The American Birkebeiner (or Birkie) is the largest, and one of the longest (51 km Freestyle and 55 km Classical events) cross country ski races in North America. It debuted in 1973 and has been a part of Worldloppet as long as Worldloppet has been around. The two premier events are the 55 km (34 mi) classic and the 51 km (32 mi) freestyle race from Cable to Hayward, Wisconsin. Each year approximately 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, 26 km Kortelopet, and 12 km Prince Haakon events. The 42nd Birkie was held on February 21, 2015. The Birkie is a member race of the Worldloppet Ski Federation.
The race, which is held annually in February, was started in 1973 by Tony Wise. Wise, who started the Telemark Ski Area in Cable, Wisconsin in 1947, helped to popularize modern-day cross-country skiing when he built trails at Telemark in 1972. In February 1973, Wise drew on his Norwegian heritage in starting a race named after a famous event in Norway.
The Birkie was named after the Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet, which commemorates an important historical event. In 1206 a group of Birkebeiner party soldiers, who fought for Sverre Sigurdsson and his descendants in the Norwegian civil war, smuggled the illegitimate son of Norway's King Håkon Sverresson from Lillehammer to safety in Trondheim. In the Norwegian Birkie, skiers still carry packs symbolizing the weight of an 18-month-old child. The packs also contain extra food, clothing and survival gear to protect against unexpected weather changes in the harsh sub-Arctic mountains that the skiers cross during the race.
More nightmares
Someone wake me when they're through
Stop my lover's ghost from trying to protrude
(You're burning, you're burning)
It's chaotic, but I've got it
You're letter scratched across my throat
Like some painter's ink, spilled the canvas soiling parts of me
Cover up, cover up, all the fusion's lost
I know this sucks but one day you'll meet up
I miss the softness of your sound
The taste of you left in my mouth
Is Mississippi done yet burning?
Sick sounds like stomach's stinging
I search out, but you cannot be found
A red horizon in the south
Is Mississippi done yet burning?
Most nights bleat every feeling
I must get back to you somehow
I must get back to you
Your shadow
Now lies against the moon
The skin I touched that once
Kissed has come unglued
(You're burning, you're burning)
It's chaotic, but I've got it
More screams than anyone should hear
The voice of you stabs in my chest
Forged and faithless
Cover up, cover up, all the fusion's lost
I know this sucks but one day you'll meet up
I miss the softness of your sound
The taste of you left in my mouth
Is Mississippi done yet burning?
Sick sounds like stomach's stinging
I search out, but you cannot be found
A red horizon in the south
Is Mississippi done yet burning?
Most nights bleat every feeling
I must get back to you somehow
I must get back to you
Darling boy
Lift your chin up for me now
For my face to see
And I am smiling looking down
I know you're out of breath
You're hit by the way I've left
Just hold me tried and true
For I'll be waiting
Waiting here for you
So dim these lights, I won't be found
This haunting stops right here and now
There's pain and in his eyes of fixed dreaming
I'm tired without you, so let it be
So dim these lights, I won't be found
This haunting stops right here and now
There's pain in his eyes of fixed dreaming
I'm tired without you, so let it be
Is Mississippi done yet burning?
Most nights bleat every feeling
I must get back to you somehow