Gary is skiing his 45th Birkie from wave 35 in 2025. He coached high school Nordic skiing for 30 years and taught high school science in the Osseo school district in suburban Minneapolis. He lives with his wife, Terry in St. Paul and they are proud owners of a cabin in the woods near Stone Lake, Wisconsin to be near the Birkie trail and all the area has to offer for year round enjoyment and adventure.

Gary hunts, fishes, and rides his bike when he's not skiing. He's pictured at one of his favorite places.

I have lived all my life in Minnesota. I went to school in Minnesota, had a business career in Minnesota, raised a family in Minnesota and am enjoying my 9th year of retirement in Minnesota.

My skiing interest started when, at a young age, my father introduced me to it on wooden skis with cable bindings. Over the years I have found great joy in a variety of silent sports, including cycling, sailing, paddling, backpacking and nordic skiing. The Birkebeiner has been an important part of my life, off and on, for almost 50 years. 

John Kotar is a Birkie Founder, creator of the Birchleggings Club, and former member of the ABSF Board of Directors. He completed the Birkie 39 times, as well as the Canadian and Norwegian Birkebeiners, many World Loppet races, and innumerable local and regional races. He frequently placed in the top of his age-class. Professionally he was faculty and researcher at UM-Duluth, Michigan Tech Univ. and UW-Madison in forestry. He is widely known for his guides to Habitat Typing in the Great Lakes region, and work with state DNRs, the U.S. Forest Service, tribal enterprises, and private landowners. John lives in Cable, WI with his wife Nina who is also a Birchlegger.

Kim Rudd founded Endurance Adventures. Her passion for Nordic skiing started while racing in high school and being exposed to the famous Minnesota Finlandia ski race. She continued to ski race in college at Bemidji State University, where she met her soulmate and adventure partner, Craig Rudd. Kim has enjoyed racing for Team Rossignol for thirty years in various ski marathons around the Midwest and internationally. She also enjoys mountain biking and canoe/SUP adventures, as well as coaching youth and adults at the Loppet Foundation. Kim is certified as a Level 200 BICP and Level 200 USSA Nordic coach. She is excited to share her passion for travel, cycling, and Nordic skiing with other like-minded adventure seekers! Her hobbies include gardening, cooking, reading, traveling, and bike packing!

Kitty is an avid nordic skier who is passionate about outdoor adventures involving challenging the limits of physical and mental capacity.  When she is not dreaming about, training or participating in such activities, she is living in St. Paul, MN,  

Kitty is married and has three children.  The family is active and nordic skiing is a big part of their lives. After years of MYSL participation, the kids started to train with their local high school, Highland Park.  

Kitty works as a Physician Assistant, and is a graduate of University of Wisconsin- Madison Physician Assistant program.  She works at Hennepin County Medical Center as an Addiction Medicine Inpatient Consultant. 

Dr Schaefer is the Chief of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH. 

A lifelong athlete, he grew up ski-racing in Wisconsin, but moved to Ohio at the age of 12.  He competed in track and field at Case Western Reserve winning the “All-Ohio” collegiate championship in the javelin, and qualified for the NCAA nationals in decathlon.  During med school he started bike racing and rekindled his childhood love of cross country skiing and started making the annual trip to the Birkie with his parents Phil and Jean, and sister Bethany.  Even after moving back to Ohio in his early 30s, he continued ski racing, winning both the Ohio and Pennsylvania Nordic championship events and placing third overall in a  “Michigan Cup” Nordic race. He qualified  for the “elite wave” in the Birkie twice.  He and his wife Jill are proud parents of two active daughters who are now in their 20s. 

Paul is a retired second grade teacher, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer where he taught biology in Malaysian Borneo in the early 70's and founded Cool Planet to get people outside to enjoy what they love and protect their communities from a warming, wacky climate future.

Scott Cooper finished his 40th Birkebeiner ski race (and still counting) in 2025. Scott also turned 70 prior to the race, and proudly wore the 70-Year Bib. “After trying to get back into earlier waves for the past couple  years, I was surprised and very pleased to learn all I had to do was get older and not faster.”

Scott spent his professional career in Marketing and is now retired. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife Liz, just up the street from his second of four sons, Birk. (Birk was born near race time, one of the few races Scott missed since his first  in 1978.)  

When not fretting about training for the Birkebeiner or what the conditions will be on race day, Scott stays happily busy with 10 grandchildren.

Terry Berry was a beloved father of five and an avid Birkie skier who taught his children to ski as soon as they could walk. Born in Portage, WI, Terry's love of winter began with ice skating, competing in the Pairs and Dance categories until an injury halted his career.

Ever the athlete, Terry embraced new challenges, including marathons, triathlons, Birkie skiing, and other ski races. He was a true outdoorsman, enjoying hiking Colorado's 14'ers, kayaking, and building a log cabin in Northern Wisconsin for his family.

A social worker by profession, Terry was a thoughtful, patient, and gentle man who dedicated his life to improving the world. Terry passed away in Bend, OR, in 2024 after a courageous battle with cancer. He had been training for his 42nd Birkie in 2025. Terry is deeply missed by his children and his best friend and wife of 35 years, Diane Berry.

I’m a retired family medicine physician from the Twin Cities (most of my life). I’m married to Cindy Gerst since 1991. We live on the Yellow River west of Spooner, WI. 

I volunteer with the American Birkebeiner, Neighbor to Neighbor (Spooner), Hunt Hill Nature Center, Wisconsin Master Naturalists and the Wisconsin Canoe Heritage Museum. 

I’m an avid traveler, hiker, pilgrim, cyclist, swimmer and enjoy caring for the Japanese-style garden at our home and our two cats, Mugi & Lulu. 

Travis Hinck was on my ski teams in the early 2000's and graduated from Park Center High School in 2001. His senior year we were conference champs for the only time in our history. He has skied every Birkie since then and now has 23 Birkies under his belt. This makes him one of the youngest class of Birchleggers. In those years he has been as high as 15th in the Classic race and in the elite wave almost every year. In this episode he talks about his relatively laid back approach to training and how the Birkie experience has evolved over the years.