Former Eau Claire Leader-Telegram journalist Jerry Poling’s book, “American Birkebeiner: The Nation’s Greatest Ski Marathon,” has won a ULLR award. The annual award from the International Skiing History Asso-ciation is named after the Norse god of skiing.
A March 9, 2026 piece in the Leader-Telegram shared the award news. According to the story:
Poling is due to receive the award at a ceremony at the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah on Friday, April 10 as part of a two-day celebration that revolves around the history of skiing.
He admitted, though, being surprised by the news that he had won the ULLR.
“I was a little shocked at first because it is an international award. When you write something like this, you just hope that people like it, and that’s the goal — that readers find value in it; that it maybe touches them in some way. It was an honor to just write the book and to undertake the history of this event that is so dear to so many thousands of people who have skied it for so many years,” said Poling.
“So to get the award really was just — well, I guess it was like the old phrase, ‘the icing on top of the cake’,” Poling said.
Poling will be discuss his book during a free author talk event at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St. in Eau Claire, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 12.
