Races 11-23,24 US Snowshoe Championship, Citizens 5k

March 12th, 2011
10k - 58:03- 67th/114
Garmin Tracking here.
5k (6k?)- 34:44 - 2nd/49
Garmin Tracking here.

This weekend I went to the United States Snowshoe National Championships for the 5th time. The previous events I went to were in Minnesota, Utah, Oregon, and New York. This year the site selected was Lakewoods Resort in Cable, Wisconsin. Cable isn’t easy to get to. The nearest airports are Duluth, MN which is 2.5 hours away and Minneapolis, MN which is a little more than 3 hours away. Flights from SFO to MSP were more than $700 so I used my Delta Frequent Flyer Miles for the flight. I arrived in Minneapolis around noon and immediately went to the Mall of America to eat lunch. The mall is by far the largest mall in the county, by number of stores. There are 2 food courts both on the 3rd floor and I got a Texas wrap from Healthy Express.

Then I left for Cable. I arrived after 7PM without a hotel reservation. I read some negative comments about the host resort online so I figured if it was nice I’d stay there and if not there were some cheap options a half hour away. After leaving Minneapolis there is a whole lot of nothing. The drive was mostly on a 2 lane road and was kind of tiring so I stopped for a 20 minute nap. I got there a little past 7PM, after the athlete reception had finished although I wasn’t especially looking forward to attending.

I immediately went to the registration table which was open until 8PM where I reacquainted with Mark Elmore. Mark is the president of the United States Snowshoe Association (USSSA) and even more importantly he is the guy who puts in (by far) the most work to keep the whole thing going. To say he does a lot of work is an understatement. Without him I don’t know if the Regional Qualifier system and Championship would keep going. Registering right after me was Tim van Orden. He looked familiar and I’d heard his name from keeping on top of the New England snowshoe races but I had definitely never met him. Tim was very friendly.

I went to the registration desk to ask about room and they offered me a condo onsite next to the main lodge for $125 a night. It was a little more than I wanted to spend but the resort looked decent and I didn’t want to drive any more. I was also disappointed that the quoted price was before taxes but didn’t’ care enough to get out of it. Tim was lingering around the area and introduced me to a couple of his friends – Jim Johnson and Kevin Tilton. I had read a bit about Jim I think from Dave Dunham’s blog and I’d heard of Kevin as well. All 3 are clearly out of my league but they were welcomed me into their New England group, which worked out because it turned out there were only 3 west coasters at the event and I didn’t know the other 2. They were all staying about a half hour down the road.

After chatting a while about some people we know (Jim knew Chris Mahoney who I knew from UMASS and had met Scott Dunlap who I know from SF Bay California) I went to the room I rented. It turned out to be a 2 bedroom condo with a double bed and a pair of twins, full kitchen and bath. Too bad it was just me there. The room was clean and decent – it had an automatic fireplace which turned itself on and off but I thought it weird that the TV had only 10 or so channels, some staticky, and was a small TV/VCR combo. It was good enough to be comfortable in.

I was awake and ready very early. The youth race started at 9AM followed by the men’s race at 10AM and the women’s race at 11:30AM. This was the first time I remember the men going first. The weather was colder than yesterday, low 30s. It was overcast and snow was blowing in the air but it didn’t look like any real precipitation. In fact it appeared several inches had fallen overnight and there were flurries in the air. The start/finish line was about 100 yards from where I was staying so I kept warm in my room.

At the start I tried to get to around the 3rd row. I wanted to start a little fast because the course looked easier than I had been running in California. It was a little tight at the beginning since everyone took off like it was a road 5k and it was downhill with some turns at the bottom. I heard after the race that Bob Dion, owner of Dion Snowshoes took a tumble. Dion Snowshoes is not only one of the major brands, but was also the title sponsor of the Championship. One great thing about his company is Bob’s (and wife Denise’s) participation in the sport. When something goes wrong or I have questions about products I use like New Balance shoes or my Ford car I have to go out of my way to get support. But I have seen Bob many times helping people with their snowshoes at races, answering questions, etc. At last year’s nationals I saw Bob giving advice mid-race to a runner who obviously did not strap his feet in tight enough.

Anyway, the course was two loops, a 6k outer loop and a 4k inner loop. The outer loop crossed under the road so this was the first snowshoe race I’ve ever done with a tunnel. I ran hard for a mile or two but settled in what in hindsight I think was too slow. I wasn’t sure which loop was first but I figured it out after 5-6k when we were nowhere near the start. I came through the start/finish at the 6k mark in about 36:27. From there I pushed again and caught a few people on the smaller loop. We were very strung out so there wasn’t much back and forth. I didn’t know anyone around me so I don’t have any idea how I was doing really. I finished strong in 58:03 feeling as I normally do, like I could have run farther but not faster.

After the race they had doughnut holes and bananas. I was disappointed to see the “real” food cost money. I didn’t buy any. Instead I decided to run the Citizens 5k. Actually I had a difficult time deciding on 5k or 10 but I figured I had already done the 10k course, although I considered the possibility the 5k might be part of that. I also thought I might have a better shot at placing well in the 5k. I thought about this as I waited for my friend Richard Busa, known as Mr. Snowshoe, to finish. Richard is a young 82 years old. Coming to watch him race is about half the reason anyone would need to come to the event. I just missed him finishing as it was getting so cold I needed to go back to my room for more clothes and in the 2 minutes I took to do that he came in. He graciously accepted a picture request (left), after all we’ve know each other for years, but you wouldn’t believe the number of people who come up asking for a hug and a photo op.







The women’s race happened as scheduled, they actually started before Richard came in. I took photos of the top 4 finishers but I didn’t know any of them. Eventually it became time for the Citizens race. I decided on the 5k because I’ve never run a snowshoe race under 4 miles. I wanted to go out very aggressively and see if I could hold it. The 5k turned out to be the 6k loop with a couple of the biggest hills removed, well we ran around them. I started in 1st but got caught less than half way in. He was pulling away and 3rd was gaining on me. 3rd turned out to be Peter Feeney from Bar Harbor (pronounced Bah Hahbah), Maine. Peter gained on me on the ups and I opened up on the downs. Near the end we came to one of the very steep hills and following race instructions I followed the flags around it. Some guys were on the course yelling “You can go up the hill if you want” so he did. I’m not sure if that was OK but he didn’t end up catching me. The guy in front of me, then me, then Peter all stopped at the 5k finish so I likely would have won the 10k if I had entered it (still waiting for my 1st snowshoe win, which will probably never happen).

There was an awards ceremony at 3:30PM. The awards were generally for the Championship race but I got an age group medal for the Citizens race without any fanfare after. I also won a raffle prize of a pair of hiking poles. Then at 6PM all athletes were welcome to dinner. At my table were Tim, Jim and Kevin, and they invited Peter over, and we also had Richard and a few older guys there I didn’t know. There were 3 choices of soups – I had cream of mushroom – and spaghetti with chicken and a brownie cake thing for dessert. I felt this made up for the charged food earlier. We ate there and went through another series of raffles. When the dinner was done the crowd dispersed, with half of our table going upstairs to the bar. There I learned that Jim Johnson knows more about music, specifically classic rock than anyone I know. I remember stuff really well but this guy is off the chart. Also, Richard told me he might have a spot on a relay team tomorrow if I wanted to run. So as I went back to my room I started planning my race and checkout schedule for Sunday.

Race 11-14 Northstar Snowshoe Series 10k

February 12th, 2011
10k - -
Garmin Tracking here.

Race 11-13 Jazztrax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

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.

Race 08-06 Jazz Trax Snowshoe Stomp 10k

SATURDAY

This entry has 2 parts because really the trip started on Saturday night. I had a reservation to get a rental SUV at 4PM from SFO. I planned to pick it up, and go to the annual DSE Gala Dinner at 7PM, then leave S.F. with Oliver and head east toward our reserved hotel in Stockton. Upon coming home from a trip to the gym (ran there and back of course) I realized the dinner was at 6PM, not 7PM. So I hurried to get the car and went to the dinner. I had 5 cars from which to choose and I took a charcoal Jeep Cherokee Laredo. It had under 1000 miles and it was an automatic with a slap stick shifter.

I left the rental place and headed for the Gala Dinner. The dinner was very good. Ken did a great job of putting it on. I had the salmon for the second year in a row. People had a great time letting off loud squeaky balloons at random times. The balloons shots around the room, flying up toward the ceiling, and darting at people hair, and going all over the place. We saw an excellent movie about Harry, a totally blind runner who ran the Dipsea race. Most everyone in the club knows who Harry is.

There was a low key awards ceremony. Instead of handing out trophies and the like as names were called, it was up to us to pick up our hardware from a table. They just announced the names and it was up to us to stand up when we were called. it was much better this way as it moved along. i found it helpful to leave my awards on the awards table because there was limited room on the dinner table. I got several awards:

- A Mongo trophy for having done a certain number of DSE races and volunteering (I don't remember the requirements, I just do them)
- A small trophy for 1st place Age group points. This was largely due to Grant not moving to SF until February, getting lost on a couple courses, and missing that start for another race, etc. He will win from now on if he wants to.
- A plaque for being 2nd overall in top 5 finishes (ironically Grant was 1st, because when he did run the races he usually won). The plaque was also for most racing miles in 2007. This is the award I care most about. I ran 606.5 miles in 2007 (plus swam a 1 mi. race that didn't count toward my total). I achieved my goal of 600 (50 race miles a month). This is largely due to running most races I could find up to 31 miles. It is difficult because I actually race every race with 100% effort. I don't ever run a race and take it easy (why go?). The thing that really helped was getting in 2 races in many weekends (or sometimes 3 races, and on one occasion 4 races in 1 weekend). I have set a goal of 800 race miles 2008 and 1000 in 2009, so we'll see where it goes.

At some point I invited nearly everyone I could to he snowshoe race Sunday but had no more takers. After I left I picked up Oliver who had gone home to finish packing and Chikara who couldn't make the dinner. So it was rainy and uneventful for the group as we went to the Stockton hotel. We checked in quickly and made it to bed at 1AM. We scheduled a 6Am wakeup call.

SUNDAY

The wakeup call came at 5:45. I took a shower, Chikara and Oliver opted not to. we checked out without a problem and ate at a MacDonald's just up the road. I had orange juice, and a biscuit with cheese (I took the bacon out). I don't really like MacDonald's but we were in Stockton before 7AM on a Sunday and our options were limited. The weather looked good for most of the way. We noted how many Ron Paul signs were in people's lawns (there were a lot). I started to get a little nervous about chain controls after we saw a sign saying CA-4 was closed at a certain point. According to Oliver's GPS the closure was 4 miles past where we were going.

As we started climbing the road became wetter, then slushy a little, and just past Arnold we hit the Caltrans authorities. They turned us around for not having chains so we went back to Arnold to get some. The 4 or 5 stores we went to were out so we didn't know what to do. A courageous member of the group wanted to hitch, a less daring person wanted to go back up and try to talk our way through, and an undecisive one of us did not offer an opinion or break the tie. So we decided to go see how far we could get. When we got back to the chain control checkpoint the police cruisers were gone and only a couple Caltrans people. The same woman greeted us and informed us that chains are required. She also noted that she was not an officer, she was just Caltrans.

So we made it through and got to the race at 10:16 for a 10AM start. However the race was postponed until 10:30 and Patty Jo (the race director) was very accomodating to make sure all entrants were ready and had their equipment ready before started. So we didn't miss the start. Chikara, another guy and I started in the lead group. After about 10 minutes Chikara started to open a serious lead (so what else is new), Oliver caught up and passed the other guy and me, and the places were set - Chikara, Oliver, other guy, me. It stayed that way for the whole race, other than Oliver missing a turn (not his fault).


It felt fine while we were running, but it was freezing after. the temperature was 33 degrees and during the race we picked up a couple inches of snow. After geting warm clothes in the car we went in for food and awards. The food was excellent for the 2nd year in a row. I had a few different soups, some bread, and hot chocolate. I got a medal for 2nd in my age group (Chikara counted as 1st overall, not age group). I also won a candle in the random draw prize. There were 3 big prizes - 2 pairs of snowshoes and an Ipod. None of us got those despite odds that were more favorable than normal. we stayed a while, took some pictures, and headed home.

Going down the mountain wasn't so bad. I kept it in 1st gear for an hour as went about 15mph and lost 2000+' of elevation. I didn't have to hit the brake at all in that stretch and we didn't slide on the snow at all. By the time we got to 5000' there was no more snow and it was a long boring drive back. We stopped for gas because we were on E for quite a while. We got quick cheap food at a K-mart. I ate a pound of Twizzlers, Chikara got a hot dog and nachos, and Oliver got something I don't know what it was because I never saw it before. ("Asian delicacy" he says). i dropped them off, and went back to bring the car back. Unfortunately since we didn't make it back until after 8PM we got charged for another day with the car (I haven't told them yet!). It was a very fun trip and all 3 of us were very glad that we went.