Yes, we’re still here and putting together a 2020-21 Dion WMAC Snowshoe Series. Actually, Laura Clark has been working for months to try to assemble a list of races – the radio silence has primarily been my fault, my paying job (which truth be told I also love) has been the most time consuming and exhausting that it’s been in my almost 30 year career. But the time has come to reveal our plans for this season, mainly because we might actually have a live race happening in less than a week…
This is likely obvious to everyone, but I’ll run through it anyway. This is not going to be our usual snowshoe series. Live races will be thin on the ground, and some that are currently planned may not end up being allowed to happen. Many of us can’t legally cross state lines to attend races outside of our home state, and some states likely won’t even let live races happen even if we could. Some folks will be comfortable attending a live race, others not. Various modifications to race formats will be needed to try to make them as safe as possible for participants, including limiting numbers and allowing online preregistration only.
In light of all of this we’ve decided to focus on participation and encouraging people to get outdoors to snowshoe or non-snowshoe run, walk, and hike, whether it’s by participating in a live race if one is happening or simply spending time and distance outside close to home. The plan is to have a particular distance to aim for each week. If there’s a live race that week, that could be one option for accomplishing that distance, but anyone is free to participate wherever they are. Later this week I’ll post details about recording participation, which will be on the honor system. Toward the end of the season we may have a raffle for some prizes and Laura may revive a version of Farmer Ed’s Barnyard Awards (how many people reading this remember those?)
At the same time we will also be running a distance challenge where the goal is to see how many miles of snowshoeing you can do this season. Top mileages will get bragging rights and maybe some prizes if we can rustle some up.
The fun starts the weekend after Christmas, hopefully with the first live race of the season – 2.5k and 5k at the Gore Ski Bowl Nordic Center. Online registration will open as soon as permission to hold the race is granted and I’ll post full race details once we know it’s happening, but at the moment the day and time to keep free is Sunday, December 27, with a rolling start between 2-2:30 PM, in North Creek NY.
Stay tuned!