again next year as it takes place in Winter Park, which is a regular vacation spot for her family.
Besides skiing, Nelson has biked across Minnesota 20 times and she is a big advocator in helmet safety.
According to its Web Site, NASTAR was developed by SKI Magazine in 1968, It is the largest recreational ski and snowboard race program in the world. Since the program’s inception, more than six million skier and snowboarder racer days have been recorded.
NASTAR gives skiers a chance to meet and ski alongside pro skiers while competing against their peers.