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Ian Duncan's journey to the Birkie start line is pretty unusual. There probably aren't many Edinburgh, Scotland boarding school students who end up skiing 39 Birkies. Even fewer who can count Bjorn Daehlie as a friend. Dr. Ian Duncan has spent his life working to find solutions to Multiple Sclerosis and other brain disorders in his career at UW Madison. His research is ongoing and still productive so he continues his efforts even after retiring from teaching at the University. About 15 years ago, he was part of the team who organized the Ski for a Cure efforts on behalf of MS research and together they raised $300,000 dollars toward that cause. In doing so, he was able to bring Bjorn Daehlie and Vegard Ulvang to help raise interest and awareness for that work.

The 2013 Wisconsin Public Television documentary, 'MS, the Vikings and Nordic Skiing' tells the story of six skiers (3 in Norway and 3 in the US) with MS who train to ski their respective Birkies. It's a really interesting story and I recommend it to everyone. Ian was instrumental in producing this story, and is featured in it.

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Welcome to the Birch Legacies podcast. We are sharing stories celebrating the motivation, the perserverence, and the lifestyle choices necessary to reach the status of Birchlegger - that is, skiers who have completed 20 or more Birkies, Korteloppets, or a combination of both. We would love to hear from Birchleggers young and old (that's you!) who have a story to tell about what keeps them coming back year after year.

If you would like to appear on the podcast, please send Jon Peterson an email at [email protected] or you can fill out this form

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