Toby Markowitz
A native of Washington, D.C., Toby was exposed to skiing at Montana State University while studying electrical engineering. In 1967, he moved to Minnesota, eventually joining Medtronic, where he was named inventor on multiple patents covering cardiac pacing, sleep apnea and cardiac mapping. Soon after moving to the Midwest, he joined the National Ski Patrol as a downhill skier and was introduced to cross country skiing.
Toby is a founder of the Viking Nordic (Twin Cities) and Birkie ski patrols. He retired from patrolling in the early 90's. Toby continues to volunteer at the Birkie. He has coached skiing to youth, middle school, high school, masters and skiers with autism. He has skied citizen races in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In the mid-2010s,Toby developed a cross-country ski flex tester for Finn Sisu in Lauderdale, MN.
In 2000, Toby founded WAMXC, like minded Women And Men who Cross Country ski and drink coffee. Toby retired from Medtronic in 2011 and lives in Roseville MN.