‘Dear to my heart’: 40th Annual Finlandia Ski Marathon holds special meaning for longtime skier

BEMIDJI — More than 100 skiers gathered at Buena Vista Ski Area to conquer the trails during the 40th Annual Minnesota Finlandia Ski Marathon on Saturday. Bemidji's Lisa Boulay has been along for the ride since the race's start in 1979.

Boulay first started skiing in her high school years growing up in the Twin Cities. The sport was a “perfect fit” for her, as she loved running and spending time outdoors, but at the time there weren’t a lot of trails in the area for her to ski.

After moving to town in 1976 to attend Bemidji State, she learned about several local skiing events that were held each winter and was able to dive further into her passion by participating in the Sons of Norway Bemidji Birkebeiner, BSU’s annual Snowjourn event and other ski races in the area.

A few years after moving to the area, she saw advertisements for a new race — the Minnesota Finlandia Cross Country Ski Marathon.

Boulay still clearly remembers competing in that very first Finlandia, even 40 races later. Back then it was a two-day, 100-kilometer race that stretched from Paul and Babe to Buena Vista.

“I thought ‘Maybe I won’t finish it, but I need to start,’" Boulay recalled about her determination to compete in the inaugural races. “The first day was real snowy and the second day of the race was really cold, but I just stood up to the challenge and said ‘I can do this.’”

She also remembers being inspired by many of the female skiers she saw out on the trails and said they provided her with plenty of motivation to continue skiing.

“There were some female skiers who were absolutely amazing role models,” Boulay said. “These local female skiers — I just thought they were so cool that they were going out skiing.”
The Finlandia has changed a little bit since back then. By 1985, the event was moved to a one-day 50-kilometer race along the Buena Vista trails. The skis are different too, as most skiers now use skate skis as opposed to classic skis.

But one thing that has never changed is that every year, without fail, Boulay is there skiing her heart out. What’s even more impressive is that the 65-year-old has not only participated in every race since Finlandia’s inception — she’s finished every one. Even a broken ankle couldn’t stop her.

“I finished the whole course every time,” Boulay said. “There was one year I broke my ankle, but I went back and finished (the race) later.”

Having competed in the Finlandia for 40 years now, Boulay’s purpose behind her decades of participation is simply that she loves to ski. Plus, it keeps her young.

“The part I find really interesting is that I’m 65 and I feel a lot younger than I thought I would’ve felt at 65 when I was in my 20s,” Boulay said. "I’m just happy I’m still skiing and I plan to ski until I can’t ski anymore. Maybe there will be a day I can only go out and ski one kilometer, but I want to keep skiing until I can’t ski anymore. I love it so much."

The Finlandia, especially, is an event that Boulay hopes to compete in for years to come.

“The race that will always be very dear to my heart is the Finlandia,” Boulay said. “Bemidji can be so proud of the race they put on. Bemidji has a reputation of putting on great races and the Finlandia race board, from the beginning, has always put on a premier event.”

Here’s a look at the top finishers with name, age, hometown and time:

Female
1. Kerrie Berg, 43, Bemidji, 1:35:19
2. Allie Rykken, 34, St. Paul, 1:43:29
3. Beckie Alexander, 58, Minneapolis, 1:58:57
4. Greer Simula, 14, Bemidji, 2:07:36
5. Molly Weyrens, 54, St. Cloud, 2:10:56
6. Arika Johnson, 47, Grand Forks, N.D., 2:46:06
7. Adriane Simula, 45, Bemidji, 2:46:11
8. Lindsey Blake, 39, Shevlin, 2:53:19

Male
1. Nicholas Youso, 19, Twin Valley, 1:22:06
2. Owen Baird, 50, Baxter, 1:27:12
3. Leif Ronnander, 35, Bemidji, 1:31:31
4. Travis Hinck, 39, Golden Valley, 1:33:10
5. Ethan Karppinen, 31, Park Rapids, 1:42:55
6. Andy Dombeck, 38, Wadena, 1:45:23
7. Paul Berg, 30, Minneapolis, 1:49:14
8. Nolan Simula, 46, Bemidji, 1:51:32
9. Dan Rogers, 61, Guthrie, 1:54:26
10. Drew Sippell, 39, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1:59:31
11. Nate Mathews, 48, Bemidji, 2:00:26
12. Erik Berg, 37, Chaska, 2:02:48
13. Aron Coates, 38, Dufresne, Manitoba, 2:10:53
14. Lee Scotland, 73, Bemidji, 2:37:09
15. Quinn Morrissey, 16, Turtle River, 2:40:25
16. Espenn Johnson, 12, Grand Forks, N.D., 2:46:05
17. Kevin Ihry, 62, Fargo, N.D., 2:51:49
18. John Sullivan, 61, Woodstock, Ill., 3:05:59
19. David Wee, 70, Fargo, N.D., 3:44:40

Female
1. Ella Simula, 17, Bemidji, 1:29:50
2. Andrea Patten, 37, Bemidji, 1:35:01
3. Hannah Vanasse, 31, Bemidji, 1:50:56
4. Jonetta Bakke, 40, Bemidji, 2:01:38
5. Francine Paquin, 37, Dufresne, Manitoba, 2:02:21
6. Kaitlin Bakker, 30, Motley, 2:20:37
7. Laura Wilmesmeier, 22, Alexandria, 2:22:01
8. Michaela Havemann, 60, Crystal Lake, Ill., 2:44:44
9. Lisa Boulay, 65, Bemidji, 3:13:42

Male
1. Nick Ross, 34, Minneapolis, 1:13:31
2. Dennis Curran, 40, Plymouth, 1:16:25
3. Joel Peltz, 31, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1:18:44
4. Matt Lee, 31, Bemidji, 1:20:48
5. Erik Pieh, 39, St. Paul, 1:24:51
6. Jay Richards, 52, Callaway, 1:27:27
7. Paul Johnson, 52, Grand Forks, N.D., 1:27:30
8. Jonathan Schupp, 68, Park Rapids, 1:29:18
9. Derek Page, 33, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1:29:51
10. Aidan Larson, 18, 1:29:58
11. Samuel Doniach, 38, 1:33:42
12. Raphael Boutroy, 19, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1:33:45
13. Sean Pickle, 18, St. Cloud, 1:34:52
14. Cory Berg, 45, Bemidji, 1:37:05
15. John Boller, 71, Champlin, 1:37:19
16. Elias Hendrickson, 28, Bemidji, 1:37:42
17. George Patten , 39, Bemidji, 1:38:21
18. Josiah Hendrickson, 34, Bemidji, 1:40:42
19. Chris Godwin, 47, Nevis, 1:41:32
20. Mark Helgeson, 61, Park River, N.D., 1:44:19
21. David Helm, 51, Annandale, 1:44:26
22. Reed Kuzel, 17, Laporte, 1:49:28
23. Kolton Meyer, 15, Bemidji, 1:50:16
24. Matthew Broerson, 18 , Maple Grove, 1:50:33
25. Hans Kuningas, 47, Crystal Lake, Ill., 1:53:30
26. Jon Shorter, 65, Bemidji, 1:56:30
27. Sam Maier, 21, Alexandria, 2:04:28
28. Keith Krantz, 51, Tenstrike, 2:04:47
29. Nate Haskell, 42, Bemidji, 2:09:39
30. Myles McDanel, 35, Bemidji, 2:13:23
31. Josh Meyer, 41, Bemidji, 2:16:59
32. Ryan Maier, 23, Alexandria, 2:22:02
33. Asher Riedel, 12, Bemidji, 2:27:33

Female
1. Molly Watkins, 32, Duluth, 1:32:22
2. Elspeth Ronnander, 37, St. Paul, 1:35:40
3. Katrina Froese, 37, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1:47:02
4. Eva Reinicke, 37, Northfield, 1:50:50
5. Emily Broderson, 45, Maple Grove, 2:07:09

Male
1. Craig Cardinal, 40, Northfield, 1:23:40
2. Artie Huber, 48, Otsego, 1:31:27
3. Ryan Aylesworth, 47, Bemidji, 1:38:55
4. Pasha Kahn, 35, Duluth, 1:43:13
5. Michael Meehlhause, 33, Bemidji, 1:47:24
6. Paul Haltvick, 65, Washburn, Wis., 1:47:41
7. Phil Froese, 67, Stanley, Manitoba, 1:52:06
8. Ken Drivdahl, 72, Northfield, 2:10:31
9. Blake Dewitt, 13, Bemidji, 2:15:39
10. Ashton Niemi, 18, Bemidji, 2:16:18

Female
1. Jenna Nelson, 30, Shakopee, 3:16:12
2. Ellen Anderson, 35, Duluth, 3:28:00
3. Heather Martin, 33, Thunder Bay, Ontario, 3:28:00
4. Jacquelyn Bacigalupi, 45, Baxter, 3:47:16
5. Marina Lovell, 32, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 3:59:51
6. Mia Hoffmann, 16, Bemidji, 4:15:19
7. Regan Dewitt, 18, Bemidji, 4:15:20

Male
1. Zach Nelson, 30, Shakopee, 2:30:46
2. Murray Carter, 40, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2:43:38
3. Christopher Martin, 39, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2:48:39
4. Louis Morrissey, 18, Turtle River, 2:54:29
5. Ryan Rogers, 43, Bemidji, 3:05:16
6. Brett Arenz, 43, Falcon Heights, 3:06:44
7. Allan Shuros, 48, St. Paul, 3:14:23
8. Cooper Kuzel, 18, Guthrie, 3:22:33
9. Devin Arenz, 45, Saint Paul, 3:36:27
10. Nate Lien, 46, Blackduck, 3:42:14
11. Brad Kuzel, 42, Laporte, 3:55:22
12. Philip Roadley , 59, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 3:59:12
13. John Mueller, 50, Bemidji, 4:08:11
14. Brenton Nistler, 19, Turtle River, 4:40:46
15. Ethan Pollock, 18, Puposky, 4:43:59
16. Steve Hagedorn, 64, Two Harbors, 4:54:43

Female
Rochelle Boyd, 34, Bemidji
Susan Hoyum, 56, Cohasset
Ashley Koskiniemi, 35 Minneapolis
Anne Toftegaard, 33 Duluth
Sara Olson, 47, Bagley
Kay Blake, 64, Stanchfield
Halle Aylesworth, 12, Bemidji
Katherine Haws, 67, Hines
Jenna O'Dell, 38, Bemidji
Jessica Durgan, 41, Bemidji
Beth Grundy, 30, Cass Lake
Erin Haws, 29, Hines
Kathy Beaulieu, 55, Bemidji
Jamie Haskell, 42, Bemidji
Casey Story, 15, Turtle River
Claire Story, 15, Turtle River
Rylee Story, 12, Turtle River

Male
Brandon Boyd, 34, Bemidji
Roger Hoyum, 57, Cohasset
Palmer Olson, 17, Bagley
Gary Rees, 43, Bemidji
Seth Dreyer, 23, Bemidji
Craig Benson, 70, Bemidji
Mark Olson, 56, Bagley
Aaron Riedel, 38, Bemidji
Cameron Francisco, 10, Cass Lake
Greg St. Onge, 76, Brule, Wis.