Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Race

Whitaker Woods

 

I only did one snowshoe race last year (and none in 2015) so I was a bit nervous about heading up to North Conway for the Whitaker Woods 4 mile snowshoe race.  Not so much nervous about the race but about how my ankles would handle snowshoeing.  CMS teammate Jim Pawlicki decided to join in for the fun so we met up at the Newburyport park and ride and carpooled the 120 miles to N. Conway.

 

We arrived with plenty of time to spare, race prep takes a lot longer in winter, and were happy to see a few CMS runners already preparing to warm-up.  The course was firmly packed so Paul Bazanchuk joined us for a course preview (wearing kahtoolahs rather than snowshoes).  It was cold out there, just single digits during the warm-up but sunny and no wind.  Great for snowshoe racing through the woods.

 

After the warm-up I switched into race gear and headed out on snowshoes for another ½ mile to get used to being back in snowshoes.  Kevin Tilton called a record field to the start line (124 finishers!) and off they went at a sprint.  Nacho Hernando was out of sight right away running sub 6 minute miles.  I found myself inside of the top 20 but only just.  It felt very fast and I felt flat.  The 5% grade from ½ mile to the mile up Vista Trail brought a few back and the second climb from 1.3 to 1.6 brought back a couple more but that would be it for me.

 

Over the last 2.3 miles I’d close on the two guys in front of me then lose ground and repeat but I never quite caught up to them.  I ran hard throughout but felt like I was swimming in quicksand.  You can’t really compare snowshoe times (even on the same course) because the conditions make a huge difference.  The conditions on this day were fast, but I don’t recall conditions being all that much slower in any other years.  My 29:18 isn’t my best and it wasn’t my worst either.  CMS had a very good day with Jim Pawlicki winning the 40+, Ed Sheldon taking the 50+ and Paul Bazanchuk first in the 60+.

 

My ankles were pretty sore after (arthritis) so I’m not sure how much snowshoe racing I’ll do this year.  Hoping to do at least a couple of races!

 

50+ results

Cat        O'all      Time     Name                           

1          9          27:36.5 Ed Sheldon        Hooksett, NH      CMS

2          14         29:18.9 Dave Dunham    Bradford, MA      CMS

3          15         29:38.2 Jeff Litchfield      Concord, NH       Acidotic

4          17         29:56.6 John Carton        Newmarket, NH 

5          25         31:44.6 Paul Hammond   Lexington, MA     Whirlaway

6          27         32:12.7 Peter Keeney      Bar Harbor, ME   Acidotic Racing

7          30         32:29.9 Colm Smart        Bedford, NH       NE Multi Sport

8          32         32:55.0 John Pajer         Leicester, MA      CMS

9          37         34:28.9 Don Fredrikson   Conway, NH       White Mountain Milers

10         38         34:35.6 Steve Houde      Medway, MA      

11         40         34:57.6 James   Downey New Durham, NH            Acidotic

12         51         37:23.8 Jim Graham       Concord, NH       Acidotic

13         55         38:06.7 John Brady         Biddeford, ME     SIX03

14         66         46:17.8 Skip Spadaccini  North Conway, NH          

15         71         47:10.7 Richard McCarthy            Raymond, NH    

16         76         47:46.0 John Ivan          Marlton, NJ        

17         80         49:20.7 Hank Lopez        N Berwick, ME     SIX03

18         89         50:41.5 Tim Pifer                        Concord, NH       Acidotic Racing

19         100       52:24.8 John Gorman      Andover, MA       Whirlaway

20         119       58:47.1 Chris Spinney     Arlington, MA      Whirlaway

 

Overall Results

PLACE    Time     FIRST    LAST                 DIVISION           HOMETOWN       TEAM

1          23:37.2 Nacho Hernando             Men 20-29         Logrono, Spain   Sweetie Pies

2          26:04.1 Marc Ouellette                Men 20-29         Wenham, MA     

3          26:06.2 Turner Zamore               Men 30-39         Cambridge, MA  

4          26:14.5 Andrew Drummond         Men 30-39         Conway, NH       SIX03

5          26:32.3 Brandon Newbould          Men 30-39         Nottingham, NH  Whirlaway

6          27:11.7 Kevin Tilton                    Men 30-39         Albany, NH         CMS

7          27:26.0 John Corona                   Men 20-29         Portsmouth, NH  Flynn Snowshoeing

8          27:29.7 James Pawlicki               Men 40-49         Lynn, MA            CMS

9          27:36.5 Ed Sheldon                    Men 50-59         Hooksett, NH      CMS

10         28:07.1 Louis Saviano                 Men 20-29         Sandown, NH     The Boys TC

11         28:28.1 Phillip Erwin                   Men 40-49         New Durham, NH            Acidotic Racing

12         29:07.0 Joel Turcotte                  Men 30-39         Greenland, NH    SIX03

13         29:15.4 Kale Poland                    Men 30-39         Moultonboro, NH Acidotic

14         29:18.9 Dave Dunham                Men 50-59         Bradford, MA      CMS

15         29:38.2 Jeff Litchfield                  Men 50-59         Concord, NH       Acidotic

16         29:49.3 Zack Chabot                   Men 20-29         Malden, MA       

17         29:56.6 John Carton                    Men 50-59         Newmarket, NH 

18         30:08.5 Kyle Northrop                 Men 20-29         Bellingham, MA   Sign Project

19         30:18.7 Jonathan Miller               Men 40-49         Sanbornville, NH

20         30:21.7 Jeremiah Johnson           Men 30-39         Portsmouth, NH  Acidotic

                                                                       

21         30:30.2 Sam Wood                     Men 30-39         Laconia, NH       CMS

24         31:05.0 Paul Bazanchuk              Men 60-69         Ctr Conway, NH   CMS

32         32:55.0 John Pajer                     Men 50-59         Leicester, MA      CMS

62         44:48.9 Karen Pajer                    Women 40-49    Leicester, MA      CMS