Like fellow Yukoner and National Team teammate Emily Nishikawa, cross country skier Dahria Beatty has spent a busy summer training for the upcoming season.

“Training is going well,” said Beatty. “I’m always training. Each summer it is similar base training then depending on the season there is an individual focus as well.”

Throughout the summer Beatty said it was a lot of roller skiing, running and biking and as fall approached the emphasis on roller skiing continued to grow.

As well as the base training, Beatty was able to do three camps to improve her sprinting.

“I wanted to improve my sprinting at top speed,” said Beatty. “I wanted to feel more relaxed so I put myself into the environment to ski faster and move my body faster but not work harder.

“It is easier to do in the summer with roller skis. On snow, you are limited to how fast the snow is.”

An experienced skier with a solid foundational base, Beatty said the training focuses on always bringing the fitness up to the next level and working on the smaller details.

“All these things technical or baseline numbers they are all small percentages,” said Beatty. “That’s the difference between five spots in the results. The base has been built now it’s about the smaller details.”

Analyzing the finer details is something Beatty said comes with the territory of being a cross country skier.

“It’s part of the sport, enjoying looking at the improvements and analyzing technique and results,” said Beatty. “It’s something you get better at each year.”

Beatty spent a good chunk of the summer training in Canmore. She trained in Whitehorse in July and again over Thanksgiving, where she said she was probably the only person really excited to have snow on the ground.

In November, Beatty said she will be competing in two local races in the middle of the month.

“The first races are a month away and I’m looking forward to that, especially getting snow back under by feat,” said Beatty. “They are unofficial races but they are a good way to get ready.”

After those races she will be off to Europe and in December, she will have three races on consecutive weekends before coming home for Christmas.

Beatty said she was happy overall with her season last year and heading into the new one, she wants to make the successes she had previously the new normal.

“I’m definitely hoping to bring my level of consistency up,” said Beatty. “I want good results to become the norm.”

With the goal of consistency in mind, Beatty has set herself lofty but realistic goals.

“I want to be in the top 30,” said Beatty, “at least be in the mix, be there almost every weekend. Finding consistency is what I want to establish.”

With her summer training focusing on the small details, feeling more relaxed and less stressed Beatty said will help her ski to the best of her potential.

“It’s a big dream of mine to make a final,” said Beatty. “It is certainly realistic to put myself into a semifinals at a World Cup race.”

Another plus from her summer spent training is that she got through it injury-free and is feeling fit and ready to take on the challenge of reaching her goals.