Maudslay State Park 5K snowshoe run

Brett, Krissy, and I arrived at Maudslay State Park in Newburyport for a 5K fun run on snowshoes. We waited for a few more folks to arrive before heading out for a warm up on the roads. Dave Dunham said the course would be fast and that was good to hear. The atmosphere was fun, low key, but organized as Dave flagged a loop. The competition was deep and fast. Scott McGrath wasted no time bolting down from the field into the valley. Steve Dowsett and Mark Larosa followed keeping company. I kept the fourth position throughout the race, solo all the way. The conditions were great for me, stayed on top of the snow layer all the way which was packed down from the previous day that seemed to have plenty of cross country skiers and hikers about. The course was essentially the Trav’s Trail XC loop so it was that fun rolling course with thick pines all around. I had no chance of catching Steve who found himself in 3^rd after 1.5 miles. We finished the course with the infamous climb up back to the field we started on. Classic lung and muscle burner. I closed into the line in 4^th,  21:27. Steve was 18 seconds in front of me and Greg Putnam was a bit over 30 ticks behind. My GPS picked up 3.09 miles. A group of us collected for some photos and cheered the last of the runners in before we headed out to pick up course markings. Krissy ran/hiked through the course in 55 minutes and seemed to enjoy herself. Brett was out there for more than 25 minutes, just behind Derek Dorval – who will be racing for CMS this year on the masters team. [Results]