An Interview with the B-man (hint: its not Butler)

Brendan Green has been setting the bar for many years for young, Northern athletes. It was always a huge inspiration to have such a fast skier residing just across the lake from me in my first steps on the ski scene as a midget. We didn't "bang heads" much after my midget days, but he was definitely a big idol for me especially with his legendary win in the 5 km Free at the 2000 Arctic Winter Games. To this day he continues to dom people in races. Biathlon, skiing, running, you name it. And he will dom you.


TD: Brendan Green! Wow. Tell us about yourself. The whole background check, don’t leave anything out.

BG: Alright! I am 21 years old and was born and raised in Hay River, NT. My family has always been strongly involved in Nordic sports, and with me being the youngest of six siblings; I had my work cut out to keep up to the rest of the family. I started out racing cross country, began biathlon when I was in Grade 4, and from then on raced either of the sports whenever I had a chance. After I won my first Canadian Championships in 2001 I began to focus solely on biathlon and was named to a Talent Identification Team initiated and funded by Biathlon Canada and CODA. This program brought together talented biathletes from across Western Canada in the hopes of grooming a younger generation of athletes into the National Team program. I trained hard over the next few years and worked my way up through the Talent ID program and onto the National Team. I have been part of the program for a few years now and am currently training full time in Canmore with the National Team.


TD: You have pulled out some huge wins in your day. AWG gold in the 5km skate mass start in 2000 in Whitehorse, defended that Free Mass Start title in Whitehorse at the 2007 CWG, won a few ZRS’s and are fresh off a win against a star-studded field (including the cocky, but great, Curtis M) at the Canada Day Fun Run in Canmore. You have also consistently made your presence felt in the Biathlon ranks in Canada, consistently among the best, and have experienced international success at a young age. Can you go into some detail for a few of these races? First big win, career highlight races, etc… Obviously you are on fire with your running shape this year. Can you comment on this as well? Are you reading into it very much?

BG: I guess my first big win was AWG gold in 2000. That result made me realize that I may have potential in the sport and resulted in me taking training and racing a lot more seriously.

As far as career highlights go, I would have to say that my two podium finishes (silver in 2005 and bronze in 2007) in the relay at World Juniors would rank the highest. I had really great performances all week at the 2007 World Junior Champs and getting to finish the week off with a sprint to the finish with Norway for silver and bronze was the icing on the cake. Sharing the podium with the world’s best is an amazing and extremely motivating experience.

As for the running, I’m not sure what to say! I enjoy running a lot but it’s not something I’m seriously into or read up on. Biathlon is the focus and running is just used as training. I don’t run as often as I did when I was training up north but maybe it’s a new realm I’ll have to explore when I’m retired from biathlon!


TD: You have been known to crush the competition in the final stages of a race. What can you attribute your devastating finishing kick to? Do you do anything in training to practice it? Or is it derived from a more primal source? Like from running away from polar bears in Hay River?

BG: Hmm, tough question to answer. It’s not something I train specifically to do. I have a history of a relatively low lactate curve and have found that if I’m careful not to blow my lactate in the early stages of a race, I can usually count on racing decently strong in the later stages of a race.

On the other hand, perhaps it is a result of some sort of genetic mutation or trait that northern athletes are born with. Maybe it’s necessary while training alone in the harsh and isolated northern climate to have an ‘extra gear’ handy, in case you do come face to face with a polar bear or other gnarly northern creature.

TD: (laughing)


TD: What are your main objectives for this year?

BG: Main objective will be to qualify for European tours. Team trials for first the World Cup and IBU cup tour will be held on roller skis in September and then another set of trial races will be held in January for the World Championship and European Championship tours. It would also be awesome to race the Canadian World Cup in Whistler, and as always, I hope to have strong results at the Canadian Championships.


TD: Who is your fav training partner in Hay River? (even if you don’t have one, you still have to name somebody)

BG: I did the majority of my training alone during my last few years in Hay River. It was always dark out or getting dark when I trained so it was often just me and my shadow out on the trails. Fortunately there are 5km of lit trails so that made training at night a lot easier. I did a lot of shooting work with Pat Bobinski, and training sessions here and there with Amy MacDonald, who was also training seriously for biathlon.


TD: Are you currently taking school? What are your career ambitions after your career with the “Dark Side”?

BG: School is currently on hold. I did a bit of correspondence when I first moved to Canmore but I wasn’t really a fan. I found the courses really dry which made motivation difficult. I currently have a part time job and work a couple days a week for something different to do. Maybe I’ll give correspondence another go soon, we shall see! When I’m done with biathlon I’ll definitely head back to school.


TD: Where is your favourite place to ski? Where is your favourite place to shoot? (do biathletes have fav places to shoot???)

BG: In 2007 prior to World Junior Champs, we did a mini training camp in Austria and took a day trip to Antholz, Italy, where the Sr. World Champs were being held in a few weeks time. Everything was already more or less set up for the races. The grand stands in the stadium that would soon be filled with thousands of spectators were constructed, and the trails were race ready. It was awesome. Skiing through the stadium past the range and massive spectator stands gave me shivers every time. The rolling and super fun trails were in pristine condition which made for a wicked day of training. It was definitely one of the more inspiring days I’ve had on skis.


TD: I was stalking your facebook the other day and you had some sweet pics from “spring in the riv”. Looks like your place got a bit flooded. Wha’ happened? Also, looks like you had a sick camp up at Mt Washington. How did that go?

BG: Yeah, every year when the ice on the river breaks up and jams into the lake ice, there is a risk of flooding. This year things got pretty intense and one of the Islands (Old Town) was partially flooded for a day or two. It was pretty crazy to see but also a little frustrating because I was unable to get out skiing on the lake for a few days.

Mt. Washington is pretty sweet and comes with a lot of bonuses. The resort was very accommodating and provided us with a 2km loop on top that was groomed daily (a little short but fine for the training we were doing). When the sun came out we were provided with stellar views and for once we were able to ski on top of a mountain and breathe easily at the same time. Skiing at a lower elevation was especially nice. There was still a ton of snow, they easily had over a meter base on top of the mountain and we had access to a shooting range minutes from our door. After skiing in the morning, we would drop down to sea level for our afternoon workouts which would consist of sea kayaking, running along the ocean on sweet trails, or mountain biking on the most technical and slippery root infested trails I’ve ever ridden. After a long and hard week of training we spent two days relaxing and surfing in Tofino which was sweet. This was our second camp at Mt. Washington and I’m sure we’ll be back for more spring training there.


TD: Which has better spring skiing. HR or YK? I know you haven’t done YK yet, but you must have seen some pics or something. We do have the advantage of the sick 50 km Drybones road…

BG: I always thought HR had pretty sweet spring skiing until I saw pictures of what you and your crew were up to in YK. In HR it’s always out and back with no real destination, which is cool, but I think the loops you can do in YK would be a lot more fun. I was definitely jealous of your 100km ski, so if conditions are good next year I may have to spend a couple days skiing in YK!


TD: On a cold training day in Hay River, say -30, when you have a combination workout planned, what would you do? (I know you’re living and training in Canmore, so I guess what did you do) Take the day off? Modify? Let’s hear the thought process, since being a biathlete in the North is so flipping hard cause its always too cold to skate and I’m sure a few ppl could use some cold weather shooting tips…

BG: Yeah, the cold weather is the only real downside to training in the north and it’s something you have to deal with a lot. The cold snaps were frustrating, especially when they went on for weeks and weeks and weeks, but I would still manage to get most of my hours in. I’d often have to shorten my combo workouts to maintain quality and spend less time skiing, or I wouldn’t skate at all for a couple of weeks and just do classic, but even then there were times when it was so slow that even doing classic was pointless. I remember how stoked I used to get when it would warm up to -20 after a couple weeks of some really cold weather. I would take advantage of the warmer days and do time trials or get in some other types of intensity! During cold snaps I would do all my intensity work on a treadmill, which was the only way I could get quality work in and stay ‘snappy.’ The big thing that worried me the most, and that I had to try and avoid, was trying to not let my body get used to the slow conditions and let my muscles adapt, which would result in me becoming sluggish and less snappy. This definitely happened a few times and avoiding it wasn’t always easy. It took a little while to figure out, but that’s why in the later years I would switch my intensity sessions to a running treadmill when it got too cold skate, which sometimes was a lot.


TD: In closing, (the rando-question of the day) what would be the best vehicle for your lifestyle and why?

BG: I got a ride to Calgary the other day in my coach’s new Audi which was a pretty sweet ride. I think an Audi would suit me best. They’re functional, yet speedy and powerful.

TD: Just like you...haha, oh man... Thanks Brendan for the riveting interview!

Spring Training on Mt. Washington

Sprinting to the finish with Norway for Silver and Bronze - 2007 World Junior Championships Relay - Italy

On the Podium at the 2008 Canadian Championships with Robin Clegg (left) and Tim Burke (Centre) - Callaghan Valley