Today is Vasaloppet, the annual 90 kg cross-country ski race between Sälen and Mora in Dalarna, Sweden. It commemorates a legendary escape made on skis by the future King Gustav I in 1520. When you win the Vasaloppet a local young person in folk costume chases you down the home stretch and plays ring toss with a large wreath and your head. Or tries!


My brain must have been installed backward because I still don't get why men are so much more interested in men's athletics than in women's athletics. Women have been engaged in organized sports for over a century, and doing amazing things from the beginning. As an example I submit this photo of the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, taken in 1908. (And stolen by me from