All the Fastest Snowshoe Racers in New England Showed Up...

...and I WON!!!
OK, not really...first see the post below about dreaming dogs!

Actually I entered the Joppa Hill Snowshoe Sprint race in Bedford, NH and won the race out of a small field of very enthusiastic snowshoe racers. All of the fast guys were somewhere else.

It was another great race put on by Michael Amarello and 3C Race Productions. Due to rain and warmer temperatures the snow season is melting away, but Michael kept the course snow-filled and full of variety. We had to do two loops, but that worked out real well for me as I tend to get lost often.

The race was at The Educational Farm at Joppa Hill. It looks like an interesting place and I'll have to find out more about what they do there. The world's largest port-a-jon was in the barn. I wasn't sure if it was for horses or people at first. The farm had horses and a small burro (or donkey) and sheep sharing a fenced in area right before the start. They were so happy to see people that the little donkey kept running around and getting the sheep running too. It was fun to watch, but it did remind me of my fourth graders a bit and I am supposed to be on vacation and not thinking about them!

There were about 15 people in the two races (one lap or two). I had the lead from the start and hoped the course was well marked. After a short distance we had to run next to a fence and this was the trickiest part of the race as my feet kept breaking through the top layer of snow and sending me off balance. Then the course had a mixture of rolling up and downhills and two little stream crossings. I wasn't sure if I was still on the course after the second crossing and stopped to see if the other racers were following me or if I had gone too far. They signaled me to go on and I eventually found the hill with the turn-around. I came back down and could see and urge on all the other racers as I headed back on the same trail to the start, only to turn around and do the loop again.

I think I won by about a minute or so. I was told both of my laps were done in about the same time. I like the out and back nature of a course like this and found this a fun and entertaining course to run. It would have been nice to have a racer or two to chase during the race as I probably wasn't running as hard as in other races but it was nice to finally win my age division in any race since turning 50 and not only that but to actually win a race. I also came away with a Fuel-Belt as an award. I think this is the end of the snowshoe season. I did four races. After getting my racing snowshoes ten years ago with the intention of entering races, I finally did so this year!

Here are the results from the race:

4.4K Results

1 25:39 Jim Hansen Gate City Striders 50 M Nashua NH
2 27:55 Joe Merriam acidotic RACING 49 M Franklin NH
3 31:39 Bill Howard 60 M Winchester MA
4 32:24 Gary Reuter acidotic RACING 69 M Kittery ME
5 32:57 Michael Amarello acidotic RACING 45 M Merrimack NH
6 33:00 Rand Snyder 20 M Stratham NH
7 36:50 Nancy Brome Sweetie Pies 46 F Manchester NH
8 37:10 Gordon Snyder 59 M Stratham NH
9 39:02 Richard Dinovo Sweetie Pies 41 M Goffstown NH
10 40:24 George Brome Sweetie Pies 47 M Manchester NH

2.2K Results

1 13:33 Brian Crockett acidotic RACING 50 M Gilmanton NH
2 23:52 Karyn Merriman 46 F Bedford NH
3 44:09 Belinda King 34 F Bedford NH
4 44:26 Rheya King 5 F Bedford NH
5 44:27 Stanley King 35 M Bedford NH