AOTW: Kendall Kramer elevates UAF running, skiing programs

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - As Fairbanks standout Kendall Kramer wraps up her collegiate career, it’s becoming clear that her decision to stay in Alaska elevated both the Nanook skiing and running programs.

Kramer chose to compete for the University of Alaska Fairbanks after a star-studded career at West Valley High School.

Kramer has Fairbanks in her blood.

“When you’re a senior in high school, it feels like — or at least for me — it felt like I had every option in the world and it was really tough, there were so many things to weigh,“ she said. ”I didn’t know if I wanted to just run, ski and run, not do anything at all ... and there was obviously lots of places I could go, I think what sold me is I could ski and run at a high level and the programs were interlinked.”

As a cross-country skier and runner, she has helped transform the UAF running and skiing programs over the last five years.

Her ski and running coach at UAF, Eliska Albrigtsen, can attest to that.

“She raises the bar on how hard to train and how hard to race, definitely very high up,” Albrigtsen said. “And [she] also makes it cool for locals to stay and go to Alaska colleges.”

Last fall, Kramer finished as the national runner-up in cross-country running at the NCAA Division II Championships in Sacramento, California.

In January, she finished one spot better at the U.S. Cross Country Ski Championships at Anchorage’s Kincaid Park, winning the women’s 20-kilometer classic race.

With only a few races left with the Nanooks ski program, Kramer feels she has more than left her tracks in the Golden Heart City.

“This year has been great obviously and I am really glad to get that confidence back,” Kramer said.

“Sometimes you don’t have a concept of how many people are watching, or how many people you’re kind of like a hero or inspiration to because you’re not seeing them day-to-day, but it is really awesome that I have fans that I am doing it for, or people that are inspired from Fairbanks, so that is motivating.”

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