
Sophia Laukli — no off-season
“It probably is just a fact that you're going to be better if your focus is all on one. But for me that's not enough to give one of them up. Here's where a mental aspect comes into it — because I have more fun doing both sports, that makes both sports more sustainable.” There’s an obvious argument that committing to two sports will compromise performance in one — or both. For cross-country ski racer and elite trail runner, Sophia Laukli, that counterintuitive, double life is part of her athlete toolkit, helping to keep motivation fresh and prevent burnout.
M: Tell us about the sports you do?
SL: I grew up XC skiing, so I was only 2 or 3 when I first got onto skis. For the most time it was just a recreational sport for me and it wasn't really until 18 that I really started to focus on it and started skiing at college in the US. And it just blew up for me when I got the opportunities to race internationally. It was at that point I really decided I wanted to pursue XC as my career.
Trail running, to me, came pretty late. I grew up really hating to run, so it's funny to think that I do it for a living now as well. It's also something that we do a lot when training for skiing, so I've been running for a while. But it wasn't until relatively recently that I started my first trail races. I'm not sure yet if I've fully, successfully combined the two, but I'm learning how to build running and skiing together. It means I'm competing all year round, which is fun.

M: Which sport do you prefer?
SL: I can't say that one is my favorite — I go back and forth between which one I like more. I'm really happy that I get to do both because I noticed a few years ago, when I was only skiing, I was getting pretty tired with that and losing motivation sometimes, especially with such a long training year. And then you're also not racing so much.
M: Do you remember your first race?
SL: We call them "lollipop races". I remember doing some of these in Maine and when I was living a little bit in Massachusetts as well. It was just this little 500 meter or 1 kilometer race where you do a loop and get a lollipop at the end. But after that, my first real races were, or at least the first race where I really fell in love with skiing, was at the junior world championships in Germany. That was my first international competition.
I found that I'm a very competitive person, so getting the opportunity now to race in the summer too has enabled me to enjoy skiing more. I can fall back on both if one is not going so well. Skiing was always the number one priority, even when I started running, but now I've definitely moved towards wanting to pursue both at the same level and put equal effort into both.

M: How do you transition from one sport to the other during the year?
SL: It's definitely something I'm still working on. There has been a lot of trial and error this last year. In the past I really didn't take so much time between skiing and running. I essentially took just 2 days off and then went to running camp, got injured there, and then had a really tough time getting back into running because I didn't take that break. So I definitely learned a lot from that.
M: Do you do any running during ski season?
SL: I try, but it's hard when there's snow everywhere. But I definitely try to keep in some treadmill workouts. We run recovery jogs a lot in the winter, but it's not much more than 20k a week maybe. By the time it gets to the spring I do feel like I'm playing catch-up a bit, which I have to be very smart and cautious about. If I go too hard and fast that's when fatigue and injury can get the best of me.
M: How do you train effectively for both?
SL: I think this last year I really learned a lot about what I need and what my body needs to be best at both. I just thought it was about being in shape and that my ski training would be enough, and that I would just be good at running as a result. At some of the running races this year I realised that I was in really good ski shape, but then I would get to the running races and would just not have those legs. This coming year I do need to run more — to shift a bit from 100% training for skiing. It's cool to be able to combine the two, but when there aren't many others who do it, you don't really know how you're supposed to do it. I'm trying to navigate that myself.
What I can do now is end the ski season a week early, take a couple of weeks and then really not do so much. A lot of runners will begin their training in January or February and then start racing in April, but I will start my running season a little bit late. On both ends — spring and fall — I'll have two weeks off between the two sports where I try to have some sort of proper vacation.

M: How hard is cross country skiing?
SL: Skiing is interesting because each course we race on is so different. Some can be very anaerobic heavy and others might be more aerobic. It's pretty clear to me which course I do well at in skiing - it's when the course is super-hilly and very hard. It's exciting because it makes for a completely different type of race each weekend. A lot of it can be out of my control.
M: How long does a race last?
SL: I'm a distance skier. There are sprint races, but I'm definitely not a sprinter. The races I do are typically 10km up to 50km. So the shortest I do is around 25 minutes, and that's the most typical race we do. Some races will be up to an hour and then a few times a year we'll do a race that could be a couple of hours long.
M: Talk us through the equipment that you need for ski racing?
SL: I have too many sets of skis. I counted them up recently, and I have about 50 pairs of skis — 25 skate skis and 25 classic — just because every single condition is different and every ski is meant for a different condition, so you need to have a lot of options. When I'm on the start line of a ski race I'm nervous because it's going to be painful and you hope that you're in good shape. And then you have all these other thoughts hoping that your skis are going to be good as well.
I'm depending on the course, the conditions, the altitude, and the wax on the skis — there's so much at play. A lot has to go right for you to have a good race, which means when you do well that it's super-rewarding. I think that's one of the great things about ski racing, that when you see all the women on the start line, they all look completely different because there's not one type of person that's suited to skiing. And you get different results because of that.


M: Do you get nervous before races?
SL: I've definitely noticed that my mentality before ski races and running races are very different. I get nervous before running races, but it's more just hoping that I feel good — that this is going to be a really long race if I don't feel good.
M: Does ski racing complement your running and vice versa?
SL: I think that when I do it right the ski racing really benefits the running because I'm able to train a lot more on skis but with a lower load, and that should give me a strong endurance base. In general, I think it helps me avoid running injuries more because I'm using more muscles but having less impact on my body.
But in skiing it's easier to get in your own head about things. Sometimes I will get stressed about the course, if there is a scary downhill or if it's a mass start and you could crash into other skiers. There's so much more at play and that can be more mentally exhausting.

M: What is the different vibe of the ski and trail running scenes?
SL: I would say that the ski scene is a much more serious and competitive vibe. You're racing with your nation, against all the other nations, and it's like everyone is in their own little bubble. You're friends with all the competitors, but once it's race time, you're lazer-focused. It can be quite intense. Whereas in running, everyone is very competitive as well, but it's more of a laid-back race environment. The trail running world is a bit different, because you have so many different circuits and it's more of a social occasion because I may only see some athletes once or twice each year.
M: How does the intensity of a ski race compare to the relative loneliness of a long-distance trail race?
SL: When I first got into trail running I would think about the concept of running for three or four hours alone, and how boring and hard that must be. But in reality, it's almost like the running races go by as quickly as the 30 minute ski races. And the pain cave of both are very different.
A ski race gives the impression of feeling harder because it's much shorter so you're really pushing and you're using the whole body, so everything hurts. Although in a running race the effort can be more constant — a threshold pace that I can sustain for a very long time — you go through many more phases, often questioning whether you can get to the finish line. Then 20 minutes later you might feel amazing again.
Having equal motivation in both is maybe why not many people try and do both sports, even though many of the other skiers are also excellent runners. It probably is just a fact that you're going to be better if your focus is all on one. But for me that's not enough to give one of them up. Here's where a mental aspect comes into it, because I have more fun doing both sports and that makes both sports more sustainable. I'll probably perform better if I'm having a good time.
