Snowshoe National Championships

Yup, I've been remiss in updating my blog (again) - sorry. You can always follow my daily workouts over on Google+.

Since moving to the left coast my snowshoe racing career has big hit due to.......hummm.......well, lack of snow & races.  That said, I have many fond memories of snowshoe racing in New England (your fault +Dave Dunham) and consecutive snowshoe nationals appearances from 2002 until 2006.  Since then I've only raced in snowshoe nationals when they have been in the Northeast US (2010) or Oregon (2009 & 2013).  In 2013 I didn't actually race because I was co-race director when the event was held in Bend, OR. Returning to nationals in New England has been a chance to catch up with my many trail running & snowshoe friends and catch up on old times.  Old times and new tech - most of the photos on this post were taken with +Google Glass.

Me (far left) and my Central Mass Striders teammates

February 28, 2014 - So, there I was, back in New England at the most competitive snowshoe race ever held in North American and my most recent snowshoe race was at the 2010 snowshoe nationals 4 year earlier.  Ouch, this was going to hurt!  It was well below zero but that didn't stop us from waking up early for a morning run AND then running the 10k course mid-day.

Running up to the Bennington Monument - sunny & -15 degrees F.

Running the 10k course with Ken Tripp & Dave Dunham the day before the race.

Race director & masters trail running champion +Tim VanOrden. Great job on the course Tim!

What are these things on my feet! It's just like trail running - only slower!

March 1, 2014 - Race Day!  Over 200 men toed the start line including 2 elite Canadian runners & former +US Mountain Running Team members Scott Gall, +Kevin Tilton, +Dave Dunham and a whole mess of really strong trail & snowshoe runners from 22 US states and 8 countries.

My good friend & executive director of the +American Trail Running Association +Nano Hobbs took this photo just prior to the start.

Early in the race before I was too winded to wave & smile.

My plan was to start the race "easy" & stay in control for the first 2k and then hammer the hill from 2k to the summit at 5k.  It seemed like a good plan until I got to 2k and was already at the limit.  Instead of picking up place on the climb, I ended up loosing a few and watched Dave pull away from me.  From then on I struggled to hold position - especially through the twisty single-track downhill and 2nd uphill to the 8k mark. 

Here's what the downhill single-track looks like - from our course preview the previous day.

The last 2k of the race was almost all fast, wide downhill.  I hoped that saving a little on the previous climb and not forcing my way past several slower runners in the single-track would save a little energy for the final push.  When we came out of the woods onto the wide trail I put the hammer down and finally started passing people again.  It wasn't all smooth sailing as race director Tim Van Orden put in some soft, narrow switchbacks within sight of the finish line to catch out runners with soft, lactic acid filled legs - like me.  I fell in one of the corners - thanks Tim.  Tim also added one last small uphill in the final 200 meters where I got re-passed by teammate Todd Callaghan after working my ass off to catch him.  Thanks again Tim.  No matter, it was all good fun and good clean competition but I was really glad to cross the finish line and get that suffering over with.  In the end I finished 31st overall and 4th in my age group.  It was my worst place finish in the 8 times I've raced snowshoe nationals.  No worries - I had fun and that's what really counts.  My GPS & heart rate data for the race is here.

The top 10 men at snowshoe nationals.  Frosty finished 8th.

March 2, 2014 - Relay Day!  Snowshoe nationals has a tradition of holding a relay race on the Sunday after the main event.  It's always a low key affair with pick-up teams and many fewer participants.  It's still a whole lot of fun and a chance to burn out your lungs over a 2.5k "sprint" course.  I joined my Central Mass Striders buddies for a masters team and took the first leg.

This is what the start of a snowshoe race looks like through +Google Glass.

Yes, costumes are encouraged for the snowshoe relay.

+Ben Nephew handing off to +Tim VanOrden for the CMS open team.

Race director Tim cheers on runners after finishing his leg of the relay.

This is how snowshoe racers do "Rock-n-Roll".

Me with Ken Tripp and Dave - thanks guys!

Dave Dunham wrote about the snowshoe nationals relay here and the 10k championship race here.  Tim Van Orden's excellent video promoting snowshoe nationals is here.  See you in 2018??

Where did the summer go? .....or how I spent my Summer vacation.

Humm, yeah - I've been negligent about posting so let's catch up starting NOW!

July: I flew back East to the old country (a.k.a. New England) to attend the 2013 +USA Track & Field Mountain Running Championships / Cranmore Hill Climb / selection race for the US Mountain Running Team / NACAC Mountain Running Championships.  4 races in 1 - woo hoo!  This was also my first time traveling with Google Glass so I took TONS of photos, videos and tweeted the heck out of the races.  As usual it was also a chance to catch up with my mountain running friends from around the country and be amazed (again) by how deep and fast the fields have become at the mountain running champs.

I didn't know that +Nano Hobbs was afraid of heights.

+Morgan Arritola rightfully skeptical of my new nerd glasses.

Mountain running power brokers & friends +Nano Hobbs, +Steve Vaitones and +Steve Taylor 

The women's race is underway!  

+Stevie Kremer and +Morgan Arritola way out in front after 1 lap.

The top 6 women after the race.

+Mario Mendoza and +Max King just moments before starting the men's race.

+Max King legging it out on the downhill.

Some runners endured serious aerobic pain on the steep, grassy uphills.

+Alex Nichols becomes the 6th and final man to qualify for the +US Mountain Running Team 

+Megan Lund-Lizotte and future mountain runner "Maven" relax after the race.

Yes kiddos, mountain running is a contact sport - contact with the trail.

The fastest trail runners in the USA show off their hard earned awards.

"Ok +Google Glass, take a picture of daddy"

+Dave Dunham - it's your fault for dragging me into this crazy mountain running sport........and Action Dave agrees with me.  

This race was also the first opportunity to test out my new +GoPro Hero 3 (thanks mom!).  Here's a little summary video of the races.

Full results from the race can be found here.  

Congratulations to all the athletes who qualified for the 2013 +US Mountain Running Team - +Joseph Gray +Max King +Glenn Randall +Alex Nichols +Ryan Hafer and +Zachary Ornelas.  On the women's side +Morgan Arritola and +Stevie Kremer finished 1st and 2nd in the race but declined their spots on the team due to schedule conflicts.  Joining the men listed above at the World Mountain Running Championships on September 8 in Krynica, Poland were +Magdalena Boulet +Megan Lund-Lizotte Megan Kimmel and +Chris Lundy. 

Forest fire threatens USA 50k Trail Championships

This is the complete story I wrote about the Flagline 50k with photos.  It originally appeared in edited form on TrailRunnerMag.com.

A fire information board just yards from the startline

The Pole Creek forest fire in Central Oregon started two weeks before the third annual Flagline 50K, giving race director "Super" Dave Thomason heartburn every time the winds changed direction. “Smoke from the fire was literally was making me crazy. When winds were out of the North it felt like you were standing downwind of a campfire” said Thomason.

Race Director Dave Thomason

The fire grew rapidly, and within a few days spanned to 26,000 acres with the edge of the blaze just one ridgeline away from the most scenic sections of the race course. With smoke encroaching on the nearby town of Sisters, visibility decreased to several hundred feet and residents were advised to stay indoors. According to local runner Mario Mendoza, “I had to run in some pretty nasty smoke most of the days leading up to the Flagline 50k. At times it was so bad I honestly thought the race would get canceled.”

Another fabulous Superfit production

South of the fire, air quality on the course varied dramatically in the days leading up to Central Oregon’s newest and fastest growing ultra race. Almost 300 runners were signed up for the event, which was to be the 2012 U.S. 50K Trail Championships, and as race day approached, nobody knew if it would happen. All eyes were on social media updates posted by Dave Thomason.

Five days until the race, Thomason posted on Facebook:
"Smoke, smoke, smoke. Depending on the wind we either have lots or very little."

Everyone looks happy before the start

The shifting winds meant conditions were fluctuating between apocalyptic and perfect. “I had been up on the course several times the week of the race and air quality was great in the morning but would start to turn ugly after 3 pm. On the one hand most folks would have finished by 3 but seeing how fast smoke conditions changed, this kept me from sleeping well“ said Thomason.

Three days until the race:
"The race start and finish area is now a staging zone for 10 helicopters fighting the Pole Creek fire"

Max King, Tim Van Orden, Ryan Bak & Mario Mendoza at the start

The 31 mile course is run in the shadow of 10,000-foot volcanic giants Brokentop, Bachelor and the Three Sisters mountains. Starting 6400’ above sea level at Sunrise Lodge, runners traverse this rolling high-mountain course in a single loop that is snow-free for just a few months each year. The race begins with a smooth, fast, and dusty 8-mile descent before taking runners up the first of two stout 1,000-foot climbs. The rest of the course features old growth forests, above-tree-line single-track, and a creek crossing to cool sore feet.

Two days until the race:
"OK folks we are getting close and I still can't say with any certainty that the race will be able to go. This is due largely to the smoke being blown in at a moments notice."

Natalie Bak

Thomason and his merry band of mountain-bike-riding course markers had to blaze the course two days before the race. Unable to make a definitive call on whether the race could be held, Dave still led them on a full day of course marking armed with hammers, stakes, directional arrows and surveyor tape.

One day until the race:
"Very hopeful for tomorrow. After being up their today and having clean air and sunshine. See you all in the am."

Finishline under clear blue skys

As the sun rose on race day, clear blue skies awaited the runners and not a whiff of smoke could be detected. From race headquarters, just one hour before the start, Thomason made the call: Game on.

In addition to elite runners competing for national championship titles, athletes from ages 15 to 73 and coming from 10 different U.S. states toed the starting line. On the men’s side, 2011 World Mountain Running Champion Max King pulled away from fellow Bend speedsters Mario Mendoza and Ryan Bak to take the win. A few hours later Max would be on a plane to Utah where the next day he would also win the XTERRA Trail Nationals. “I was feeling pretty relaxed and comfortable during the 50k race and I'd done the double last year so I wasn't too worried about Xterra”, said King.

Max King

Former US Mountain Running Team member and 5-time winner of the Pikes Peak Marathon, Erica Barton from Los Alamos, New Mexico, took top honors in the women's race and finished as the top woman over 40. Barton bested Bend resident Natalie Bak who also finished 2nd the prior year when she was out-sprinted by cross country skier Stephanie Howe. “I thought the course was beautiful and the trails were a lot of fun to run on” said Barton, “my greatest strength right now is climbing, so the hills suited me”.

Erica Barton

As the fire burned on distant ridges, favorable winds kept the course smoke free all day. A race director’s nightmare was averted but that didn’t stop Dave Thomason from thinking about what challenges the race could face in future years. “I know we are going to have a snow year at some point so that will be fun to tackle.”

Complete race results can be found here: http://www.time2race.com/Results/Flagline%2050K%202012.htm

Additional race photos can be found on my Google+ page.