Uh, I am not qualified to write about this. And this page is not intended to give you a training schedule (although you really should have run 8 miles this morning with some pick-ups, and you should be going rollerskiing this afternoon, and if you don’t do some core today you are a sap). I will say that there is an old adage that “skiers are made in the summer.” Don’t expect to start training in January and finish thirty-second unless you’re my friend Collin who can spend the fall in South Africa and still turn in a stellar ski season. If you’ve never skied a marathon, find one earlier in the season. Since skiing is very low impact, you can ski a marathon without destroying your legs. There are plenty to choose from, including several—the Seeley Classic and Pre Birkie in particular—which provide a great preview of the Birkie Trail.