Race results for the 1/14/2020 Gore Nordic Citizens’ Race #1 Slightly Less Than 5k Snowshoe Race can be found here.
A huge thank you to the staff at Gore Nordic who somehow managed to keep track of classic skiers, skate skiers, and snowshoers, all doing different numbers of laps on the same course at the same time – and then somehow had raffle prizes for virtually everyone in the room who stayed after.
Race results for the 1/5/2020 Return of Get Rec’d Somewhat Less Than 10k Snowshoe Race can be found here.
Thank you RD Mike Owens for pulling this race together after being told that the original venue wouldn’t be hosting the race after all and finding a way to make the so-so conditions work when every other snowshoe race in the region was cancelling or postponing.
GET REC.’D/WRECKED
by Laura Clark
For years I had always assumed that rec.’d had meant something along the lines of get rec.’d at your local recreation center. But in the interest of journalistic truth, I decided on a superficial investigation. According to Professor Google, rec.’d could have any one of ten possible meanings, most prominent being “received,” which in terms of a snowshoe race makes little sense. Runner-ups include recommended and reconnaissance. I rather like reconnaissance as in scouting out a route…but still. After five minutes of prolonged searching I cast my ballot for get recreation, leaning heavily on the homophone, wrecked. For the uninitiated, homophones are two words that sound the same but are spelled differently.
And so ends the educational portion of this account. The rest is true-to-life storytelling….
Four of us optimistically set out for Get Rec.’D Snowshoe Race and Hike at the Town of Stratton Recreation Center, perched as it were across the tracks from the Disney-cloned Stratton Mountain Ski Resort. For most of the drive Maureen Roberts, Jen Ferris, Matt Miczek and I had our doubts as we drove seamlessly next to browned fields. Our vehicle, Sir Thomas was getting bored, having encountered nothing worthy to challenge his new, spiky studs. I was concerned he was going to fall asleep. But as we neared our goal, Maureen suggested yet another of her famous shortcuts which would fortuitously bypass Stratton’s congestion. Obviously, she had never tried this in the winter. The limited access road reared straight up over an icy, rutted lane that had never seen a plow. Sir Thomas had a blast; me, not so much. Actually, up was OK but I outright refused to drive down lest we did get truly wrecked.
Despite being in a different state and in a different month, GR has much in common with ARE’s Brave the Blizzard which had migrated all over the Albany area before settling in Tawesentha. This was the second time GR had touched down at the Stratton Rec Park. Other venues included Lowell Lake State Park and the laid-back Magic Mountain Ski Resort.
The race was billed as a hopeful 10K USSSA qualifier, with the possibility of an 8K downgrade if conditions warranted. What we got was the euphemistically termed hard-packed route frosted over with a few inches of hopeful snow. Still better than anything else around.
If you have ever participated in the classic WMAC snowshoe races with his and her snowpiles, in-car registration and barrel heating, you will appreciate GR. But at least Stratton had a state-of-the-art outhouse and a three-sided shed. And while many won maple syrup awards, we all need to work on our fire-building skills as we left with that smokey, woodsman scent. But at least for the Rich Busas among us there was no possibility of singeing our snowshoes.
At the start, RD Mike Owens was thrilled to announce that the route was indeed a legal 10K journey. I suppressed a groan, not sure on the week’s transition from 5K to 10K racing form. The course was truly maze-like but competently marked with different colored taping and flagging. I did get confused at one point but that was only because I couldn’t believe I was successfully navigating such a complex trail. Featuring the same huge uphill twice, the original title “8K Snowshoe Race and Hike” took on new significance. Still…there I was almost at the end. I knew it was the end because I could spot Maureen’s bright yellow jacket just ahead of me at the finish line. I was ecstatic! Here I was in the first 10K of the season and I felt like I still had more to give! Truth was, I should have, as the route turned out to be short in distance. But not short in effort as the steep hills would attest. All in all, a satisfying attempt, preparing us for the upcoming Cockadoodle, 10K in length but not nearly as formidable as those legendary Vermont hills.
— Laura Clark is an avid snowshoer, trail runner, XC skier, race director, 2017 World Snowshoe Federation Championship 70-99 Female Age Group winner, and 2018 National Championship Half Marathon 70-99 Female Age Group winner.
First, a quick reminder that the Nor’East Trail Runs races at Viking Nordic tomorrow are on. Races start at 8 AM.
The Winterfest course for Sunday is marked and unless the park suddenly gets three or more inches of snow it will be a trail race with traction assistance required – there are some very icy sections of the course. RD Laura Clark asks that everyone be mindful of the conditions and run (or walk, if needed) safely. In her words, “the winners will be the ones who stay upright!”
An inexpensive alternative to Yaktrax, Microspikes, and so on is to make a set of screw shoes. A pack of screws can be picked up for a few dollars at Lowes and installed using a drill, power screwdriver, or even a manual screwdriver/nut driver. One place to find some guidelines to do this is here, and we’ll have a station set up prior to the race on Sunday to add some screws to shoes for anyone who wants them. (You’re also welcome to run on snowshoes, but without snow that will likely be uncomfortable and will definitely beat the heck out of your snowshoes.)
Check-in/registration is from 9:30-10:30ish, with the race starting in the quad at 11 AM.
Wow, it’s hard to believe a week has passed – it seems like only two days ago I was running a 5k snowshoe race at Gore Nordic Center (oh, wait, I was, just not a series race!)
After being defeated by the weather for their first few races this year, the Nor’East Trail Runs crew is excited to hold their first races this season on Saturday 2/1, a 10k and a half marathon, at Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, VT. Registration open at 7 AM, races start at 8 AM. All the relevant info can be found here.
Sunday 2/2 brings the return of the oldest race in the DION WMAC series, the Saratoga Winterfest 5k at Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs, NY. Registration opens at 9:30 AM with the race starting at 11 AM. All the relevant info can be found here. RD Laura Clark suspects it will be a trail race with traction assistance highly recommended, so keep an eye out here and on FB for updates as race day gets closer – she’ll have a better idea of conditions once the course is marked tomorrow.