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'What do you want to do today?'
by Bruce Steinberg
Chapin, now 37, has placed in the top 50 at the Birkie five times between 1995 and 2007 (as well as 51st in 1994 and 54th in 2002), including a personal best 29th-place finish in '95. In 2005, he finished in 2 hours, 15 minutes for 43rd place, and in 2:30 in 2006 despite suffering several race-threatening asthma attacks before crossing the finish line. The kicker is that Chapin, even as an elite skier in his early days, skated V-1 on his left side only. That's it. A punch to the jaws of all those who ski train year-round is that he rarely roller skis. And the knockout blow is that cross-country skiing, which he does love, isn't his favorite silent sport. So now let's consider Chapin's running accomplishments. It was his win at the 2006 Birkie Trail 15K that first caught my eye and first made me want to track him down. He ran that race in 56:33 seconds, finishing more than 5 minutes faster than the second-place finisher. And Chapin had to stop three times because of his asthma. Just to confirm Chapin didn't take some super secret no-hills shortcut, I looked up his 2005 finish. He won then, too, in 56:48, almost 3 minutes faster than the next guy. But guess what? Trail running isn't his favorite silent sport either. That would be mountain biking singletrack through the woods. Consequently, in 2005, Chapin came in 18th overall in the Chequamegon 40. He has been a top 30 finisher in that race several times. He won the 18-mile Short and Fat at the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival in 1996 and finished five seconds out of first place in 1999. But wait. There's more. This spring, Chapin had vein surgery to relieve chronic pain in his legs. A couple months later, two days before we talked, he competed in the Duluth Duathlon. Despite his surgery, a powerful headwind in the 20.4-mile road bike section and a largely uphill course in the two 3.3-mile running segments, Chapin came in sixth overall and first in his age group. I compared Chapin's aerobic makeup to that of a Ferrari loaded with jet fuel, while I and most others have little more than a four-cylinder, 87-octane engine under our hoods. Chapin readily admits to the large role of genetics in a citizen elite racer's success. Although Chapin is obviously competitive, he's disarming and easy to talk to. With great humility and appreciation, he credits the Cable-Seeley Hills-Hayward area of northwestern Wisconsin for providing his playground and a diverse, accommodating group of friends and training partners. But how has Chapin managed to compete at the elite level for more than 20 years now? According to him, the central secret is the enjoyment he gets out of training and competing at that level. For Chapin, a positive attitude is the foundation for everything, and his training methods prove it. "Some people take me to be serious and structured every day, which is not true," Chapin insists. "I'm a competitive guy, but that really doesn't happen until race day. When training, I kind of pick what I do as I go along." Clearly, Chapin is the master of cross training. But he says that when he wakes up in the morning, he doesn't necessarily know what activity he'll be doing. There's no question he will do some training almost every day, but he allows his mind and body the flexibility to choose the way and the means of his exertion. During the winters and summers, when race preparation is at its peak, Chapin will put in 12 to 15 hours of training per week. That's an increase from seven to 10 hours per week in the spring and fall. By doing this, Chapin manages to stay in shape year-round. He says he has never taken more than four consecutive days off from training since he began racing in high school in River Falls and continued on at the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire, a Division III school, where he became a National Qualifier in the 10K. He always includes some intensity training, either by doing intervals or short time trials, once or perhaps two times per week, in order to minimize the shock of a race. And he sharpens his racing shape by racing. Chapin's PRs include a 1:09 half-marathon and a 2:25 marathon. With age comes the tendency to train longer but slower. But Chapin's success over so many years has resulted from continuing to submit himself to the pain of at least one fast workout a week. Yet Chapin refuses to train twice a day or roller ski – anything that he doesn't, again, enjoy. Beyond that, he keeps himself open to spontaneous variation from day to day. The alternative has led to burnout for many an athlete. So it seems Chapin must be onto something. A fun and variable training program allows for a variety of training partners. Scott, in fact, rarely trains by himself. He will often call a buddy up to ask, "What do you want to do today?" Within five miles of his home in the Seeley Hills-Hayward area, there are some 30 people he can and does call. Those folks include Tom Meyer, Jeff Schmid, Terry Tansey, Tom and Jesrin Gaier and Craig Kalschuer. "Training with others is an incredible excuse to hang out with friends and make new friends," Chapin says. "Obviously there can be a lot of competition between training partners, which makes things interesting and enhances everyone's fitness levels." Chapin is also a regular at several weekly bike rides, including the Tuesday New Moon group ride, the Thursday Chequama Mama ride, the Thursday mountain bike time trials, and the Sunday Riverbrook group ride. Of course. living near the Birkie and CAMBA trails and the Chequamegon National Forest inspires one to get out the door, too. But even if you're not so fortunate to live there, Chapin's approach is applicable wherever you are. With active and like-minded friends, new places and new ways of experiencing them can be discovered where previously they were overlooked. Scott's approach to silent sports carries over into his full-time career at RJF Agencies in Hayward, a company focused on business insurance and planning. He also involves himself in the Sawyer County area as a member of three boards. Chapin is the president of the Northland Area Builders Association, a trade organization for area contractors; a member of the American Birkebeiner Foundation Board, serving as head of skier development; and on the board of the Sawyer County Economic Development Corporation. While that may sound like a full plate of responsibility, Chapin does not have children at this point in his life. If he did, he realizes he would likely spend his time and rank his priorities differently. Still, he imagines his athletic endeavors being shared with children and contributing to healthy and family endeavors. Chapin believes silent sports participation is ideal for forming bonds between family members, friends and with the environment. The personal accomplishments that come from exploring one's physical boundaries are valuable, too. For it is fun and enjoyment that supplies the best fuel, no matter the size of the engine within oneself. Bruce Steinberg is a lawyer who lives in St. Charles, Illinois, with his ski waxing intolerant but otherwise loving wife and their young son.
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