Time to take another moment to recognize someone without whom we might not have a snowshoe series, and certainly not one that’s been around as long as ours has (23 years and counting.) Those of you who started snowshoeing in the last couple of years likely won’t even know who this person is – series founder and organizer for 21 years, Ed Alibozek.
Ed was often described as being the heart and soul of this series, and 
he certainly did a heck of a lot to make it happen, between overall organization, weekly updates, newsletters, directing multiple races a year (which included long drives from his home in CT to scope out and mark courses ahead of time), helping with even more races, and generally being a wellspring of smiles and positive attitude. Health issues led him to step away before the 2015-16 season, and fortunately for us several individuals stepped forward to keep things going. A lot has changed over 23 years, but much of what we are can be traced back to the thoughts and attitudes of Ed and the folks who helped him put this series on for that first 20 years, whether it’s a certain pleasure at holding races at beautiful sites out in the middle of nowhere or welcoming everyone who enjoys snowshoeing to our events, whether they’re at the front of the pack or bringing up the end.
Dave Dunham filmed a short interview with Ed way back in 2009 after the inaugural Hoot Toot & Whistle 5k, about how the series came to be – it’s on Youtube here and is well worth checking out.
With luck Ed will join us for one of our future races – I think everyone who knows him will agree that we miss having him running with us. And in the meantime – thanks, Ed! We wish you all the best.