Kaitlyn Vesterstein (number 4).

Katie Vesterstein from Duluth, MN, a successful downhill ski racer, has been on a roll this summer with consistently winning the Women’s Division in the District 23 Harescramble and Enduro Race Series.

The typical season starts in April and ends in October with races almost every weekend. Harescrambles are a combination of woods riding and track racing. Riders have one hour to complete as many loops as possible, before finishing/stopping. Some races are around an hour while others can be up to an hour and a half depending on how long each loop takes. Enduro races are much longer, usually around 2 to 4 hours and cover longer distances through the woods only. In Enduro, each rider stops at designated checkpoints before beginning the next section.

Katie Vesterstein: “In Enduro races I carry a backpack with water and some snacks as well as tools, so if anything goes wrong on my bike I have the ability to fix it on the trial.

I have been using dirt biking as cross training to help supplement my downhill ski racing training. It is a very tough sport mentally as it is much longer than downhill ski racing, but it helps make me become mentally tougher and builds endurance.

This year it has been especially difficult as 80% of the races have either been very muddy or it has been raining during them, but I believe it just adds to making the courses better since I like difficult/technical riding.

Next year, I am hoping to attend some national Enduro and Harescramble races as I am very passionate about the sport and enjoy the community of people that surround the sport. Those events usually take place in the Eastern United States but I will have to see what my schedule looks like during that time. This summer I have done 7 races and I am looking forward to the last 4 races that wrap up the season at the end of October before I hit the slopes and begin ski training again.”

Kaitlyn Vesterstein is the granddaughter of Estonian businessman Paul Vesterstein.