Race 09-03 Jazztrax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

January 25th, 2009.
10k - 6th/19 - 1:07:36
Complete Results coming

This year I found 4 people who were interested in going to Bear Valley for a snowshoe race - Chikara (again), Jim, Erika, and Lisa. We all left the Bay area in a rented SUV at 6:30 Saturday night toward our reserved hotel in Stockton. The purpose of staying overnight there was to cut in half the 4 hour drive from SF to Bear Valley the morning of the race.

We made it to the hotel with plenty of time for a good night sleep and by 5:30AM Sunday we were on the road to Bear Valley. The weather was good, of course, until we started climbing into the mountains. By 5000 feet up the road was snow covered and it it was snowing. We left so early though we had plenty of time and were the first people at the race (I don't know if I've ever done that before). We had more than enough time to use the facilities, get a coffee (Jim), rent snowshoes (Jim and Chikara), and learn to put them on (everyone except me).

The turnout at the race was better than last year. There were 19 10k runners and probably almost as many 5k runners. We all listened to the race instructions eager to start. It was cold as expected and my hands were numb shortly after we started. A couple guys went out real fast and Chikara passed me only a couple minutes in, despite his snowshoe coming off just after starting. I made it to the half mile mark in a little under 5 minutes. Two other guys and I settled into 4th-6th. One of them asked if I was an ultrarunner, because he noticed I was walking up the hills. I told him I was and eventually he peeled off at the 5k turnoff as I settled into 5th. Soon I was passed by a fast guy who started 8 minutes late. No one else caught me and I didn't catch anyone else for the last 5k.

I decided relatively early to walk up the hills in order to save some energy for the end. Unlike last year the couple did not repeat over any sections - it was just a 10k loop. I liked it much better this way. The weather on the back stretch was much nicer. The snow stopped and it started to get brighter. I probably should have run harder on the ups and downs because I probably could have recovered after some short bursts. As I got to the end my I really started to warm up and took my headband off.

I finished strong in 1:07:36, 6th place out of 19. Chikara was 3rd despite his snowshoes coming off 6 or 7 times. Erika was 8th (1st female), Lisa 10th, and Jim 18th.

The awards ceremony was in the pizza kitchen of the lodge. There was more than enough food. I had a bowl of minestrone soup, a bowl of potato soup, a bowl of meat chili, 2 bowls of salad, a brownie, 2 pieces of cornbread, and a couple cups of warm cider flavored Clif drink. The middle school Jazz band that the race director instructs provided the music. Jim was especially impressed with their performance of Rock around the clock. He and I turned out to be the only people in the group who knew who Bill Haley and the Comets were. I got a medal for 2nd in the 20-29 age group (out of 2 people). Since there were more raffle prizes than runners I got 2 - a big bag of orange glucosamine chewy things and a $50 gift certificate to a computer repair store in Angels Camp. Not sure how I'll be able to make use of the gift certificate so I'm open to suggestions.

They way home was not totally uneventful. We saw a car skid across the road into a pole right in front of us. We saw a car in a ditch as well as many other tire tracks leading from the road off the side. After we descended the mountain it rained, then turned sunny, then hailed (2nd year in a row with hail). Still we made it home without anything bad happening (to us).

Barring any bad weather or excessive chain control requirements imposed by the evil Caltrans people, I will keep going to this race. This was the third time going (out of 4 years they have had it), and I was told that was tied with 1 other person for the most, need to keep the streak going.