Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble

I met Dave Dunham at the Newburyport Park and Ride. Two hours later, we arrived at Whitaker Woods in North Conway for my first snowshoe race of the year. CMS teammate Kevin Tilton is the race director. Several CMS mates also arrived: Ed Shelton, Paul Bazanchuk, Sam Wood, & John Pajer. It was sunny and temps warmed up to maybe 20 degrees. I did a warm up in sneakers on top of the groomed trail with Dave and Paul. Once I got on a single track down hill, it was suicidal, and lost them so I shuttled around on my own. I got back and changed into my racing gear and Dion Snowshoes. I did another 10 minutes out on the course.

At the start line, I saw a lot of new faces (new comers). I got out at the start and settled in behind Kevin Tilton who had enough volunteers to let him race. I held my own on a few climbs in the first few miles. Kevin put a gap on us that I could not make up. The groomed trails were nice and I would say that this made the course pretty fast. The single track trail was manageable in all respects. I had a battle in the 2nd half of the race with John Corona in what was mostly flat groomed terrain. I finished in 8th place, time of 27:29.7, 1st in my age group for the 3.9 mile course. I did a cool down with Dave and we settled inside for some soup and waited for the awards where I scored home baked goods courtesy of Jess Tilton. I devoured the cookies and brownies as soon as I got home. Check out the sweet photos that Joe Viger took.

Whitaker Woods Snowshoe Scramble Results

Joe Viger Photography

2016 Snowshoe Racing schedules for New England and beyond

2014 Snowshoe Nationals, Prospect Mountain, Woodford VT
Photo by KrissyK

In the spirit of the white stuff touching down upon us tonight, I wanted to share three 2016 Snowshoe racing schedules for those in New England: Granite State, Western Mass Athletic Club, and Central MA. All sites are currently getting updates for event URL's and finalized race distances which can often be dictated by snow conditions (if there is snow). Keep track of the links below for updates. 

The Granite State web site is pretty good with advising if the race is still happening the evening before the race. 

The WMAC series will send out an email update the Friday or afternoon before the race. If you do not get those updates, let me know and I will get your email added to the list. 

Lastly, the Central MA snowshoe series will hold their races regardless of a lack of snow (sneakers with use of traction device permitted). Otherwise, they will communicate through Facebook, web site series below, or through email to registered athletes. 

2016 Granite State Snowshoe Series

Best 4 races score in the series

January 16, 2016 Whitaker Woods (4 miles) - North Conway NH

January 23, 2016 Moose Mountain Runaround – Brookfield NH

January 31, 2016 Beaver Brook – Hollis NH

February 7, 2016 Horsehill – Merrimack NH

February 13, 2016 Kingman Farm Moonlight (4.5 miles) – Madbury NH

February 20, 2016 Exeter Snowshoe Hullabaloo (4 miles) – Exeter NH

March 5, 2016 Granite State Championships – Wolfeboro NH

March 12, 2016 Northeast Championships* Woodford VT

*not part of the GSSS scoring

2016 WMAC / DION Snowshoe Series

January 9, 2016 Hilltop Orchard 5K – Richmond MA

January 17, 2016 Greenwood Gallop 5K – Mt Prospect, Woodford VT

January 23, 2016 Hoot Toot & Whistle 5K – Readsboro VT

January 31, 2016 Curly’s 4 miles? - Pittsfield MA

February 6, 2016 Northfield Mountain 4 miles– Northfield MA

February 7, 2016 Saratoga Winterfest 5K – Saratoga NY

February 13, 2016 Camp Saratoga 8K – Wilton, NY

February 20, 2016 WMDP Snowshoe Scramble 5K/10K – Holyoke MA

February 21, 2016 Brave The Blizzard 5K? – Guilderland NY

February 27, 2016 Snow Summit 5K – Woodford VT

February 28, 2016 Bay State Games – Becket MA

March 6, 2016 Thunderfest 5K - Adams MA

March 12, 2016 Northeast Regional Championship – Woodford VT

Central MA Snowshoe Series presented by DION Snowshoes

January 17, 2016 Moore State Park 5K – Paxton MA
January 31, 2016 Newton Hill 5K – Worcester MA
February 13, 2016 Wallum Lake Twilight Tour 5K – Douglas MA
February 27, 2016 For the Love of Snowshoe 5K – Holden MA
March 5, 2016 Leominster State Forest 4.5 miles – Leominster MA 

New Hampshire & Northeast Snowshoe Championships

The whole winter almost got by without me racing a snowshoe race. The New Hampshire and Northeast Championship event was hosted by Acidotic Racing on the trails next to Castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough. Several gorgeous views of Lake Winnipesaukee were offered along the single track. Several CMS men and women were in attendance which was nice to see. As soon as the race started, it funneled into the single track. I made sure Todd Callaghan and Alex Hall got in front of me before it tightened up seconds after the start. If one were to step outside of that single track that was two feet wide - would be a risk as you would post hole and lose balance. This was the case throughout the race that was advised as being 6.1 miles. My position as it turned out was perfect. It gave me cushion between Alex in front of me and any pressure behind which was not an issue until late in the race. I passed one person before 2 miles as he stepped aside putting me behind Alex Hall who was dominating the down hills. David Martino caught me at 4.7 miles and held me off at the end by five seconds. It was nice to get out on the trails and feel the quads and lungs burn a bit. CMS got top spot on the team podium and several raffle prizes were handed out as Acidotic put on another classy event. 

Place Time   Pace  Name              Team                       

9      53:08  8:43 James Pawlicki    CMS

                  

Granite State Snowshoe Champsionships

Granite State Snowshoe Championships - March 8, 2014 - full results

My dad and I rolled into Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, NH for the last snowshoe race of the year and Granite State Snowshoe Series. This was also hosting the championship for the Granite State. I placed 3^rd last year with an elbow shredding kick to the finish line with CMS teammate Greg Hammett. Race director Ryan Welts and Chris Dunn provided some guidance on how the course was laid out. The course profile did show, as they reiterated, two hills toward the end. The last hill was Catamount Hill. Before heading out for my warm up, I found Jim Johnson all stressed out as his keys were locked in his car. I went into salvage mode to determine what we could do to get him racing gear assuming that AAA would not be able to get there and in his Nissan within 45 minutes. I went and got him another bib number from registration and then offered to grab a sledge hammer as we could take out a small window and get in. Thankfully we were advised that Scott Mason – a locksmith by trade – might be able to help. Jim flagged him down and Scott, with a slim Jim in hand, was in the Nissan in about 2 minutes. No big deal. 35 minutes to race time and I got out on the road for a quick out and back for a warm up on the roads. I got on the start line four minutes for the start for instructions by Ryan Welts. I jumped into third place behind Jim Johnson. Nacho had the lead early. The pace felt upbeat. I lost sight of Jim after 10 minutes and did not see nor hear anyone on my heels.

I felt OK on the single track and miserable on the four wheeler track. The tire track was too narrow to have a comfortable stride and foot plant with the snowshoes. It was an ankle buster. So I would then opt for the higher snow in between which was booted up (rustic was the term that I learned). I could not find a happy medium and slowed down a bit noting that I was exhausted. Really exhausted! Two folks caught up – I assumed one was Dave Dunham (the other was Tim Van Orden). I picked up the pace on the single track and seemed to be feeling better. I wanted to push them from the front. I kept that up until some hills and Dave called for a pass and I obliged with satisfaction. I asked Tim if he wanted to go too and he was all set. I kept with Dave until for a bit before having to climb. I was toast and told Tim as such. Tim went by as Dave now had five seconds on us and was wheeling pretty good on the down hill. It was another ankle tester with single track. They gapped me pretty good but they were at least visible. Things flattened out before approaching a sign “big hill ahead.” I figured it was the last hill and oh it certainly was. It was steep enough for me to step into a walk here and there but I was only 8-10 seconds behind Tim and Dave. I got to the top and I managed to look out to the beautiful view for a few seconds while trying to stay with the flagging of the course. I could just make out Dave's back before he descended down. 

This set up for a huge downhill for which I let it all fly trying to close the gap on Dave. It was not to be as I was lucky to get within 12 seconds of Dave at the end. I know we were both exhausted and just looking for the finish line. Tim Van Orden, Dion / Western Mass Athletic Club (WMAC) 2014 series Champ, smoked me by 31 seconds. My finish time was 53:29 and place was 5^th overall. Jim Johnson took the win and Nacho was 2^nd. CMS took four of the top five here. I got 6.31 miles on the Garmin so pretty close to the 10K billing. I did a cool down with Dave and Tim on the roads before chilling out at the post race festivities where Acidotic is the best in the business for awards, raffles, and showcasing the divisional top three for the race as well as the series.

Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe

It was Kingman Farm or bust. I was determined to travel through the falling snow and less than optimal road conditions. I was thankful for the 4 wheel drive that the Nissan pickup  allowed me to leverage – figuring out how to manually engage it for the first time. I thought was a 6:30 start (actual start was 6:00) for the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe race in Madbury, NH. The caravan of snow plows four lanes wide (twice) on Rt. 95 and falling snow made for a white knuckle ride. I arrived at the race in time to provide 25 minutes to get my race number and sort into my racing gear. No time for a warm up or to relieve my pancreas. I was on the starting line for pre-race instruction provided by Chris Dunn. The rule to remember was to keep the flags to your right for the 4.5 mile course. I failed to get the pre-race emails that changed the course from the usual 5K distance.

Nineteen year old Nacho Hernando (Sweetie Pies) who took a win at Horsehill 7K the previous week got out in front with Jim Johnson (CMS) right away. Steve Dowsett (Whirlaway) and I trailed in single file. Bob Jackman (TNT) was right behind me. The snow was falling and our headlamps shed light on our upcoming path. The footing was pretty good. Low hanging braches covered with snow were light to the touch. Visibility was good but picking up the yellow flags (a few were red and OK to see) were tough until you were on top of them. I did appreciate the reflective arrow on the yellow flags to advise of a turn. Your instinct is to follow the person in front of you. I let Bob pass as I felt I was holding him back about a mile into the race. Then we hit the field where I lost ground to him and Steve. You could occasionally look ahead and see the lights that Nacho and Jim had. We appeared to be doing a loop out there. I could see tail lights of cars out on a highway in the distance. The depth and conditions were fair out there but I preferred what we had in the covered trails of the woods. We headed back into the woods and I went past Bob to help out our pace. I wanted to close the gap that Steve had on us. I eventually did not hear Bob behind me. 

Steve had a red blinky on his head lamp so I used that as a beacon to close in. I got within three seconds but no closer over the next two miles which had a nice mix of rolling hills, switch backs, and tight turns. One had to be careful to stay on and in the single track in the thick woods. I could hear the yelling in the distance and potential lighting from the town hall (I really was not too sure. Indeed that noise and lighting we were coming upon was the finish. It must be fun to watch the race from the finish with head lamps zig zagging along and eventually minutes later finish the race. I would up six seconds behind Steve in fourth place. Jim (2nd) and Nacho (1st) were evaluating their races and Jim seemed to be giving some tips and advice to Nacho to not let him hold Nacho back. I got the snowshoes off and did an easy cool down with Bob, Steve, and eventually Jim out on the snow covered roads. My mind was heavy on how the ride home was going to be and for morning trip to Woodford, VT 10 hours later. I got some warm clothes on and hung out for the always popular awards and raffles given by Acidotic Racing. 

Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race Results - Madbury, NH - February 15, 2014 results
Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race photos by Scott Mason

Sidehiller snowshoe race

It was so cold four hours before the race that my two co-pilots for the 2.25 hour trip north to Center Sandwich, NH had other thoughts. I talked my friend Brett Rickenbach into the race a few days before. It would have been his first snowshoe race. Kristen on the other hand, had to be talked out of it, after learning that I would be driving alone. Standing in bitter cold temps taking photos would be torture. Alas, I rolled out of the driveway in the VW GTI with the ambient temperature guage reading 5 degrees solo with two stations on Sirius Satellite Radio, Metal station 27, and Faction station 28 keeping me company. I arrived at 10am to register with Paul Kirsch and do a warmup with CMS and TNT folks. I had too many layers on and was pretty hot upon return to the car to get my gear for the 11am race. I went with three light layers up top, two pairs of running pants, and two pairs of gloves. I'd say the temperature was close to ten degrees but thankfully not as windy as the previous two days.

This race was a regional qualifier for snowshoe Nationals in New York State in March. The level of competition was stacked. A few new faces were upon us from CMS like Peter Mallett and Eric Morse. The usual suspects who have been in the top five all winter were there. The course was going to be a quick one with three loops around the fairgrounds which Paul felt was about 1.7 miles for each loop. There were a few hills to remind you that they exist but overall a fair course with some single track in the woods to get your attention. The race went out like a bullet which was no surprise. Some of the course was on ice and the Dion's held up fine if perhaps loosening the rivets on the front of the cleats.

I got through the first loop under 11 minutes feeling tired and dreaded two more loops. Dave Dunham was just ahead mixing it up with a small pack. Steve Wolfe went by me minutes later and I had no response. My second loop was more than a minute slower. I seem to recall close to 23 minutes on the clock. I focused on Eric Morse on the last lap and wanted to get this race over with. He hung in there to finish seven seconds in front of me. I was wiped out. I finished in 13th place with a time of 34:51. Kevin Tilton took the win with Josh Ferenc taking the silver and Jim Johnson settling for bronze. My Garmin calculated that I covered 4.86 miles and averaged 7:11 pace along the way.

I changed into some dry clothes and was the first to redeem my bib number ticket for Tomato Basil soup and a slice of bread at Mocha Rizing. I went back to the finish line to chat with the competitors on their races and the rest of the season. Reeder Fahnestock talked about shoveling snow to get a rail in order to get Exeter ready for next Saturday. We need some snow. Dave Dunham mentioned that Northfield is all ice at the moment. He'll get an update on Wednesday. Dave gave me his bib as he was leaving for home. Thus I caught up with Robert Jackman, Dave Quintal, and Ben Nephew for another cup of soup and bread.

Results
Jamie Gemmiti Photos

Pooh Hill Snowshoe Scramble

I was looking forward to this race for a few reasons: to race on some groomed terrain and to check out an Acidotic, Chris Dunn, event that I have been hearing about. All one had to do was hang out for the awards and you'll know what I am talking about. There were plenty of prizes and raffles. Scott Mason scored a new pair of snowshoes. Kristen scored a bottle of Hammer Gel, squeeze bottle before the race and then won a Kona Brewing Company hat after the race. I saw some Red Hook six packs handed out (must be over 21 of course). Kristen was concerned about being out on the course too long during the race so she turned around after twenty minutes in the race and came back to grab the camera to get a ton of photos. I finished up in fifth right behind Kevin Tilton. I held that spot from about 50 yards into the race and trailed Kevin 10-20 seconds the whole race. He'd be the last to make an excuse but his Dion's have seen better days. He should be in a fresh pair this Saturday at Sidehiller. Results. My Garmin GPS advised that I covered 4.69 miles in 36:59 which converts to a 7:53/mile clip. The high point on the course was 558ft at 2.5 miles and the lowest part was 440ft at 1 mile. The race started at 488ft and finished at 466ft.

I was chatting with some of the Acidotic crew after the race. We noted how each of us show our strengths and weaknesses depending on the type of course. This modified Pooh Hill course (Pooh Hill was excluded this year) was my style of course where there was no long grind up an ascent, just rolling hills and some groomed track. I was a bit sloppy even on the groomed stuff in areas for this 155 lb slug. At any rate, the folks in front of me made short order with DoubleJ remaining unbeaten this winter with another win. Ben Nephew hung tough for second and Robert Jackman came up from Rhode Island to finish 3rd.

Feel Good Farm Snowshoe

I got bit by the snowshoe bug at the Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic last Saturday (results). I went home that day and searched for upcoming races and found the Granite State Snowshoe Series. The next race was held today in Lyndeborough, NH, only 90 minutes away from Beverly. What I did not account for was a ball-buster of a course hosted by Feel Good Farm and race director, Michael Amarello of 3crace productions. I read that we had to do Moose Mountain four times, and I certainly did, slowly. Feel Good Farm has 540 acres of land. There was plenty of animals milling about.



After helping a few first time snowshoers with advice and snowshoe adjustments at the starting line, I headed out and got buried in sixteenth place about 100m in as the single track hit us and the climb ensued. I got a chance to pass a few on the first climb between stepping around and or from an offer in front of me to step aside. I was then in tenth place at the top with a hardcore descent into the backside of the mountain where the lowest part of the course awaited. Then another climb back up was there at 1.6 miles to insult us again. I passed three more guys as all four of us mixed a slow crawl of walk - trot - run to the top where Scott Mason awaited to capture drool, snot, and sweat with his Nikon camera. See photos.

I got down the bottom approaching the half way mark. Tim Cox (Acidotic - CMS), who was spectating, had words of encouragement. I failed to check on the half way split but heard I was in sixth place. I couldn't see anyone in front of me so I had no way to judge spacing but Chris Dunn was on my heels soon enough as we approached the ascent again up Moose Mountain. It was here that I trotted up and he was walking but keeping pace at my heels. I got some distance at the top and into the descent over the next mile but not much as I would peek back and see company about twenty seconds back.

I pulled into the finish line just under 43 minutes for a distant sixth place (results). It was clear the five guys in front of me finished minutes ahead of me. Kevin Tilton and Ben Nephew were already cooling down. They finished 1st and 3rd respectively. Just behind me was Reeder Fahnestock, Chris Dunn, and Chris Mahoney who ran his first snowshoe race. I told Chris that this was a tough introduction to snowshoe racing. The rest, unless going through two feet of snow, should be easier. I cooled down with new CMS teamate Christain Muentener and then caught up with CMS 'mates Kevin and Ben for a few minutes. I picked up a Feel Good Farm Pint Glass for 3rd place in the age group and a raffle prize which will be a gift for a friend. In all, this was a great event and as always, great people.

Kristen (photos) and Scott Mason (photos) were everywhere on the course taking photos. My Garmin measured 4.03 miles today. How does 10:40 pace per mile on snowshoes sound? The high point on the course was 878ft and just about touched that four times today. The low point was 499ft while the race started at 648ft.

The Pooh Hill Showshoe Scramble in East Madison, New Hampshire is the next race. Perhaps I can convince Kristen and the GTI for another day trip.