Snowshoe race

I was feeling flat, maybe from a long day of shoveling and sitting at the computer working on taxes.  There would be plenty of snow in Franklin NH for the “Snow or no, we go” finale, so I was in.  Since the race wasn’t until 10am I headed down to Chelmsford for an easy 5m run with Dave La (and Petey on the bike).  I thought the run was quicker than it turned out to be, never a good sign.  I arrived at Prospect Acres by 9am and it looked to be a great location for a snowshoe race.  The driveway was a bit tricky as it was about ¼ mile long and was icy and snowy.  By, 910am I was out for a 2 mile warm-up on the (hilly) local roads.  I felt a little better but still sluggish.  I quickly changed into snowshoes and headed out onto the course running a mile (the first ½ mile of the race out and back).  It was well packed by snowmobiles but a bit twisty and seemed to have a few waterbars that we’d have to navigate carefully.  The 2 mile loop would have about ¼ mile up, ¼ mile down, then a tough ½ mile climb and a ½ mile mixing up and flat before we’d loop a field and then it was mostly down for the final ½ mile.

I headed out in the lead but could hear 2^nd place right behind me (and hear him as we all rang a cowbell about ¼ mile in).  I slowly pulled ahead and took a peek in the field at about 1.3 miles, and he was maybe 20 seconds back.  I felt like I was working the downhills pretty good but worried that I might be pushing too hard on the ups.  The second time around I listened for the bell but never heard it.  I was running a bit scared but also convinced myself that if I got to the field in first, I would be able to pick up the pace on the final downhill.  I started lapping people at 3 miles (I’d catch 18 of the 30 doing the single loop).  The surface was in good shape even in the second lap.  I had some trouble with people not understanding “on your left” but mostly was able to get around them.  I checked the time in the field and knew I had over 1 minute lead, so unless there was a disaster, I was going to be able to hold on for the win.  I pushed hard to the end despite ankles that were really feeling it on the downs.  Knowing this was the final snowshoe of the season made it a little easier to work to the finish.  I ended up taking the win in 34:37, 1:19 ahead of second place.

This was my third win in the series (6 races).  I got a chocolate milk and a clif bar and hit the road.  The series was a lot of fun. I’m glad I got to compete once at each of the race sites.  Tom and Ellen Raffio (and Tom Walton) have a great idea, run the races even if there is no snow, I hope it continues next year!