Skeleton is a winter sport, where we slide headfirst down the same track as bobsled and luge, at speed reaching 80-90 miles per hour depending on the track. It's a sport of strength and power and explosiveness, and also a sport of finesse and calm and subtle skill. It's a mad adrenaline rush and zen meditation rolled into one, and I love it!

(Though I'll admit, sometimes it's nice to get a little encouragement before going down...i.e. Brad fistbumping me in the pic.)

 

Once the green light comes on, the track is cleared for you. You begin by setting the sled on the ice, with one runner in a groove to keep it straight while you run and push. (The groove ends shortly before the first curve.)

 

Then, within a 30 second countdown, you need to push off the block, run with the sled, and jump on. It's important to get as much accelleration from your push as possible; it's a gravity sport, so every hundredth you lose at the start is an exponential loss as you slide down the track!

 

Once you load, the groove is gone and you must steer the sled down the track. Surprisingly powerful G-forces keep you on the walls of the curves, like this. Each run takes only a minute or so depending on the track, but it feels like much longer.

Races are won and lost by hundredths of seconds, so any mistake is costly. We train both physically and mentally all summer in preparation, and during the race season make sure that every single training run counts!