Ken Bradbury skiing toward the WORLDLOPPET MARATHON SERIES, Status Report "2026 Winter Olympics" Update

Ken Bradbury, former Director and Wisconsin State Geologist, is pictured below standing in front of the ski jumps in the ski stadium in Lahti, Finland prior to skiing the Finlandia-Hiihto cross-country ski marathon in 2025.  

The Hiihto is one of the international races making up the Worldloppet marathon series of ski races around the world.  Ken is not only a world-class GeoMan, but he makes the unofficial Winter Olympic GeoMan Model Ski Shirt look great!

Look how happy Ken is in the photo below when he had just completed the 2025 Finlandia-Hiihto in Lahti, Finland!!

Below is a huge milestone achievement among cross country skiers (in my opinion) but it almost seems fairly routine to Ken.   This is one of the moments where Ken is getting his WORLDLOPPET PASSPORT stamped.  

Complete 10 of these races and you are called a Worldloppet Master!  This was Ken's 5th, so he's half way there (but Ken and I are both optimists so we might say, he's more than half way there, LOL).

Ken races cross country skiing closer to home too.  He's completed the Birkebeiner Classic in Hayward, Wisconsin 32 TIMES.  Ken!  You're a gold medal champion in my book.  

Birkebeiner Classic
(Photo courtesy of www.birkie.com)

Ken is the past Director and State Geologist at Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey.  He ensured that the WGNHS served the practical needs of Wisconsin’s citizens, management/regulatory agencies, industry, and the environmental consulting community. 

Before Ken became the State Geologist, he taught CE courses and workshops with Midwest GeoSciences Group in his spare time outside conducting research characterizing and modeling fractured aquifers and to determine groundwater flow paths near water-supply wells. 

If you live or work around Madison, Wisconsin, you might spot Ken riding his Fuji bike in or around town.

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“Big-Big H(o)mer” credited to Carol Rieger PG, RPG, PMP

Hello Dan, Just wanted to thank you and Midwest Geosciences Group for the slugs we have purchased over the past 2 years.  Again, slug testing was a painless and positive experience using the Big H(o) slugs, especially supported by equipment from our buddies at In-Situ.  

We slug tested using a pulley system for with “Big-Big H(o)mer” and I still feel that manually we were able to raise and lower the slug more effectively to have less disturbance at the onset of each test.  Lessons learned will definitely help us improve the mechanical approach.  

As for “Little-Big H(o)mer”, he may not have provided as intense a workout, he but performed admirably. 

Carol with the "Big Big-H(o)mer"
(24 inch initial displacement H(o) in a 4-inch diameter well)

Aquifer testing has come a long way since my first time back in the early 90s.  Between the equipment and training class that you provided back in September 2023, our slug-testing capabilities have definitely improved here at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.    

Cheers!  --Carol 

Carol Rieger, PG, RPG, PMP, Program Hydrogeologist
Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc., Rocky Mountain Arsenal
7270 Kingston Parkway, Commerce City, CO 80022

Dear Carol,

Your note with your photo make my day.  Thank you for leading the way with your technical mastery of slug testing.  And you get the credit and a "big" thank you for your creative naming of the "Big Big H(o)mer" for the solid slug that displaces 24 inches of water vs. "Little Big H(o)mer" for the solid slug that displaces 12 inches of water!  Brilliant creativity!

-Dan Kelleher