S5 Ep7 - Luci Anderson
[00:00:00] Tom Kelly: Well, hello everyone. On this episode of Heartbeat, the US Biathlon Podcast, we're actually going to go to the US Cross Country Championships up in Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska. And with us, one of the newest biathletes, Luci Anderson and Luci, thanks a lot for joining us. I know you're right on the eve of the skate sprint. So appreciate you joining us today.

[00:00:21] Luci Anderson: Yeah. Thank you for having me, Tom.

[00:00:22] Tom Kelly: Well, just to get started a little bit, I know that you're probably new to a lot of our listeners here, but give us a little bit of background of how you got started in cross country skiing.

[00:00:34] Luci Anderson: Yeah. So I grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, really close to Theodore Wirth Park, and I started skiing when I was super young, probably like three years old. I think I joined Minnesota Youth Ski League when I was about like 5 or 6 and then learned how to ski there, skied in high school, skied in college. Yeah. And now I'm doing biathlon professionally, so …

[00:00:59] Tom Kelly: Well, we're going to talk about how that transition – a very quick transition – was made. But for those who might not be familiar with cross-country skiing in Minnesota, it kind of is a little bit of a way of life, isn't it?

[00:01:12] Luci Anderson: Yeah, that's definitely true.

[00:01:14] Tom Kelly: And what were some of your influences or really who were some of your influences when you were young and got you into cross country ski racing?

[00:01:24] Luci Anderson: I honestly would have to say, like my parents, my mom especially, and my sister, my mom skis a lot. And, um, I just wanted to follow around my sister on the ski trails. So I really got into it then, and I wasn't really aware of, like, the World Cup or any sort of high-level skiing at that point. I just really loved to ski. And in Minnesota, that's kind of the culture. So yeah, I just really enjoyed it.

[00:01:54] Tom Kelly: And which club program did you hook up with there?

[00:01:58] Luci Anderson: I skied with Loppet Nordic Racing – LNR – in high school. And my high school team?

[00:02:09] Tom Kelly: When you look back on those days, what were some of the lessons that you learned as a young racer in Loppet Nordic Racing? I mean, this is a really good program with a lot of diversity and a lot of history of success. What were some of the lessons that you took away from those years?

[00:02:25] Luci Anderson: I definitely learned how to balance my life with skiing because, um, in high school, you know, you have like, all your classes and your friends, and you want to do everything. And in high school, I really learned to balance that training with the skiing and the racing. And in, in high school, we had a lot of high school races along with the like Club Minnesota JNQs or Midwest JNQs. So there was a lot of racing going on, and I kind of had to, like, make sure that I was like not getting too overwhelmed. And I think that has like, created my success now that I'm not burnt out from, like being too hard on myself when I was younger in skiing.

[00:03:13] Tom Kelly: Those are interesting lessons to learn early on, because now that you're a few years out of high school, you've completed college. You're now moving on to the racing circuit. You can see how those lessons really do pay off for you today, don't they?

[00:03:30] Luci Anderson: Yeah, it definitely does. It it helps me not focus too much on my results and just like, enjoy what I'm doing. And I think that really helps me succeed in racing. Just not having too much pressure on myself.

[00:03:45] Tom Kelly: Well, you were a standout racer in high school, and I'm sure you had a lot of different options for college. How did you end up selecting the University of New Hampshire and become a Wildcat?

[00:03:57] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I definitely looked at all my options, and it took me kind of a while to decide where I was going to go, because I didn't know if I wanted to go east or west or stay in the Midwest. Um, but I eventually decided on going up to the East Coast because my sister also skied out East. She skied for Saint Lawrence. And out of the East Coast options, UNH and UVM were the only ones that offered scholarship. And, I really liked the UNH team, and I'm really happy I went there. It's a great program.

[00:04:33] Tom Kelly: Well, I want you to talk to us a little bit about your career there, but just to throw out a few stats. You were an All-America selection, a two-time captain, nine podiums, six victories, two times first team all East. So a pretty good track record at college. What did you take away from that experience skiing for the Wildcats.

[00:04:55] Luci Anderson: Again, I really learned how to balance everything in college because there's a lot more going on in your life when you're racing for a college team. And it's way more competitive. Like all the other like, colleges have such good racers and like, same with mine. So, it was kind of easy to get caught up in, like the competitiveness of everything and like, wanting to do well for my team. But, yeah, I just had such a blast on the East Coast. The carnival circuit is so much fun, and I'm jealous that I don't get to race it again this year. But I had five years of it, so, um, I'm. I'm happy with that.

[00:05:40] Tom Kelly: Yeah. So you picked up that extra Covid year, right?

[00:05:43] Luci Anderson: I did, yeah. So Covid happened my freshman year. Freshman spring, I guess. And then my sophomore year I went to school, but we just had, like, kind of a half season. There was only about for like 3 or 4 teams that were competing that year on the East Coast. But we were able to have kind of a season, and then I'm glad I was able to stay for another year.

[00:06:10] Tom Kelly: One of the things about collegiate ski racing in America is it really is an international experience. How much did that help you? I know you had teammates who were international racers. You competed regularly against other top international racers. What level of experience did that give you? Did that help to elevate you quite a bit?

[00:06:33] Luci Anderson: Yeah, definitely. It kind of opened my eyes to like the rest of the skiing world and like in in high school, like you meet everybody from all the other states in the US, and we get to compete at nationals and stuff. But, in college, like, there's people from all over. And so you kind of see like how those people are training and racing and you get to know, like how they learn, like how they grew up, which could be completely different from how I grew up skiing or very similar. But it's also fun because a lot of the kids that you meet in high school at like gyms and stuff are also racing in college. So you kind of know your team before you get there or you know who you're competing against. So it's really nice to see familiar faces out there.

[00:07:26] Tom Kelly: What did you study at UNH?

[00:07:28] Luci Anderson: I studied bioengineering, and I got a minor in Spanish. And then, after my. I graduated after four years and then got a master's in biotech in one year.

[00:07:41] Tom Kelly: So you have your master's already?

[00:07:43] Luci Anderson: I do, yeah, it was a one-year, like, one-year program. UNH has a lot of those, so I was really lucky to be able to do that along with skiing. Um, yeah. So I have my master's and I hopefully won't need to go back to school, but we'll see.

[00:08:03] Tom Kelly: So for us lay people listening to this podcast, tell us what you could do with a biotech degree like that.

[00:08:11] Luci Anderson: I could do a lot of different things. I know a lot of my peers went into like the pharmaceutical industry, like working for Pfizer. Or go into like cancer research. Some of my friends are going to med school as well. Um, yeah. There's a lot of different things you can do with it.

[00:08:33] Tom Kelly: Well, it'd be fascinating to see where you go, but you're not in school this semester. You're just focusing on racing this winter, right?

[00:08:41] Luci Anderson: Yeah. No, I'm. I'm done for the current future.

[00:08:45] Tom Kelly: What was that nice to not have studies all of a sudden this past fall?

[00:08:51] Luci Anderson: Oh, for sure. It definitely makes a lot of difference. I have a lot more time to do other things and I'm focusing a lot more on like my recovery. I'm able to sleep more and eat more. Which is actually, I feel ,made a huge difference in my, um, in my training and my ski speed and my just overall like ability to focus on skiing. Yeah, it's been really nice to not have to be, like staying up late studying.

[00:09:22] Tom Kelly: Luci, can you explain that a little bit more? You're you're sleeping more. You're eating more. And just tell me a little bit more about how that helps your training routine.

[00:09:33] Luci Anderson: Yeah, it helps me stay like it helps me recover better. Um, I'm able to go harder in intervals and I'm able to ski faster. I'm able to be more focused. Like, my brain isn't all foggy. I'm not tired all the time, which I found in college. Like I had so much going on that I wasn't really able to focus on, or I wasn't able to have quality, like as quality of workouts as I do now. Or like in college, I would get I would be too tired to do like an afternoon workout, and so I would have to skip it or something. But now I can just solely focus on my training and my eating and make sure that everything's good. Yeah, it's really nice.

[00:10:21] Tom Kelly: It sounds like a good plan. Are you are you also starting to work with Team Burke?

[00:10:28] Luci Anderson: Yes, I am. So I'm currently living at home, which is really nice. I don't have to pay any rent. And my parents are there. They love it. And so it's nice to be based out of Minneapolis, and I'm training with Team Birkie. I'm with Team Birkie right now. Actually, at US nationals. We're all competing here. Um, yeah. So I this past summer, I was kind of doing a half, like half with Team Birkie, half with USBA for camps. So, yeah, I've been doing a lot with Team Birkie.

[00:11:04] Tom Kelly: Who are your coaches with Team Birkie now?

[00:11:07] Luci Anderson: My head coach is Julie Ensrud, and I have several assistant coaches. The one with us right now is Jake Seeley. And we also have we're I'm working with Chad Salmela as well. He's our high performance director, so he kind of, like, oversees and organizes what we're doing. And it's really nice to have him as a knowledgeable figure.

[00:11:33] Tom Kelly: Yeah, he certainly brings a lot of biathlon knowledge to the fore.

[00:11:39] Luci Anderson: That's true.

[00:11:40] Tom Kelly: We're going to talk about how you discovered biathlon in just a minute. But I know that Team Birkie is also moving into biathlon a little bit. Are you utilizing Team Birkie as a bit of a biathlon training environment as well?

[00:11:55] Luci Anderson: A little bit. A lot. Several of my teammates, Emma Stertz and Dolcie, for example, and Paul, they're all biathletes, so it's nice. It's nice to have them like kind of on a similar plan as I am with like we'll dry fire or stuff like that. But, um, there's not really a range that easily accessible for us in Minneapolis. I think the closest one is like 45 minutes, and I haven't utilized that. But they are building a range at cable, which is where we go and do a lot of training camps. So, um, hopefully in the next couple summers we'll be able to have some, like full-on Team Birkie biathlon camps in Cable. So that would be fun.

[00:12:43] Tom Kelly: You know, being involved with the early days of the Birkie myself going all the way back to the 70s, I was intrigued to get a tour from the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation this fall, of the new facilities or the growing facilities up in cable. And one of the things that they pointed out was where they were building the biathlon range. And it looks like they've got a nice little setup going there.

[00:13:07] Luci Anderson: Yeah I, we had a couple camps in cable this summer and fall and I see that they've cleared out the area where it's going to be. And I think they have all the targets and everything. I'm not sure how a biathlon range is built. So we'll see how long it takes them to get it done. But yeah, I'm excited for it.

[00:13:28] Tom Kelly: Luci, let's talk about your pathway into biathlon. Honestly, did you really just get into the sport, like, a year or so ago?

[00:13:37] Luci Anderson: I did, yeah. So I kind of jumped full into biathlon this spring. Probably in May, like the end of May, right after I graduated, I went home for like a week and then shipped myself off to Lake Placid to learn how to shoot a rifle. But I first got introduced to biathlon not this past summer, but the summer before I was invited to a Project X camp with. I think it was just me, Margie, Freed and Michaela Keller-Miller We were we were in Lake Placid for a week. I learned how to shoot a gun, a biathlon rifle, and I was like, I was pretty interested at that point. I was like, oh, this is a good option for me. Like, if I want to continue sport after graduation. But I kind of put it out of my mind for my final year at UNH. And then that, like this past spring, I was like, oh, this actually sounds like something I want to do. And so I jumped in this summer and met everybody, all the coaches and I love it. I'm having so much fun with it.

[00:14:50] Tom Kelly: So I'm kind of interested if there's kind of a vibe out there among cross-country skiers. We've had Margie Freed on the podcast and Grace Castonguay, and is there a bit of a vibe going on right now in the cross-country ski racing community that biathlon is an interesting option to look at?

[00:15:12] Luci Anderson: I think so. I kind of got I kind of first looked at biathlon because I saw Margie doing it and I was like, oh, if she can transition into it, like, I would also love to transition into it as well. Like when I was growing up, I was definitely interested in biathlon, but there's not really like there wasn't any resources for biathlon available to me or that I was aware of, I guess, when I was growing up doing LNR. Um, so this opportunity was really, really nice to have and to be able to get into.

[00:15:49] Tom Kelly: Was Project X valuable for you?

[00:15:52] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I'd say so. I feel like I still am kind of project X, and it's I feel like it definitely helped me transition into biathlon. Yeah. It's like the whole reason why I'm doing it.

[00:16:09] Tom Kelly: Well, let's go back to this summer. Now, you're a college grad, you've got your undergrad done, you've got your master's done, you've got your five years of eligibility done. So you're embarking really on a new direction this summer. Talk about the training program you got into with the national team this past summer. Going to summer nationals, your first biathlon race. And what was going through your mind this past summer as you evolved into this new sport?

[00:16:35] Luci Anderson: I'd say this past summer was kind of my, my like tryout period. My tryout. Try it out a year, and, I don't know, I just kind of like, I fell in love with the sport and like, all the people I don't know, I. I enjoy it.

[00:17:02] Tom Kelly: But you had fun.

[00:17:04] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I did have fun. Yeah.

[00:17:08] Tom Kelly: Let's go back to your first race, which was the roller ski race, summer nationals this past year. That's the first time you've been out on skis, albeit roller skis. You've got a rifle on your back. What were some of the challenges for you in that first race? Things you had to get used to.

[00:17:25] Luci Anderson: It's a whole different way of racing than cross-country skiing. That is that's what I'm now realizing is it's different pacing. Like you have to stop in the middle of your race, which is wild to me. Like I've never had my legs flood so much. So it was kind of hard to get used to that. And I'm still definitely not used to that. And skiing with the rifle is a completely different way of skiing. Like, there's a whole weight on your back that you're not used to climbing up the hills. Yeah, it was definitely hard to get used to, but I'm slowly getting used to it. And first races were hard. I had no expectations for myself, and I'm glad my coaches didn't have any expectations for me either. So there was really no pressure. I just wanted to go out there and do them and do my best, and I feel like I did. But also at summer nationals, I had a little bit of a, I don't know what to call it, like a gear, some rifle troubles. I did the sprint and then in the. I think it was the second race was an individual start. And I think halfway through my third lap, my harness detached from my rifle and fell off. And so I had no idea what to do. And I was right by the group coach. And she was like, well, you could keep going and like carry your rifle up to the range or you could be done. And I was like, I don't think I can do that right now. So I dropped out of that race. That was my first ever time dropping out of a race, which I feel very bad about. But, I got half the race in, so that was good. Good practice.

[00:19:24] Tom Kelly: So when you came out to Soldier Hollow in October for what has become a quite a showcase for cross country and biathlon. Did you have a little bit better comfort level because you kind of knew a little bit more what you were getting into?

[00:19:43] Luci Anderson: Definitely. Yeah. And I, I feel like at Jericho Summer Nationals, I was so new to the sport. I had probably been shooting a rifle for like a month, and I had maybe done one interval session with a rifle. So coming into Utah races, Utah trials races, I felt a lot more comfortable. I had way more skiing with the rifle under my belt. Um, I had just completed, like, I think we had two weeks of training out in Utah before. Before those races. So yeah, I felt a lot more comfortable going into those races, and I am proud that I earned my spot on the IBU Cup team through those races.

[00:20:32] Tom Kelly: How big a step up was it from summer nationals at Jericho to come to the International team trials at Soldier Hollow. I mean, that's a pretty big jump up, right?

[00:20:45] Luci Anderson: Yeah, definitely. There were a lot of people in Utah. A lot of people competing and a lot of people I had just met. I'm so used to in the cross country world, kind of knowing everybody and knowing how I'm going to do, how I'm going to line up against all the other competitors. But it's so different in biathlon because, like, you could kind of end up anywhere, depending on how you're shooting or how you're skiing that day and how other people are doing. So it was it was super interesting and a lot more pressure because it was actually like a race that I feel like mattered a lot, um, for qualifying for those international races.

[00:21:29] Tom Kelly: When you came out to Utah, did you have a goal in mind of making that IBU Cup team?

[00:21:37] Luci Anderson: I did, I was I was really hoping to make that team. And I knew that since it was kind of my first, like some of my first races, I wasn't going to be too hard on myself if I didn't make it. But I felt super fit skiing wise, and I knew I had trained like I had been training very well shooting the past, like, couple months. So I knew I could do it. And I'm really happy that I was able to qualify.

[00:22:13] Tom Kelly: When you qualified, when you got that spot on the team, what did some of your other teammates, you know, people like Margie and others who've kind of been through the process. What did they say to you? What encouragement did they give you?

[00:22:25] Luci Anderson: Yeah, they were all really excited for me and excited to see, like, what I can do with biathlon because I know I didn't shoot the best. Um, but I definitely was skiing fast and I'm, like, getting better and better every time I race and every time I shoot. So it's super exciting to see, at least for me. I'm I'm very excited about it. And I know my teammates are very supportive of me and, um, everything that I'm doing. So yeah.

[00:22:54] Tom Kelly: Cool. We're with Luci Anderson here on Heartbeat, the US Biathlon podcast. We're going to take a quick break. And when we come back, we're going to hear how it went on the IBU Cup and talk to Luci about her World Cup debut at Hochfilzen. We'll be right back with Heartbeat.

[00:23:20] Tom Kelly: We're back on Heartbeat today. We are coming to you from Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska, the site of the US Cross Country Championships, and we're talking with one of Biathlon's newest athletes, Luci Anderson and Luci it was great to hear from you and the whole process of making it up to the Soldier Hollow camp and qualifying for the IBU Cup. But let's let's kind of hear about how that went for you in December and, and to kind of prep before that, you went to the camp at Vuokatti. And, uh, what was that experience like to go to that international camp where everybody's getting ready for the big season ahead?

[00:23:53] Luci Anderson: Um, yeah. It was really exciting to be able to be there and watching all the US's, like top biathletes, like, uh, prepping and, um, being on snow for the first time for the year. And we were also there with like a couple other big teams. I know that Germany was also training in Ducati and some Polish. Um, some of the Polish team was there. So it was really cool to be around all these really good athletes and kind of be able to watch what they were doing and mimic their shooting styles and, um, and skiing styles. And it was it was amazing. Also, it was interesting to be my first time on snow for the year, and then also my first time ever shooting on snow with a rifle and in the cold. I didn't really think about that as a factor as my fingers getting cold, but I'm slowly learning that there's a lot more to biathlon that than I thought. So that being one of them.

[00:24:58] Tom Kelly: There's lots of little things like that. Had had you in your career up to that point, had you competed in Europe? Had you been in an environment like that?

[00:25:10] Luci Anderson: Yeah. when I was a U18, I qualified for the Scandinavian Cup, I think my sophomore year of high school. So I went to that with the US Ski Team. It was in Trondheim, Norway. So I competed there and I also qualified for U23 my junior year of college and that was in Oslo. So I had a very small bit of international racing before this. So it's very different on biathlon, I think.

[00:25:47] Tom Kelly: Yeah, I bet it is. What was Finland like at that time of year? A little bit dark.

[00:25:53] Luci Anderson: Very dark, very cold. Kind of like Minnesota, but a little darker.

[00:25:59] Tom Kelly: A little bit darker. So you ended up going into the first two IBU cups at Individual in Sweden and Yellow and Norway. When you went into your first IBU Cup, I mean, this is definitely leveling up again for you. What did it feel like to be on the starting line and knowing that you'd made it to this point, and now you've got it all on the line?

[00:26:20] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I was just really excited to have some like actual on snow biathlon racing. I again, I didn't have any pressure on myself. I didn't I didn't try to put any expectations because I had no clue how I was going to do. Like, I didn't know any of the other racers, and I didn't know how fast anybody was. I didn't know how I was going to shoot. Um, but it was just really fun. And I really like the environment of the IBU Cup. I met a lot of people and yeah, I got to see a lot of really fast people racing as well.

[00:26:59] Tom Kelly: In your first two weekends on the IBU Cup, Luci, what's your self-evaluation of your performance?

[00:27:08] Luci Anderson: I'd say I'm very proud of how I did. I'm really excited with the place that I'm at, and I can see where I can improve in my shooting and my my shooting speed, especially. It's just really exciting to know that I can do better.

[00:27:31] Tom Kelly: So you had a 21st in the pursuit at Idre Fjaell, and you had a 25th in the sprint in Geilo. Did you have any benchmarks going in or those performance levels that you were happy with?

[00:27:44] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I was definitely shooting for like a top 30. And I didn't really have any expectation for myself going into the first race because, you know, again, I didn't know how I was going to stack up against all these other racers. But, um, after doing my first race in Idra and seeing how I was able to ski with some of the top skiers, um, I kind of sat myself down. I was like, okay, all I need to do is shoot well and ski fast, and I can do it. I can do this thing. So the 25th and 21st were definitely really great results for me. I'm really happy about that. But I'm excited to try and do better.

[00:28:31] Tom Kelly: And it looks like you did shoot pretty well.

[00:28:34] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I surprised myself on that. Definitely a little better than I expected. No full dirtying of any stages, which is awesome.

[00:28:53] Tom Kelly: So how did you get the call to go to Hochfilzen? Tell us about that.

[00:28:59] Luci Anderson: So I actually I got a call from Lowell and he was like, so Kelsey's a little sick and we have this spot open and you've been racing really well. And we're excited to see what you can do. And if you think you're ready for it, we would love to have you on the World Cup. And so I kind of I was I was like, oh my gosh, this would be such a cool opportunity. I don't know if I'm ready, but I'm going to talk to my coaches and I talk to Julie and to Chad, and they both said, we think you can do it if you're not too nervous about it, if you think you're ready, you should go do it. And so I decided to go and it was great. It was so super fun.

[00:29:51] Tom Kelly: What was the first of all, before we get to the competition aspect of it, what was just the experience like to be in Hochfilzen, one of the most gorgeous places in Europe? And amidst the crowds and all of the excitement that comes with an IBU World Cup, what was that experience like?

[00:30:11] Luci Anderson: It was. It was amazing. I, like I had heard about the crowd sizes for biathlon in Europe and I definitely believed it all, of course, but being there and hearing everybody there cheering for you is just amazing, and I'm so glad that I had all my teammates with me like people that I knew. So not everything was completely different, but there's just so much going on all the time. There's always somewhere you need to be, like, training or like doing dry firing or, you know, there's always something happening. But, yeah, it was really cool to be out there and to be racing and hear people yelling my name. And I'm like, who is out here? I don't know anybody, but they know me. So it's very fun.

[00:31:07] Tom Kelly: From a performance standpoint, and it's hard to evaluate this just from one World Cup because the experience is so new. But what are the performance elements that you took away from being in Hochfilzen that will serve you well in the next trimester?

[00:31:26] Luci Anderson: Definitely going out there and racing was way different than the IBU Cup. Um, not only the spectator aspect, but just all of the athletes around. You are just like, it's the best of the best. So they're all shooting so fast and skiing so fast. Um, so it makes me want to copy them and shoot faster. Shoot more accurate. But yeah, I think coming from that World Cup experience, I'm definitely looking forward to, trying to put down some more fast ski times and to shoot faster.

[00:32:11] Tom Kelly: You know, we've talked earlier today about your ski speed, and you're coming into this with good confidence in your ski speed. You need to learn the shooting when when you put your ski speed up against the World Cup field, did you still feel that sense of confidence that you could stay in contact with those athletes?

[00:32:35] Luci Anderson: Definitely. I know like all those all those athletes are so fast. And it felt good to be kind of up there. Not not the fastest, but to to know that if I am on and if I can shoot, well, that I can do really well. And that's kind of an addicting aspect of biathlon is like, if you can shoot good, you can do good for me at least.

[00:33:12] Tom Kelly: Yeah. And then and where, where do you go from here? What's your. I know you're at the US cross Country Nationals right now. What's your biathlon plan as we head into January?

[00:33:22] Luci Anderson: Yeah. I'm qualified for the next three World Cups, and I won't be at the first one because obviously I'm here. But yeah, I'll fly home tomorrow and then I'll be home for a couple of days, and then I'll fly to Munich on the 13th. Go to race. I think that's Ruhpolding.

[00:33:44] Tom Kelly: Ruhpolding. Yeah.

[00:33:45] Luci Anderson: And then I'll, race Anholtz, and then I will see what I qualify for, um, for the rest of the season. But I'm definitely going to be doing biathlon races.

[00:33:59] Tom Kelly: And are you, you know, do you have to weigh out the benefits of is it more beneficial to go to the World Cup right now or to go to the IBU Cup? Have you been having that discussion with your coaches?

[00:34:13] Luci Anderson: Kind of. I guess for me, I'm, I don't really, like, put a lot of pressure on myself. So being at the World Cup stage, it's not, like insanely nerve-wracking for me or, um, like, I'm not too stressed about it, so going to like IBU or to World Cup isn't really. I feel like for me, mentally, it doesn't really make a difference because they're both, insanely competitive. And right now, since I'm just kind of learning how to do biathlon, both, um, both race circuits would be extremely beneficial for me to be on.

[00:34:57] Tom Kelly: Um, yeah. So it's a learning experience still for you right now, right?

[00:35:02] Luci Anderson: Yes, I would say so.

[00:35:05] Tom Kelly: And then where do you see it going from here? Do you have long-term aspirations.

[00:35:10] Luci Anderson: Yeah I, I don't know, coming into biathlon I wasn't sure how long I was or actually coming into generally just professionally skiing outside of college. I wasn't sure that I was going to be continuing on this journey or, um, even doing biathlon. But now coming into this season and seeing how well I feel like I'm doing and how fit I feel, and I can see that I like have a lot of progress to go and I can. I'm just excited to see where it takes me. And I'm definitely planning on doing biathlon for at least a couple more years.

[00:35:54] Tom Kelly: Well, we're all excited to watch. I think you and Margie and some of the other new athletes who have come over from cross country have really brought a new dimension, so we're anxious to see where that goes. So we're going to wrap it up now with a little section that we call On Target. A few fun questions to close out our conversation. I know that you're new to the international biathlon scene, and you haven't been to that many venues, but do you have a favorite biathlon venue so far?

[00:36:24] Luci Anderson: Yeah, I think I have to say Hochfilzen. I know it was my World Cup debut, so it's very special for many different reasons, but Austria is just beautiful. I've never been to Central Europe before, so it was so gorgeous to be there and the food was amazing. And yeah, the mountains, it's just beautiful.

[00:36:47] Tom Kelly: What was your favorite food item in Hochfilzen?

[00:36:51] Luci Anderson: Oh my gosh. I feel like there were so many, so many fun things. Um. One of the desserts that they had was this, like, plum cigar. I don't know what it was, but it was chocolate and plum, and it was amazing.

[00:37:09] Tom Kelly: Okay, we'll look for that. What's the hardest thing that you've had to learn as a cross-country skier? Transitioning into biathlon? Hardest thing.

[00:37:20] Luci Anderson: I'd say. Well, besides shooting, um, just skiing with the rifle on my back. It's it's hard. The technique is, like, slightly different. And I want to ski how I used to ski. Um, and I do, but it's just, you know, using slightly different, smaller muscles and. Yeah, it's it's definitely hard.

[00:37:44] Tom Kelly: It's little things. I still harken back to when the harness fell off the rifle, and it would have loved to have heard what would have happened if you'd carried it on your shoulder somehow.

[00:37:55] Luci Anderson: I know it would have been a big uphill to carry it up.

[00:37:57] Tom Kelly: But we'll save that for another day. Luci, what's the importance of knitting to you?

[00:38:04] Luci Anderson: Oh, I so now that I'm not in school, I have a lot of free time. That is my recovery time. And I do a lot of knitting. And Grace is also very into knitting with me. We both, we send each other patterns constantly. We're like, oh, we have to make this new sweater. But it's really relaxing, and it's nice to be doing something with my hands and not to just be wasting time on other things like social media or watching movies. But I do watch movies while I knit, so I guess that doesn't count.

[00:38:42] Tom Kelly: But you can multitask when you're knitting. My wife is a huge knitter. I'm curious though, have you knit a sweater?

[00:38:49] Luci Anderson: I have, I've made a couple. I finished one this summer, and then I just recently finished a big pink, green or pink and orange sweater when I was in Finland. Um, that's very cozy for the Finland winter. Yeah.

[00:39:08] Tom Kelly: That's a lot of work.

[00:39:10] Luci Anderson: I have a lot of time, so.

[00:39:12] Tom Kelly: Yes. Excellent. How about an influential person to you in your sporting life?

[00:39:23] Luci Anderson: I'd say just my teammates. And I'm always I'm constantly pushed by my teammates and my … They're always so inspiring to me. Especially, um, my biathlon. My new biathlon family. Um, all the women on the US Biathlon Team are amazing, and I've just been learning so much from all of them, and I'm just so excited for my biathlon career and you know, everything that it'll lead me to.

[00:39:58] Tom Kelly: I love the word you use family because it really is a biathlon family, isn't it?

[00:40:03] Luci Anderson: Yeah, it definitely is. We get to know each other very well.

[00:40:08] Tom Kelly: Well, you have a lot of time together. One last thing. Name one fun thing that you did in Europe that had nothing to do with biathlon. One fun thing.

[00:40:23] Luci Anderson: Lots of coffee shops. That's my goal for this next, um, for this next upcoming stint in Europe is to be doing more fun things outside of biathlon. Um, but coffee.

[00:40:39] Tom Kelly: Coffee. I still have yet to have a cup of coffee, but I know the passion that's involved around it. Well, it is important for you to have fun when you're on the tour. Luci, this has been a wonderful conversation. I appreciate you taking time to talk to all of our heartbeat listeners about your burgeoning career, and we wish you all the best as you head back to the World Cup this month.

[00:41:05] Luci Anderson: Thank you so much for having me, Tom. This was wonderful.

[00:41:09] Tom Kelly: Thanks, Luci. See you soon.