During the third weekend in January, Souhegan teacher Kathy Maddock participated in the Masters World Cup in Minneapolis, Minnesota where she took gold in her age group for the 15-kilometer freestyle. The Masters World Cup is an international cross-country ski race for skiers 30 years and older. Every year the competition is held in a different location and skiers from around the world take part.

Maddock competed in two races, the 15-kilometer classic, and the 15-kilometer freestyle. She placed 3rd in her age group in the 15 kilometer classic, and 1st in her age group in the 15-kilometer freestyle. “I had a friend and fellow coach who was giving me splits throughout the race. About a half a kilometer from the finish he told me that I had a lead of over a minute, and he said, ‘You’ve got a huge lead; just ski it in and enjoy it!’  So I decided to let up a little bit and look around and savor the moment as I skied into the finish. That was really fun,” said Maddock.  

Maddock has been skiing for 40 years. It’s a passion and a pastime that she has carried with her for the majority of her life. She coached Souhegan’s Nordic Ski Team for 19 years. This year is the first year that she hasn’t coached the Nordic team since she started teaching at Souhegan. Instead, she is coaching a cross-country ski club in Dublin, New Hampshire that she helped start two years ago.

Coaching allows Kathy to train in the winter and share her expertise with less experienced skiers. The club, Dublin XC, trains 6 days a week for 1 to 3 hours a day. When the snow melts away, Kathy continues to train by roller skiing and running on both flat and mountain trails.

It takes real dedication to stick with something for 40 years, but Maddock says that it’s “good to do and practice a sport that you can do your whole life,” and that’s exactly what she intends to do.