PRESQUE ISLE – In the cross-country skiing world, there are two kinds of people: those who have skied “the Birkie” and those who haven’t.

A crew of 16 people from northern Maine will be gliding into that first group this week as they head to Wisconsin to take part in the 34th annual American Birkebeiner cross-country ski race.

At 51 km, the Birkie is North America’s largest cross-country ski marathon, according to the ski event’s Web site. The event, which runs Feb. 22-24, is held in Hayward, Wis., and is expected to attract more than 9,000 skiers from around the world.

“This is a rite of passage for most skiers – either you’ve done the Birkie or you haven’t,” John Farra, the Maine Winter Sports Center’s vice president of programs and trip organizer, said on Tuesday.

The County contingent left early Wednesday morning for the race with plans to return Sunday night. Farra said the group will increase to a total of 18 when members meet up with Colorado residents Greg and Liz Rawlins, who have strong ties to the Maine Winter Sports Center.

The group includes Tom Keefe, David Chamberlain, Will Sweetser, Sarah Dominick and Eileen Carey, who will participate in the top two elite waves; Carl Soderberg, Jeff Dubis and Greg Rawlings, wave 3; and Scott Johnstone, John Farra, Melanie Stewart, Brent Jepson, Rob Kieffer, Sherry Dubis, Connie McLellan, Roy Bernard, Linda Page, Norman Page and Liz Rawlings, wave 6.

Farra explained that there are 10 different race seeds and that the first four or five waves are highly coveted.

“We have people in the elite seed … for those guys, that’s an accomplishment in itself,” Farra said. “The rest of us will be in wave 6. If you’ve never done the Birkie, they generally put you in wave 10, a.k.a. ‘the parking lot.’ So we were pleased. It’s nice to be somewhere in the middle of taking it really seriously and moving at a great rate so it doesn’t take all day.”

Still, Farra said everyone is trying to be realistic about the race.

“The people in the elite waves, they’re taking it pretty seriously. They’re hoping for good performances,” he said. “I expect, though, that some of us will not make it 51 kilometers without bonking.”

This is the fifth year in a row that the MWSC has organized a trip for master skiers and adult racers. County skiers have visited Canada, Norway and Italy, but Farra said more people than ever are participating in this particular trip.

“I think the combination of it being a relatively short trip, easy travel, and cost effective made it appealing to a lot of folks,” Farra said. “And a lot of people going on these trips are leaders in their communities in terms of youth and club skiing. They really love skiing and want to see it be a bigger part of their communities, so it’s nice to get everyone together and do this trip.”

Farra does have an ulterior motive, however, which is for the group to pay attention to how event organizers pull off the race.

“This place [in Wisconsin] is not much different from where we live,” Farra said. “I sure would like us to move in the direction of having a race of this magnitude here.”