Product Description

This comprehensive guide to cross-country skiing has been
written for beginners and advanced skiers alike, and for track enthusiasts
as well as mountain tourers. It also gives detailed coverage of the new
sport of Nordic walking and contains chapters on general fitness and on
building a training programme.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #447175 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-10
• Binding: Paperback
• 166 pages

From the Publisher
The following review was written for Ski Nordic magazine by
Roger Homyer, ski instructor and writer.

"Stride and Glide" is a great name for a book about the world of
cross-country skiing and Nordic walking. You would expect Paddy Field and
Stuart Montgomery with their wealth of experience to come up with a text
that appeals to British cross-country skiers. They have achieved this with
some flair to produce a very readable manual which should find a place onto
your bookshelf.

The content is comprehensive and designed to appeal to beginners and the
more advanced. The bulk of the manual covers cross-country skiing with
chapters on techniques (classic, skate and turns), getting started, racing,
and off-track touring. Nothing is lost through such an approach and I found
myself avidly reading each section over and over from a coach's standpoint.
It is here that the excellence of the illustrations is most helpful. The
photo sequences of each technique are superb and are supported by Norman
Clark's helpful line drawings. My particular favourite was the photo of
former world champion Bente Skari and the points made on diagonal stride
which referred to the photo. Different styles of double poling are
discussed and illustrated and the book is bang-up-to-date with modern
thinking. The different skates are covered by photo sequences and there is
a helpful clarification of nearly 40 different names given to them. Colour
photos appear throughout and both illustrate and flavour the read.

There are chapters too on skiing with children, equipment and clothing,
racing, where to ski, and on the black art of waxing. The approach of
giving basic explanations for beginners followed by in-depth information
continues and broadens the appeal of the book. You will find yourself
musing over the text while you look at beautiful tracks cut through a
winter landscape and wonder how soon it will be before you can cut tracks
of your own.

Nordic walking is a fast-growing activity that has proved very popular on
the continent. I am glad it has been included in the manual as many
cross-country skiers will both benefit from and enjoy striding out with
poles. As with cross-country skiing there are an infinite number of
progressions to try both in their own right and as fitness and technical
training for skiing. Roller skiing is also included and this, too, is
seeing a surge in popularity for both general fitness training and
ski-specific preparation.

The book concludes with a look at fitness and building a training
programme. These are excellent chapters containing information of use to
novices, racers and coaches. The authors' impressive knowledge and
enthusiasm comes across and will motivate many to create their own
programme.

In short, this is a book that is great fun to read. Professionally produced
and with something for everyone you will find yourself dipping into it
again and again. Paddy and Stuart are to be congratulated on bringing a
book of this quality to our sport.

About the Author
A former international athlete and coach, Paddy Field has spent
the last 30 years skiing cross-country in more than 25 countries around the
world. He is widely experienced in all aspects of the sport and has since
1987 been a Technical Delegate for the FIS (International Ski Federation),
whilst building a worldwide reputation as the chairman of the FIS committee
responsible for marathon ski racing.
Within the UK, Paddy has held a number of senior administrative
appointments in cross-country skiing, including Nordic Director of the
British Ski & Snowboard Federation and Chair of the English Ski Council's
Nordic Key Committee.
Since 1993 Paddy has been the editor of SKI NORDIC, the only British
magazine dedicated to cross-country skiing. He was also co-author of
Cross-Country Skiing, published in 1987.

After many years of winter hillwalking in his native Scotland, Stuart
Montgomery took up cross-country skiing in the late 1970s. Since then he
has instructed and led many cross-country skiing groups in Austria, Italy,
Norway and Switzerland. His own personal skiing has taken him also to
Finland, France, Spain and Sweden, and has included mountain touring in
remote areas as well as track skiing and racing.
Since 1990 he has held management positions in specialist travel companies,
organising holidays and courses for cross-country skiers and walkers. He is
now a director of the tour operator, XCuk Limited.
Stuart is a qualified Nordic walking instructor. He also holds instructor
qualifications in general fitness and in mountain navigation.