Champion Alaskan skier Kikkan Randall is set to be inducted into the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
Randall, who lives in Anchorage and is the executive director of the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage, is widely regarded as the most accomplished cross-country skier to come out of Alaska.
Randall's professional career included 29 World Cup podiums, a World Championship silver medal in 2009 and a gold in 2013. It culminated in Randall's final Olympic games in 2018, when she and Jessie Diggins won the team sprint to give the U.S. its first-ever Olympic gold medal in cross-country skiing.
Randall is also a cancer survivor and mother of two. But even with all of that, she says she was still surprised to get the call telling her she was headed to the hall of fame.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Kikkan Randall: My first instinct was, "Wait a second, I'm too young. This is too soon." But it's cool, because I know a lot of the other athletes and inspirational figures in the hall are a lot of people that have been heroes of mine, so I just feel honored to be a part of it.
Casey Grove: That's super cool, yeah. I mean, just as you reflect on what that means to you personally, what do you think about being honored in that way?
KR: Well, I just think about the role that role models have played in my life, and especially, I think now that I work on the this implementation side of sport, where I help put together programs and I understand more of what it takes, the volunteer efforts, the dedication from people. So the fact that I think my being inducted into the Hall of Fame now just does kind of solidify the role I've gotten to play on the backs of those who have inspired me and created sport for me. And so I think it's just a really cool circle of inspiration we have, because, you know, I've already gotten to hear some fun stories of athletes who grew up looking up to me, and now they're the ones that my kids are looking up to.
CG: Yeah, no doubt. So I wonder, with this Hall of Fame induction, what do you think that means to other people here in Anchorage or just in Alaska in general?
KR: Well, I have just noticed throughout my whole career that for everything, you know, that I've been able to achieve by crossing my ski across the finish line it's not been just an individual effort. There's been a whole group of people behind me, not only my family, my coaches, my teammates, but really the community. I mean, so many people here in Anchorage that, when I talked about winning a medal at the Olympics, which had never been done by a woman before, people didn't laugh at me. They said, "Wow, yeah, let's go for it."
And so being inducted into the Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, I feel like, is an accomplishment for our whole community that believed in what was possible, you know, was there helping every step of the way, when it was two steps forward, one step back, and now we all kind of get to feel proud about this together.
CG: So I realize this might be kind of a big question, but, you know, inspiration aside, how did you do it? I mean, how did you find success in skiing?
KR: Well, I think there's that whole nature-versus-nurture debate, and I think there was, like anything, a combination of both. I think I certainly had some character traits that showed up very early on, that when I saw something that I wanted, I was kind of bound and determined to put my head down and go for it. But that type of spirit still needs to be cultivated with a good environment.
And growing up here in Anchorage, Alaska, there were just so many great opportunities to let those characteristics really flourish. I mean, starting with some of the early, I think, running events that I got involved with here in Anchorage. I mean, the Tuesday Night Race Series, and there used to be this Anchorage kids running track meet series, and so I got to go out and test myself and see what that felt like, and see improvement.
And people were very encouraging, and my role models I would see in the grocery store, and I got to become good friends with. And so all along, I had opportunities to develop. I had good support, I had inspiration.
And then, you know, when I got to the point where I was in high school and I was doing a bunch of different sports, and I kind of had to decide what path I wanted to go, again, there was just the right program. I mean, when I started at the (Alaska Pacific University) Nordic Ski Center back then, it was called Gold 2002 (Foundation Ski Program) Jim Galanes, who started that program, had this vision for how American skiers could be successful, how the pattern we had been doing before as a system was not working. And he had this vision, and I happened to get introduced to him and into that program. And had I not, you know, maybe I would have ended up on a totally different path.
So I think it was the right mix of really great programs and mentors, but still that determination and stubbornness at times and patience to see it come through.
CG: That's super interesting. I wonder about, like, I hear you talking about the mental part of that game. I wonder about the physical part of it. I mean, how would you describe that part of it?
KR: Well, I think about it a lot now that I have kids myself. I think one of the keys early on for me was doing a lot of different activities, so that I got a broad set of skills. I had a lot of different, kind of, inputs physically coming to my body. So it wasn't like one thing repetitively from the time I was 5 all the way up. I mean, I didn't really get serious about cross-country ski training until I was 16. I mean, full time at 18. So I just dabbled in a lot of things. And so I think that was a key component to the physical side, because then, when I did decide to focus, well, I was coming in with strength on the downhills and speed from soccer and, you know, the ability to be uncomfortable without breath like you do in swimming, you know, just things like that.
And then I also still had a lot of, my body was still fresh and able to absorb the training. And the beautiful thing about cross-country skiing is it's one of those sports that you just really build on yourself over time. I mean, it's that pyramid analogy of every training year you're laying that foundation. And you may not always see what that's building up to until you get a few levels up, and then all of a sudden it's this, like, springboard forward. And then maybe another few years, and then another springboard. And so I was building, I had just enough success along the way to keep me motivated. But then it was that 10 years, 10,000 hoursk ind of idea of like it all built up, and I finally had the physical capacity, the mental training and focus, the right support system, and it kind of all came together.
And then I had, you know, another eight years after that, where I just really got to keep building on that. And then the team component really came in. And and then the beauty is, when you stop sport, that doesn't always disappear either. Like, I still have a lot of great strengths and speed and things like that. I don't maintain it like I used to. But, you know, just it's a lifestyle for me.
CG: Yeah. I wonder, do you see, you know, younger skiers kind of in the mix around Anchorage that stand out to you that might one day go on to achieve the same level of success that you've had?
KR: Well, I think someone asked me right after the Hall of Fame announcement, "What are you most proud of?" And I think for me, it's the fact that what I was able to do in my sport career really opened the door of possibility in cross-country skiing, both for the United States, but I think really here in Alaska, too, of, "Oh, this isn't just a fun thing to do, to go to the Olympics. You can actually win the Olympics."
And so when I see the young skiers coming through already, Gus Schumacher has had some some accolades that I didn't get in my career. I mean, he's really proven that he can be at the top of the world, and he's really in this group of men that have really bonded together, seemingly, as a team, and are pushing each other. And so, you know, as a relay team, they won a medal at World Juniors. And JC Schoonmaker and Luke Jager, they're, you know, knocking at the door, and I think if they just keep staying patient and supportive, they can break through.
But now you also have a whole community of people, I think, that are believing in what's possible, and they're seeing how it can really kind of pay off over time. And for as many people as we're putting on the Olympic team and potentially on the Olympic podium, there's 100 more of people that are just living a great lifestyle. And my best friends today are the friends I was on my high school ski team with, and my APU team and my, you know, U.S. Ski Team. It's such a great lifestyle sport.
CG: What is the appropriate ritual that we should all be doing to encourage a better snow season than we had last year?
KR: I like to think, you know, optimism and hope. If you look back at the weather data over the last couple of decades, it is a bit of a roller coaster for us, but there's more good snow years than not, and so we just kind of came through a tough one. So the optimist in me is saying, "OK, well, we've had our one in 10 year bad one." And yeah, I think having your gear ready to go so that the moment that snow flies, you can take advantage of it, because I don't think you want to take a single day for granted, you know, make the most of every single day.
There were some really cool silver linings that came out of last season. We, like NSAA, we were able to groom up at Glen Alps for the first time in a long time. We did some extra work at Russian Jack during during the year. And as a ski community, we really coalesced around the snow making loop at Kincaid. And yeah, it was busy, and you were tightly packed in there, but we also got to see everybody, instead of being dispersed all over the woods. Put on those happy socks and put the positive vibes out into the atmosphere. And just, we'll be ready for it when it comes.
CG: So you're not burning a pair of skis to sacrifice to Ullr or anything like that?
KR: No, but maybe if I get desperate. You know, talk to me in December, January.
