2014 Granite State Snowshoe Championships

Wow, it was the last snowshoe race of the year and I am glad it is over and thrilled with what I was able to accomplish. The Granite State Snowshoe Championships held at Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire ended up being the most difficult of the 6 snowshoe races I ran this winter and the fifth Saturday in a row that I had a race. The course was designed to be more difficult than the USA National Championships held last week in Vermont and it didn't disappoint.

Saturday was another perfect day for racing and at the start of the 10K course I felt pretty good. Without really trying, I found myself a few minutes into the race easily running with much faster athletes. I was almost feeling like a runner again and it must be due to dropping about 12 pounds in the previous three weeks as it certainly is not my training. Again, I am only training by riding my ElliptiGO indoors on a bike trainer with the only actual running being the weekly snowshoe race.

After a few minutes on the course, we started going up some hills. I felt good on the uphills despite the challenge of running on them. I also realized I was ahead of many racers that I had not beaten all year. Of course, my goal this year was just to have fun and not worry about competition, but all of a sudden I was dreaming of being competitive.



I was keeping my pace on the uphills, but all uphills lead to downhills and twisty turn-filled downhills are not my forte with my bad hip. I do not have the stability and mobility or even the hip strength to charge down a hill. About halfway into the race, I started stopping to let racers go by me, so they could surf the downhills at a faster pace then mine. When we hit the very steep uphills, I tended to catch back up to most of the racers who had passed me.

Then we started getting steeper downhills and I had to slow way down. I was tripping a lot (about 5 times in the race) and when you trip on a downhill, you can hit the ground pretty hard (or a tree or a rock and you could possibly fall down a 30 foot cliff-like drop that you are racing across). I was embarrassed to have to really dig in on these sections in a bid to slow to a pace my hip could handle. When I let other racers by, they seemed to be enjoying rocketing down the hills and they were quickly out of view. I felt like a Volkswagen racing Ferraris. The two biggest uphills were on the second half of the course and were unlike anything I have seen in yet snowshoe racing. On one steep incline I took a step forward, but lurched back and actually lost a couple of steps. Of course at the end of the two big uphills, there would be some screaming downs, and I lost so much time just trying to stay on my feet. In the last half of the race, I lost at least 12 places and looking at the results, either they were speeding up or I was slowing down. It was that I was slowing down as I ran with fear in my eyes on some of the downhills.

When I finally hit the flat ground closer to the finish I was so beat up that I had I hard time chugging it in at a faster pace. I finished 2nd overall in the 50-59 age group in the final championship results mostly because the fast guys didn't' race enough times to get a final score. I started the season, not even sure if I could race one event. I ended up having a good time at the six races that I did and enjoyed being out and challenging myself with like-minded fitness enthusiasts. I also learned the the ElliptiGO can keep me in decent enough shape to compete at an acceptable level in a sport more grueling than running. After each race, it takes about 2 days to recover from limping on my bad hip. I am still limping three days after this race. I have no plans for any more running for awhile, but I have already started planning how to get my hip into better shape for next year's snowshoe season. I also need to let my ankles recover. Four races ago, at the Kingman Farm race, my ankles were bloody and gouged from my snowshoes hitting them. During each of the next snowshoe races, I beat them bloody again. I need to learn a protective strategy for my ankles. I also need to learn the secret to where to place my foot in the shoeshoe. I got new bindings for my Dion snowshoes before the race in Vermont, and they were easier to tighten and I think I have tightened them so much that my feet are far too forward (at least according to other racers). That may be another reason that I was tripping too much in the last two races!

Once again, snowshoe racers are pleased to see the photo galleries of some great photographers. Thanks Gianina, Joe, and Scott.

Gianina Lindsey "SnapAcidotic" Gallery here.
Joe Viger gallery here.
Scott Mason gallery here.

2014 USA Dion National Snowshoe Championships

The 2014 USA Dion National Snowshoe Championships was a spectacular affair. I am so glad that I decided to attend this event to be part of the mix and to experience this first class race.  When they put snowshoe racing in the Winter Olympics it will need to be raced on a course like this one designed by Tim Van Orden and held in held in Bennington and Woodford Vermont at Prospect Mountain. They had a juniors race, a separate women's' and men's National Championship race, and a citizen's race along with other events.

My wife and I stayed in Bennington overnight before the Saturday race. It would be the first time that Sarah would see a snowshoe race. She is the one that got me my first pair of racing snowshoes (Tubbs 10K) over 15 years ago, even when there were no races in the area to participate in and then my Dion Snowshoes about 5 years ago. We made it to the Prospect Hill skiing hill for the morning race in single digit temperatures, but it was sunny and the wind was still, which would make perfect race conditions when matched up with the gorgeous blue sky. I met up with my Acidotic Racing teammates before the women's race at 10:00.



I had a great time cheering on the ladies including Acidotic teammate Amber Ferreira, who blew away the field for the win (women's results here). Exactly five years ago to the day, I outkicked Amber (then Cullen) in a local 5k race. I know I used to have a picture of the finish somewhere. Since that time she has become a much faster runner and a professional triathlete and I have become much slower and barely a runner. I took a video of the women's race. The start and finish were very spectator friendly with a few loops so you could see the racers before and after they raced up and down the mountain. It was a 10K race. The last runner I filmed is Patti Dillon (Lyons) the former American record holder in the marathon and one of America's greatest female distance runners.



I was so intent on filming Patti that I almost missed the start of the men's race. I quickly put on my snowshoes and sprinted to the starting line. I got into place just as the announcer said, "2,1,Go!" This was a large field of racers, but the first few loops took us around the start on a hard packed track. I felt good, but there were a ton of very fast athletes spreading out ahead of me. The sound of all the snowshoes crunching on the snow was amazing. I knew I would be near the back of the pack, but I was really there just to have fun and to test myself on the course. It would be my longest run since May by over a mile and I have done less than 100 miles of running since July. My training has been about 5-6 hours of indoor ElliptiGO riding each week for the past two months and then a snowshoe race to break things up most Saturdays.

After looping around a bit, the course turned into some sections of softer singletrack as racers continued to sort themselves out. I was still feeling good. I have lost a little over 10 pounds over the previous two weeks as I have drastically reduced my diet to small healthy food choices. When the course headed uphill, I found myself slowed by racers ahead of me who sometimes would walk. I didn't feel like walking, so I kept running in place behind them. When given an opportunity, I slowly was able to pass other racers. In fact, only one person passed me on the journey to the top of the mountain and the midway point of the race. It was at this time, I passed a guy in a yellow suit with "Australia" printed on his back. I only passed him because his snowshoe kept coming off, something he was unhappy, yet good-natured about. There was a section of downhill where I passed everyone I could see in front of me including the one guy who had passed me earlier. I think the racers behind me must have been nursing sore hips and knees like I was. I hit some more singletrack, and the Australia guy was behind me again. I had to be tentative here, but I didn't want to hold him up. I asked if he wanted to get ahead, but he said I was setting a fine pace. However, at the next section where there was a passing lane, I told him to go ahead. He went scampering in high gear, away from me. Oh to be young with good hips! He went bounding down the hill with speed and exuberance Eventually, the singletrack ended and I was dumped onto a wide groomed cross-country ski trail. The flags seemed to suggest that this was the way to go, but there were no course markings so I started doubting myself. There was no one I could see ahead of me and I kept looking behind me and saw no one there either. I was alone on the course and unsure if it was the course. On one steeper section, I turned around to look for someone and caught one snowshoe on the ground and I tripped and went down hard. Oomph! Still when I looked around I saw no one catching up. I eventually caught up to some cross-country skiers and they assured me that I was on the course. It seemed like I was on my own for about 15 minutes until I made it to the final downhill.

This downhill was steep and they had flags so you zig-zagged down the slope. It was fun to watch the ladies race down this section, but by the time I tried to race down it, the course was sloppy and difficult to navigate. I took it pretty easy down there not wanting to injure my hip. As I was going down, I finally saw another racer a few zigs and zags behind me. I did not want to get caught and he was going much fast than me, so I tried to pick it up once I hit the short loop on level ground before the finish line. My time was 1:14:03 over the 10K course and I finished 165th out of 213 (men's results here). Those really don't matter. Before the winter started, I wasn't even sure I would be able to do any snowshoe racing, but I have had a blast in all of the races this year. The ElliptiGO has kept me in good enough shape to run these races and even though I limp for two days after each race, I am thrilled to still be able to participate and to even be a part of the pinnacle of snowshoe racing this year,

I threw my small flipcam video recorder to my wife before the start and she was able to capture some video of the men's race.



The amazing and crazy thing about snowshoe racing is the number of wonderful photographers taking photos of the race. Here are a few of their photo albums. I look old and slow in my photos, but they take some breathtaking photos of the more athletic and speedy racers and the wonderful scenes throughout the course.

Joe Viger's album. Here is a photo of race winner Amber Ferreira on the way down the hill to the finish.

Scott Mason's album Photo of the lead men.

Here is a gallery or photos from Brian Teague who took this shot:

Gianina Lindsey's Snapacidotic gallery see Acidotic Racing team photo above

Lots or news reports and blog posts about the race can be found here.

Lots of photo galleries and videos of the race are posted here.

2014 Exeter Hullabaloo Snowshoe Race

There are a lot of things I enjoy about snowshoe racing:
- getting outdoors running through the woods in the middle of winter-it is beautiful!
- every course and every day is completely different with snow amounts and types of snow
- it is slower paced than regular running (good for me as I still haven't recovered my stride after hip surgery)
- it is much more intense and difficult than regular running
- when you are racing in a paceline on singletrack, you are forced to keep your pace
- winding up and down hills and around trees on courses through the woods can be exhilarating
- it reminds me of road racing in the 1970s and triathlons in the 1980s, being in on a developing sport long before the masses figure out that they are missing out on along with all the camaraderie with the other racers who know they are on to a very good thing!
-there are all these great photographers that show up at many races and take pictures to show how awesome snowshoe racing is and how wonky my stride is! Thanks Scott Mason, Joe Viger, and Gianani Lindsey.

This weeks snowshoe race was the 4 mile Exeter Hullaballoo (great name-results).This was my first time doing this race and I had another challenging blast of a time! I started this one a little too far back in the pack and after the start I tried to maneuver around slower racers as there was two lines of singletrack to race on. I didn't improve my position enough and shortly ended up in the singletrack section in a long paceline. I was fourth from the front, but there were no opportunities to pass for the first mile of racing. I felt comfortable and in control all throughout this time which made the running very enjoyable (and true to my desire to run and not really race this year) I was OK with that. The old me, however, was a little dissatisfied that the lead runner being a bit too slow and that a large gap was developing from other racers ahead of us. Eventually, I passed some racers and the lead position stepped aside so I could run ahead. Of course, eventually a few others followed behind me and that put me in the position of setting the pace.

Photos of the race by Scott Mason

This was a twisty-turny singletrack course (which course isn't?) and with the ups and downs, I had a hard time gauging if I was too slow for those behind me. Usually when I offered for someone to go ahead if they liked. They deferred. I caught up to two other races and kept pace behind them for a good portion of the race (never catching them however). A few racers did go by and we caught a few that had gone out too fast. I was getting tired as I had started a new diet over the week (no sugars, startch, bread) and just an egg for breakfast, some veggies and small amount of meat for lunch and dinner with only nuts for snacks. I lost almost 10 pounds since the race last week. I expected to be a little low on energy and I was, but pretty soon the finish line showed up and I had completed another race on very limited run training. I had one other 5 mile treadmill run this week. Any running leaves me limping for a day or so, so I am basically ElliptiGO powered in these races! I still have less than 100 total running miles since last May!

Like all snowshoe races, I feel wonderful and exhausted when done!


Even the guys up front have trouble staying on their feet!

Now here are a few things I don't like about snowshoe racing.
- it is hard work! usually during every race I question what in the world I am doing out there?
- because of my stride, my snowshoe can hit into my ankles. Both of my ankles were very bloody and sore after last weeks race. I made them even worse after this race. I will have to rig up some sort of protection around my ankles for the next two race (both 10ks). I saw some people doing this last race.
- tripping and falling (see photo above)
- my stride...my left tibia still rotates out- I can't change that- and it constantly throws off my stride-this is magnified on snowshoes... I can't keep a straight line going at times and I am constantly trying to keep upright and on the tracks-this takes a lot of energy-every stumble and mistep slows me down.

Here are some photos from Gianina Lindsey of SNAPacidotic that shows my dilemma real well. My wonky left side throws me sideways and off the singletrack where I end up working hard to get myself running on the course instead.





















This Saturday I am racing in the 2014 Dion Snowshoes National Snowshoe Championships in Bennington, Vermont. I am racing for Acidotic Racing in the age group competition and on a Master's team. I am very nervous about this race as the longest I have run since May is a 5 mile treadmill run last week. I will be racing a 10k on the snow in the mountains! I am there to be part of and enjoy the milieu and mix and expect to be far back in the pack of racers, but it should be fun! Then the next week will be my last snowshoe race of the year at the Granite State Snowshoe Series Championships. Currently I am in third place in the 50-60 year old age group. I started the season not even sure my hip would allow me to race at all and I am ending the season (still with a sore hip) at the National Championship race and placing in my age group (more for consistency) in the race series. I may be slow, but I have enjoyed my winter.

2014 Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race

The problem with the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe race was not the race itself, it was getting there and then getting home. This Acidotic Racing Team race is held at 6 pm so that you can run through the woods in the dark. We had plenty of new fresh snow this week, but before heading out for the hour long drive to Madbury, NH, it started snowing again. The ride to the race wasn't that bad although the roads started getting snowy the last bit of the drive. I arrived to the race on time and with two training runs on the treadmill this week, a one miler and a two miler. That would be my total run training in over the past three weeks (except for racing). If I was to finish the 4 1/2 mile race, it would be due to all of my ElliptiGO training.

I saw it mentioned that at the National Championship race in Vermont in two weeks, using longer cleats on the snowshoes would be recommended, so I ordered some new cleats from Dion Snowshoes and got them on time for this race. It only took minutes to replace the old cleats with the new ones.

The snow was falling down nicely as we headed into the woods for the start of the race. I turned my headlight on (which I hadn't used since doing this race in 2010. I settled in the back part of the starting line and waited for the race to start. If you want to see how much fun it is to run on the snow at night check out this video of the race start by Gianina Lindsey.



The course was dark and the trail was perfect. I started making my way slowly forward to find a good group of athletes to run with. I eventually found myself at the tail end of a small paceline and the pacing was perfect. Once everyone got sorted out, we hit some farmland where the course turned to singletrack. My group of four stayed together and every once in awhile we would pass another racer. I was enjoying the pace and the lack of hills. It was like we were running through a Robert Frost poem with the snow falling and headlights glowing all around like moving stars. I noticed after about a mile that one of my shoes was loose as the laces had come untied. I tried to ignore it as well as to keep my shoe on my foot. The muscles in my lower back and hips were extremely tight from shoveling snow the previous day and that threw off the alignment of my hips. I ran awkwardly most of the race. The single track pathway was also too narrow for my clumsy stride and I kept bouncing off the sides of the path and every once in awhile taking a misstep and lurching into the deeper snow. I stuck with my group however as we navigated through the fields and back into the woods. Two people dropped back from our group and so now I was just following behind one female racer in front of me. I felt good that I was passing people and never had anyone pass me. I however was not feeling good about my loose shoe and had to stop and tie it back on. I dropped behind and had to chase a bit to catch back up with the racer in front. Then we hit the hills. Somewhere on the meandering way up, I passed her and was on my own for a bit. It was harder on the twists and turns to keep a steady pace, but eventually I made it over the top and started heading down. Somewhere along the way another racer caught up to me and his headlight was much brighter than mine so I had to watch my shadow racing ahead of me. I asked him if he wanted to take the lead and he said, "Thanks, It is hard to see around your broad shoulders." I think that was a polite way of saying I was overweight!

I found it harder to navigate the downhills and stumbled a bit here and there. I didn't have good control of my stride and did not want to crash into a tree. Eventually some more racers caught up and I was leading a pack. At one dip on the course I crashed to my knees. I offered to let the other guys ahead, but before they could answer I was up and running in the lead again, for another 50 yards. Then I stumbled and crashed again. This time I let four guys pass me. I still had two on my tail. I could tell we were getting off the hills and back to the forest path and I could see racer's headlight below and people cheering. Unfortunately, I listened to one of the guys behind me. He said, "One mile to go." this deflated me for a second so I replied, " Go ahead." They did and it seemed like in less than a minute we were out of the hills and heading for the finish up ahead. Never listen to the guy behind you.

It was a great race and course and running at night is always a thrill. The drive home was was slow on snowy, slushy, and slippery roads, but I made it home safe. It is always a thrill to challenge myself with these snowshoe races, even if I am limping on my bad hip for a day or two afterwards. The longer cleats for my snowshoe worked great. Usually, my left snowshoe slips off to the left as I run with my weird left leg, but I was more stable on the snow with these cleats. Here are the results for the race. I just made it into the top half of the field. Snowshoe racing reminds me of road racing in the 1970s and triathlons in the 1980s. Everyone is pioneering and enjoying a new sport that the masses haven't figured out yet! They are missing out on a ton of fun!

Here is a small album of photos from Scott Mason.

2014 Horse Hill Snowshoe Race

photos courtesy of Gianina Lindsey

Last weekend I raced in the Horse Hill Snowshoe race in Merrimack, NH. I am not exactly sure "race" is the correct word as I am transitioning to a different mode of thinking towards races. The previous week I was going to race the Beaver Brook Snowshoe race in nearby Hollis, NH, but because the way the time of the race was listed on a website, I showed up an hour late to the race and only got to watch the second half of the racers complete the course. I saw exhausted snowshoers sprinting in to the finish and you know what? I didn't care about their times or even who was ahead of who. It just looked fun and invigorating. I took a lesson from this and realized that I am not a racer anymore or in shape to be one. I just want to be in the milieu of a race and experience just what my body can do at this time, without comparing myself to others or to me in the past.



With that said, I got to the race on time. I started in the back part of the pack and went out to enjoy what I could of the race. I have been averaging about an hour a day on my EllipiGO, but had only run one 3 mile treadmill workout since my last snowshoe race two weeks earlier. After a short bit of running the race hit a section of single-track and stayed that way until we approached the finish on the return trip. The course also went up and then around and back and forth again through all kinds of winding paths and in between trees. It was a beautiful course, but it was far from easy. I found myself at the back of a pack of about ten racers and stayed that way for over a mile. It was hard going, but I wasn't pushing so hard that I was at my limits. In fact, it was quite enjoyable. The old me kept wanting to sprint off the path and around the other racers, but I knew that would be how I could get into trouble for my fitness. Eventually people in the pack started slowing too much and some racers got ahead and I had to try to pass others. Soon I found myself leading a smaller pack. I did not enjoy this as much as I didn't want to slow anyone down and forced the pace when I could. The race was really a twisty affair and many times things hidden under the snow caused other racers to trip. At one point I tripped over a rock and then let two guys get ahead of me. I could tell my muscles were really tired nearing the end, but my ELliptiGO fitness carried me through. Nearing the finish, there was a pretty steep downhill in the woods and I let two more guys go ahead as I didn't trust my hip in that section. Overall I got a great workout, survived another race (results) on limited run training (the race was 4.1 miles which makes it my longest run since May last year), and learned to just be one of the guys in the pack enjoyed the great outdoors rather than trying to be part of the competitive race. This week I have the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race in Madbury, NH to race (or enjoy). I last did this one in 2010 when I did both Horse Hill and Kingman Farms in the same day. Time to find my headlamp for this evening race.



2009 Horse Hill Farms Snowshoe Race
2010 Horse Hill Farms Snowshoe Race

Level Renner recap of the race up front

Level Renner video of the Horse Hill Snowshoe race:

2014 Sidehiller 4 mile Snowshoe Race

The 2014 Sidehiller Snowshoe Race was a chilly and windy start to my snowshoe season. I have only run about 50 miles or so since getting my ElliptiGO last July and only four of those miles were on snowshoes (which was my longest run in all that time). While my body still doesn't seem ready for any real running, I can't give up the fun of running on snowshoes. Last week I had my best week of running in that time (14 miles total), but a four mile treadmill run two nights before the race was one run too many. My hip was sore and tight the night before the race and it took about two hours of trying to ease up the discomfort before a frog stretch finally popped everything back in place.

This was the 10th edition of the race and Sidehiller is the longest running snowshoe race in New Hampshire, but it was the first time I ever participated as Center Sandwich, NH is a bit of a drive. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn on the way up and ending up getting to the start with less than 1/2 hour to spare. It wasn't a leisurely drive trying to figure out how to get to the right place for the race without a GPS.

Strangely enough, you might remember the 1980s television show Newhart and the opening credits where they show a quaint Vermont town. Well, that town really wasn't in Vermont. The video is outtakes from the Movie "On Golden Pond" and the town is actually Center Sandwich, NH. It looks a whole lot more stress free than I felt getting to the start!



I am not in any sort of racing shape and my left hip can still get balky and while it feels OK when running, afterwards I am left with a limp and a day or two reprieve to let it calm down. I was hoping my ElliptiGO miles would carry me through the race, but I wasn't positive I could even finish.



The race ended up being a two lap affair on the fairgrounds and soon after the the start, I was already winded and second guessing my idea to race. Fortunately the course was basically flat. Within minutes of the start we had to run around a couple of buildings and it got backed up a bit. The race had two kinds of footing: a hard packed faster surface and some singletrack on some squishy snow where my left hip and leg would lose control of the snow and I had a hard time keeping my body straight. Due to my conditioning, I wasn't very fast, but my effort was intense. I was happy that I maintained good endurance throughout the race and finished. I am way back in the pack (results) these days, but I will take that over not even trying.

The race also was a qualifier for the Snowshoe National Championships in Bennington, Vermont on March 5. I am in an age group where many runners are injured, rehabbing an injury, retired, or sane. Somehow I managed to snag the fifth and final qualifier in the 55- 60 year old age group. I will have to get some better training in over the next month as that is a hilly 10k race, but I will be going to the National Championship race.

After the race, I was limping again. Later that night, I woke up with a real strong cramp in the muscles around my left back. I tried to get up, but it was really intense and I found myself knocked to the floor. I have never had any cramp so intense. It took almost an hour to settle it down, but in the morning I was OK and it did not return.

Fantastic photos of the race can he seen at:
Joe Viger Photography 
Scott Mason Photograpy
Far North Endurance

Race recap from Level Renner (or what happened up front) including video

Granite State Snowshoe Championships

Photo courtesy of Bear Brook State Park

Sunday I participated in The Granite State Snowshoe Championships held at Bear Brook State Park in Allenston, New Hampshire. I have only been on my snowshoes 3 times this year: one workout, the Beaver Brook Snowshoe race in January, and then this 10K race. I was excited and nervous to participate. I was excited because I wanted to see if I had made any progress with the large jump in mileage over the past month, plus I love racing on snowshoes. I was nervous because this race was a 10K and I have never raced this far on snowshoes and I know it is a much more intensive sport than just running, in fact I have not raced at any event over 5k since my hip surgery  1 1/2 years ago.

I was happy to have finished the Gate City Strider's Freeze Your Buns fifth and final race last week. I was able to finally break 22 minutes and it was the most comfortable I felt racing in the five race series. I just don't have any speed yet in my running, but the endurance part is coming along. I also won my age group for the series. The two guys ahead of me in points did not show up at the previous race in the cold, snowy, and blustery conditions so I was able to surpass them in points even though I never beat them in any race.

Acidotic team before the snowshoe race
photographs courtesy of Gianina Lindsey

With the sudden increase in mileage and feeling that my body is started to heal from the surgery I have begun thinking about doing some trail running and racing and maybe even doing a trail marathon this year (maybe right at this very park!). I also should do more training on my bikes with a possible return to some type of bike racing this summer. Chris Dunn of the Acidotic Racing Team  welcomed me onto that Acidotic team and so I raced for Acidotic at the Snowshoe Championship race. I am thrilled to be part of a team that participates in and organized multi-sports events and appreciate the motto, "Dare Mighty Things." I am looking for new challenges to keep out of getting into a rut and for some team comradery and friendships with the more hard-core athletes on the Acidotic team.

Racers all lined up in a  paceline.

Friday was a snow day in southern New Hampshire, but not as much snow had fallen an hour north of Nashua where the race was to be held. Saturday was a warm sunshiny day, but there was plenty of snow at Bear Brook State Park. I met many new teammates as well as old friends from the past who now race for Acidotic before the race. Nearly 100 snowshoers were lined up for the 10 am start.


The starting line was very cramped as it was not wide at all and I placed myself in the back half of the pack as I knew the race would get to single track pretty soon. After a frantic start where athletes were trying to get positioning, we very quickly hit the single track. Lines of snowshoe racers started spreading out in front and behind me. I wanted to be sure I was positioned correctly. It is hard to pass other races on single track sections so you could lose a lot of ground quickly if you are behind slower racers and if you start out too aggressively and can't hold on to the racer's pacing ahead of you, you can hold a lot of other racers back as they try to get ahead of you. I was more concerned that my conditioning and lack of speed would have me struggling to keep up. I was wrong and I had positioned myself perfectly.


As the pace lines meandered through the woods with its ups and downs and corners, I felt very comfortable with the group I was with. After a mile, I wanted to start passing some racers and every once in a while I would make a break around a slowing racer to gain another position. I remembered how exhausted and winded I was at the Beaver Brook race, but the many miles I had put in since then seemed to be paying off as I did not go into oxygen debt. After a couple of miles of single track, I had worked my way nearer to the front of the group and started thinking of pulling ahead to see where the next pack ahead ahead could be. We hit a section of more open area (maybe a field or pasture) and I was moving ahead of my pack when all of a sudden I realized my left foot felt funny and I looked down to see my snowshoe had fallen off. I was using a pair of Hoka One Ones (which have a substantial foot plant) so I had gone about 20 feet before I realized that foot was lighter. I had to run back and put on my left-behind showshoe. This also happened to me two times in the Beaver Brook Race. It took a little over a minute to get the snowshoe back on and the whole pack that I had been near the lead of had passed me completely. I counted 10 people who went by me. I quickly got back to running, but I certainly lost a lot of momentum and started worrying that the snowshoe might pull off my shoe again.

Leaving the single track and about to hit the pasture area
where I was to lose a snowshoe. I had got right up to
Mariano and Richie Blake at the front of our group. 

It was single track running quickly again before I caught up with the back of the pack so I had to slowly catch up to one person at a time and run behind them for awhile before finding an opportunity to sprint ahead over the deeper ungroomed snow on either side of the trail. Some  racers did move out of the way to let me pass, but it was fun slowly catching one racer at a time.

At about 4 miles we hit more open snowmobile trails, but the going was harder as the snow was soft from the sun. I was able to catch about 5 more racers before we hit the single track again. I kept waiting to feel fatigued, but I actually felt great and enjoyed racing up and down and around all the trails through the woods. It was a beautiful course and it was like running over a snowy roller coastery path. I found that I was better on the uphills and flats and was more conservative with my hip on the downhills (I still don't trust that hip completely). There were two female racers that would start nipping at my heels on the downhills, but I would gap them on the ups. I eventually got behind Mariano Santengelo with about a mile and 1/2 to go and was comfortable following his pacing to the finish. Of course, I had no idea where the finish was. I started seeing the photographers on the course and figured we were getting near, and then I soon heard cheering. We raced through a downhill section and then into an opening where people were cheering and then the finish banner was about 50 yards ahead. It was a great race and I don't think I have had more fun racing on a snowshoe course of the many races I have raced. This is the also first time I did not fall down during a race, so my hip must be getting stronger, although I had a hard time keeping everything lined up throughout the race.


You can view many outstanding photographs of the race by Scott Mason and Joe Viger. I saw Scott twice during the race and he was moving into a new position both times and didn't get a photo. Both of there albums are filled with great action shots of the snowshoe race and you can see how much fun you are missing if you haven't tried snowshoe racing. The race winners were Jim Johnson and Kristina Folcik. Snowshoe racing is still an emerging sport and not enough runners and other athletes have caught on, but the fun we have at races reminds me of road racing in the 1970s and triathlons in the 1980s.

Bear Brook State Park also took some photos of the race.






Here are my workouts for the past two weeks:

Monday 2/25 15 miles treadmill (longest treadmill run in over 15
years. I did a few 16 milers on a former treadmill)
Tuesday 2/26 5 miles treadmill
Wednesday 2/27 11 miles treadmill
Thursday 2/28 4 miles treadmill (hoped to do 10 to hit 200 miles for the month, but realized I was tired and starting to fight a cold so stopped)
Friday 3/1 0 miles
Saturday 3/2 0 miles
Sunday 3/3 3 miles Freeze Your Buns 5K 21:54 first time under 22 minutes since hip surgery
Total miles week 39 miles
Total miles 2013 295 miles
Total miles January 97 miles
Total miles February 194 miles (doubled January's total)

Monday 3/4 5 miles treadmill
Tuesday 3/5 8 miles roads
Wednesday 3/6 0 miles
Thursday 3/7 10 miles treadmill
Friday 3/8  0 Miles
Saturday 3/9 6 miles Granite State Snowshoe Championships 10K
Sunday 3/10 8 miles roads
total miles week 37 miles
total miles 2013 332 miles

Beaver Brook Snowshoe Race

Last Sunday, I did my first race of the year. I was very happy to beat my 5k time from Thanksgiving at this year's first Freeze Your Buns race by a little over 2 minutes and was 14 seconds faster than the final Freeze Your Buns race from last year, so it is now my fastest post-surgery 5k time, but I still have a long way to go as I am still almost 4 1/2 minutes slower than my best time on the course set a few years ago. I am not sure I will ever go that fast again, but I am giving myself a couple of years till I am sure that I can't and will do everything I can to get 100% healthy again. I felt good in the race, but I am not used to breathing so hard and sustaining an effort right now.

This week, I was trying not to get sick like so many people around me. I was feeling a little off, but survived with limited running. Thursday, I went for a check-up with the physiatrist. I have done well since getting the trigger-point injections in my glutes, quads, and IT-band in December. She could not find any trigger-points this time except for a few in my hamstring, so I got three shots: two in the inner hamstring and one in the outer hamstring. Saturday, I was happy to test out my progress through snowshoe racing at the Beaver Brook Snowshoe race in Hollis, NH, actually I couldn't wait to get out there and race. I was just a little tentative about racing, particularly with going downhill, but my hip held up nicely where they did the surgery which is pretty good, because when running downhill with snowshoes your foot can slip downhill a bit every stride and I was not sure if my hip could handle that along with the demands of careening down some of the hills with the sharp corners around trees and obstacles. I still do have a lot of weakness around that hip and boy, snowshoe running is just the sport to test out how stable and strong your muscles are! Mine still have a long way to go! I was just happy to conquer the course, because I was never sure if I would be able to do this sport after getting the hip surgery and for now that is awesome and I am thrilled to be doing the things I love again. Of course, like usual I was limping after the race as my hip muscles tightened up.

All photos courtesy of Gianina Lindsey

This was my third time racing at Beaver Brook. My first snowshoe race was in 2009 at this race and I also raced in 2010 but those races were on a much flatter and straighter course. This year was more challenging. I know I am not in good shape, so I started out slow, and started picking off racers until a few minutes into the race when my left snowshoe came off. Oops!

It was warm enough for shorts, trailing Mike Wade 

 It took between 1 1/2- 2 minutes to get the thing back on my shoe. The course turned into mostly single track after that and I slowly passed about 20-30 people and was about to make another pass when it fell off again. There went another big chunk of time and I was back to chasing down and passing the same racers all over again. The good news is, I was passing racers throughout the race and only got repassed once, in the last 100 meters. The course was very beautiful and the snow was good for running on, besides the warm temperatures and melting snow. I had to be careful on the downhills until I was certain my hip would be strong, but never walked on the uphills and used those moments to pass people who had to walk. I only fell once when making a tight corner, but I was getting really beat by the end. If you want to test your fitness, there is nothing like a good snowshoe race through the hills

The end of a race is never pretty!

One racer, Timothy Lindsey, had a Go Pro camera on his head during the race. He tripped at the start, but got up and filmed some great video of what it is like to run in a snowshoe race. The race starts at the 2:30 mark. I love running with all the snow kicking up at the start during the wild rush off the line. You can see me at the 5:50 mark with the first of my two pit stops trying to get my snowshoe back on. You can also see Micheal Wade at the start unfortunately injuring his calf in his first steps and then having to walk back while I am fixing my snowshoe. I was just about to pass the camera guy when my snowshoe fell off a second time. I then had to work to pass him again, but those aren't on the film.

Race winner Jim Johnson

The race winners were Jim Johnson, with another snowshoe win despite an injured foot, and Carolyn Stocker who finished in 7th place overall. I would consider the best race to 
be that of 52 year old Jeff Litchfield who is coming off knee surgery from about the same time as my hip surgery, obviously he is doing much better than I am post surgery and he looked quite fit for a big guy (and running on snowshoes is not so easy for taller athletes). I say good for him as it is good to see a long time runner do so well. I recall running many track workouts with Jeff back in the early 1990's when he was a member of the Gate City Striders. The race was well run and the course was well marked which is not an easy job so thanks to Michael Amarello of 3C Race Productions for another well organized and fun race. Here is the website for the Granite State Snowshoe Series.

Jeff Litchfield at the start.

Last week:
Monday: 5 miles treadmill
Tuesday: 5 miles treadmill
Wednesday: 0 miles
Thursday: 8 miles treadmill at YMCA  (7:30 mile pace the whole way)
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday: 0 miles
Sunday: 4 miles Freeze Your Buns 1 5K 22:28
Total miles: 22 miles/ 2013-17 miles

This week:
Monday: 0 miles
Tuesday: 5 miles treadamill at YMCA (7:30) pace
Wednesday: 0 miles
Thursday: 0 miles trigger point injections in left hamstring
Friday: 0 miles
Saturday 4 miles Beaver Brook Snowshoe Race
Sunday: 0 miles
Total miles 9 miles/ 2013 total 26 miles

Looking Ahead

Thankfully it is time to close out the year 2011. It was a long year and I learned how much I miss not being able to run and how I am not made to be a sedentary person. The highlight this year was getting hip surgery and feeling the hope that I can recover my stride enough to run pain-free and fast. I only did two races this year. The first was the Feel Good Farms Snowshoe race back in January and that will go down as one of the most difficult and challenging races I have ever completed (well I only did 1/2 of it). The other race I completed was the slowest and most humbling race I have ever done with the Thanksgiving day Turkey Gobbler race. I hope to put 2011 behind me and start all over again.

Today I ran 5 balmy New Years Day miles to start off the year. That gave me 20 miles for the week. I am not going overboard and building up slowly.

Monday: 1 mile Treadmill
Tuesday: 5 mile Treadmill
Wednesday: 3 miles Treadmill
Thursday: day off
Friday: 4 miles in Falmouth
Saturday: 2 miles Treadmill
Sunday 5 miles

For the year ahead I just want to run healthy and consistently. I look forward to racing (slowly at first), training long, running with friends, hard Gate City Strider track workouts (strangely I missed doing hot hard track workouts most of all-I think because the effort reminds me of running in high school and college-without them I feel real old), and losing all the weight that I have gained in the past year (yikes!).

Sure I have goals. My true running goal is the sub 3 hour marathon (it won't be this year). I have time goals and race goals, but I will be happy just turning the sinking ship around and being able to lace up a pair or running shoes each day and putting in a good 8 miles or so and coming home without feeling all the aches and pains.

Best wishes for a healthy New Year to all my running friends!

Wimp Race: The Feels Good Farm 1/2 Snowshoe Race

Wimp Race? WIMP RACE? Mike Amarello of 3C Race Productions had a sinister grin on his face as he gave the final instructions for the 3rd annual Feels Good Farm Snowshoe Race. It was there because he knew the torture he was about to inflict on the large crowd of snowshoe racers. He can grin away because everyone signed up for this bit of snowshoe Hell. You got that right, Snowshoe Hell! At one point in the race, a snowshoer behind me exclaimed, "What's next some red hot lava to run over?" I think he was having his own vision of Hell as he was racing through the woods of Lyndeborough, New Hampshire. Mike had cooked up his own version of an "icy Hell on Snow".

However for those of us who only did 1/2 the race and only suffered 1/2 half the torture, he dares call our little race a Wimp Race? Let me tell you, that has to be the toughest Wimp Race in existence! It may have only been half the race, but "Wimp Race"? I am sure he was grinning again as he typed in "Wimp Race" and sent the results off to Coolrunning to officially and publicly name all 1/2 racers as Wimps. What will people think when they now Google "wimp" and my name comes up in the results?

I haven't been able to do much running since the end of the summer. I have probably only done about 50 miles total since mid November with the longest run being 3.5 miles, but I was feeling the need to race and I really wanted to race on my snowshoes. I got up to 12 miles total of running  last week and things were looking up. This week however my SI joint was painful when trying to run on Monday, so my total mileage Monday through Friday was just that little one miler.

Fortunately, I had another PT appointment Friday which got things put back in order and also on Friday Amazon delivered a something called a Serola Sacroiliac Belt. It is a belt someone recommended to my on Letsrun so I decided to give it a try. It holds your SI Joints in place and allows your muscles to work properly. Rather than inhibiting movement, it is supposed to allow your hip and leg muscles to function properly. I decided to give it a shot and it is supposed to work for athletes.

All week I had been thinking about doing the Feels Good Farm snowshoe race again even if I hadn't able to even run that far on the roads lately. I did it two years ago and told myself never again. I forgot that promise. The Feels Good Farm race is misnamed. Nothing about this race feels good. It is a two lap race up Moose Hill and down then up and down again for about 1500 feet of ups and 1500 feet of downs. Then you get to repeat the whole thing again for the second lap. The uphills will burst your lungs and fry your muscles and the downhills will test your courage as it can be a treacherous plunge down the slopes. Did I really run down the hill out of control and do a two handed arm stop against a tree crossing the path at about 4 feet high before ducking under? I didn't see any blood on the tree so I assume everyone else was nimble enough to run and duck or try a stopping maneuver like I did! That was nuts!

I knew my fitness level was pretty much shot with so much inactivity and who knew if the belt would even work for me. Maybe I wouldn't even get to 100 yards., but I had to try. I did a few strides before the race and seeded myself about 3/4ths back from the start and hoped I could at least make the short loop around the parking lot without pain. Yeah, fortunately  it felt OK after the gun sent the racers on their way. The road was flat, the snow was packed down, and never in my life had I seen so many snowshoers running ahead of me. I felt good and decided to indeed go for the first loop. I was thinking that the day would be a huge success if I could make just one loop of the race and was happy to hear that there was an open invitation to drop out after one lap if you needed to. What was there to worry about?

Well, we hit the trails and the hill started. Everything was single track and  with a crowd of over 80 racers everyone started single filing it in a long paceline.I fit in behind Keith O'Brien and up we started to go. Pretty soon my breathing got very heavy and my heart rate started shooting up. If someone started slowing they stepped aside and  a whole bunch of racers would go by. At one point I tripped and looked back to see a 3 thick branch covered by snow was lying across the path in wait to trap a snowshoe. It caught mine.  I kept looking up and the race kept going up. At one point I passed Steve Wolfe as he was fiddling with his snowshoes. His race for a top spot was over even if he could get his snowshoes untangled and fixed. He would never be able to pass so many racers on the trails ahead.

Did I say the trails kept going up? Well they did. I passed a few people who couldn't keep with the steady pace and a few times I asked the person behind me if they wanted to go ahead. They never did! Pretty soon people started walking. I am glad they did, because I needed to also. It seemed to take forever before we hit the top and started hurtling down. I was very leery of going too fast downhill. While my SI joint wasn't hurting my left leg was hard to control. I would veer from one side of the course to the other. The snow was also deep and slushy feeling underfoot, or at least my foot was sliding a few inches or more forward each time they hit the ground.

My untrained muscles were tightening up and I was really pushing the limits of heart rate and breathing. I let a few people go by here and there and passed a few too. And then we had to go up the hill again. Now I was stumbling on the uphills. Near the top I stopped and let two racers go by. From there it was downhill again, but I was shot. I even had to stop and walk a few times going downhill! I knew I was nearing the end of the first lap and you couldn't pay me a million dollars to do another lap. I am not sure if I could have made my muscles respond if I tried to go up those hills again. Now my calves started getting cramps a bit as my toes were pointed going down the hills. I was thoroughly gutted and completely tapped out and happily stopped after that first lap.

And I felt great. Now that I was done, my muscles were trashed, my chest was heaving, blood was pumping, and I was simply elated to have been able to do even half of this race. If you are going to start a comeback, you might as well start with the toughest race you can find. I had missed racing and pushing extremes for so many months that being able to compete was such a thrill even if I was in such poor shape.  But then I saw the results and they called the "short version of the race "The Wimp Race"! I gotta tell you I have never been so happy to be called wimpy in my life before! I watched and cheered on the "real racers" as they finished the second lap and it is true that anyone who completed the Feels Good Farm Snowshoe Race deserves to be called an  aerobic beast. Congratulations to all, because this race is no walk in the park. I have done over a thousand races in my 35+ years of competing and that includes marathons, triathlons-including 5 Ironman distance ones, cross-country races, track races, and bike races and nothing compares to the" in your face intensity" of this race. It takes strength and fitness to get up the climbs and nimbleness and courage to get back down. There is nowhere to take a breather. If you want to push your limits in the shortest amount of time possible, this race will do it!

How do I know it is tough. I can run up Mt. Washington without walking one step. I had to walk some downhills here. I have cycled downhill at up to 62 mph but at least I had brakes and a clear view of the road ahead. Each step going down Moose Hill you didn't know if you might hit a rock or get your tip caught under a branch or even run into a tree crossing your path. There are points in triathlons, marathons, and bike races when you get a chance to catch your breath a bit. This race doesn't give you that chance. And finally, I think I am going to lose a toenail after doing this race. That  only happens in a marathon.

The really good news? The belt seems to work. Oh I had some sore muscles after my half a race, but it wasn't the typical one sided messed up joint pain I usually have. I felt fine all night and was even able to do a few hundred kettlebell swings at night. Today, I took out my snowshoes again and went down to Mine Falls with my son Andrew and I got another couple of miles in. It felt so much better running on the flats for a change! I look forward to seeing how this belt works when I run. If this can help me train while my back and hips learn to heal, I will be very very happy indeed!

Scott Mason has a set of fantastic picture of all the snowshoe champions here.

Here are the results of the full race.

Here are the results of the Wimp Run. I have never been so proud to be called 2nd Wimp!