Birkie results from 1999 to 2025
What is this website about?
This website reviews results from 1999 through 2025 of the marathon length (~50-55k) American Birkebeiner cross country ski race, which is commonly referred to as the “Birkie.” A large dataset containing 108,000+ individual results was assembled to address a number of interesting questions. The primary focus is on how age affects performance. Cross country skiing may be unique among endurance sports in that excellent performance can be extended well into the sixth decade and beyond. But this varies depending on skill level, gender, and technique.
Other questions involve how classic and freestyle techniques compare historically, whether relative performance of male and female skiers has changed over the years, …, and these issues are examined as well.
This dataset was created by a lengthy and cumbersome process of initially downloading publicly-available PDF results files provided by the Birkie immediately after each race starting in 1999. The PDF files up to 2019 were then converted to Microsoft Excel files using the software Enolsoft PDF Converter, Those after 2019 were converted to Excel format using various AI techniques.
The process of converting PDF to Excel files, while conceptually simple, is actually quite tedious because of the number of transcriptional errors that can occur. Extensive error-checking procedures were used to eliminate as many of these mistakes as possible.
The Birkie was cancelled in 2000 and shortened to an untimed event in 2007 (for all but the elite wave). Only point-to-point races on the (nearly) complete Birkie trail were included in the overall summary. In 2021 and 2024, the race used shortened courses – one or more loops out and back to the start line – so results from these years were excluded. Open events and the shorter Kortelopet races are not included. In all, the results from 22 full-length Birkie races (classic and skate) were used.
From 2002 on it was easy to distinguish between skiers using freestyle and classical techniques in the Birkie since the techniques were considered as separate entry classes. In 1999 and 2001, all skiers were timed and ranked together, but, fortunately, technique was noted in the printed results provided in the Birch Scroll.
Birthdates for all skiers from 1999 to 2019 were used to examine how age relates to performance. In 2022 and 2023, ages were provided in the results. Unfortunately, in 2020, no ages were provided, but it was possible to infer ages of most skiers based on participation in other years.
Birkie distances have varied over the years because the courses for both the classic and freestyle events have changed somewhat. Since some of the most interesting questions involve changes in performance over years, finish times are not useable directly as stated in yearly results. Performance comparisons could be based on race pace, which is directly comparable from year to year, but many of us don’t relate well to pace comparisons. Whenever we talk to each other, do we ask what pace we skied the Birkie? Not likely. Rather the question is what was your finish time?
So race pace was used to standardize results to a finish time at a common distance – 55k for a classical race and 50k for a freestyle race, which are close to the stated distances for the current courses (more).