Day/Night Doubleheader

Saturday was a long day.
I headed over to Beaver Brook in Hollis,NH a little before 9am to mark the course for the 11:30am Beaver Brook 5k Snowshoe race (results). On the way over I was thinking of an often (dd?) used line in snowshoe racing - "everything takes longer in the winter". In other words, give yourself plenty of time. The wind had been howling (30+ mph) for the better part of a day and there was a good chance there would be a few branches on the course. In addition we had  2-3 days of temps near 60 which had melted a ton of snow. Hopefully I had given myself enough time. Marking the course was easy, clearing the 100's of branches was a pain. They were everywhere, including 4-5 blowdowns across the trail. Luckily, you could easily step over all of them so no detours were necessary. Snow conditions were also pretty good. Mostly firm, soft on the edges and just a couple exposed rocks. Other than clearing branches, no additional trail work was required. 1 1/2 hrs later I was done. I headed back out with Mike Wade for a warm up on the backend of the course. I only had on running shoes and nearly killed myself a half dozen times. I eventually circled back after a couple of miles before I injured myself.

Me and Bob Jackman near the finish

The conditions were soft enough that I went with my deep cleats without a problem. The race was mostly single track, except for a short section at the start/finish and a short section right in the middle. My plan was to go out fast at the start and get on the single track quickly to avoid getting stuck behind anyone who might eventually slow down. Apparently this was the plan of about 20 other runners as well as they all took off like it was a 400m race. I tucked in behind Mike Wade and Danny Ferreira and stayed right on their heels for the first 1 1/2 miles or so (except for the one time I stepped off the rail and postholed to my knee, causing me to face plant). Danny and I eventually passed Mike but Danny took off and I got stuck wandering in no mans land. I was running ok but just felt flat. I could see Dave Principe and John Pajer not too far up front but I wasn't closing at all (no zip in the legs). The rest of the race was mostly uneventful. I caught up with a struggling Bob Jackman not too far from the finish and went by him with about 1/4 mile to go. I eventually finished in 8th overall (3rd masters) with a time of 24:29. Not a great race but not awful either. After a short break, I headed back out on the course to pick up all the flags. By the time I got back the entire parking area was empty except for the race crew (Mike and Alec). 11.3 miles in the bank. I headed home, showered & changed and headed over to Madbury to help Chris setup prior to my second race of the day.

'Rustic' conditions heading into the field

I arrived in Madbury around 3:30 for the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe race (results) and helped a bit setting up the inside (tables, chairs, etc..). After talking with Chris about course conditions and bumping into Danny and Geoff (who were just coming off the course after doing some trail work), it sounded like conditions would be a little different than Beaver Brook. I don't like surprises so I decided to put on the Katoola's and run the 3.5m course while the sun was still out. The conditions were very hard and icy. In fact, a snowmobile had gone over the first part of the trail and you could barely see any track. The course seemed well marked and was the same course as a couple of years ago except the field. I stopped and took a picture of the pot holed icy trail leading into the field. This section would come back to haunt me later.Chris must have been drinking when he came across the field, marking the course. Instead of heading straight across the field he zigged and zagged back and forth all over the place. The fresh rail he had punched through the previous day was now a solid single track. What should have been a 1/3 mile trip across now seemed closer to 3/4 of a mile.  Should be an interesting section at night! The trail up and over Hicks Hill seemed similar to previous years. It was apparent someone did a lot of work on the trails (something you wouldn't know or see at night). When I got back I changed out my deep cleats for my ice cleats and got ready to race.

Near the finish - photo credit Gianina Lindsey

In addition to my headlamp, I also carried a small LED flashlight. You can never have too much light when running at night. I lined up a couple of rows deep, close to Dave Principe, with Sean Snow directly behind me. At the 'go' command we all took off like we were shot out of a cannon. I think it was faster than a typical 5k road race start. The roughly 1 mile gentle downhill start helped. Heck, we didn't see anything that resembled a hill for nearly 2 miles!. I quickly settled in behind Dave and I could hear someone right on my heels. I never looked back but I knew it was Sean. We would stay this way the entire race (although the order would change twice). Surprisingly my legs were feeling great! Nothing like how they felt at Beaver Brook. As we headed into the field (see picture above), I apparently caught a cleat and went down hard, banging my right knee pretty good before sliding on the icy trail for a few feet. As Sean went by he asked if I was ok, I responded yes and got back up, hoping not to lose Dave and Sean. We would stay in this order, very close together, all the way up Hicks Hill. There were a couple of folks behind us but I'd guess no closer than 20-30 seconds. As our train descended down the back side of Hicks Hill, we apparently missed the first sharp left turn and instead went straight down the side of Hicks Hill....all the way to the bottom. In fact, we went all the way down to the main trail we initially started on. I had a feeling we were off course pretty quickly but we were flying and by the time I could react we were already at the bottom. Dave was about the follow the trail at the bottom when I told him we had to go back up...we were off course. As we headed back up to the point we went off trail I could see runners going by and more coming. I entered the trail again directly behind Amber Fereirra. After a few minutes I asked to pass and took off (knowing Sean and Dave were close by), hoping to make up a little time if possible. It was a little demoralizing, especially considering we had a good race going. I'm not sure how things played out behind me exactly but Dave finished 11 seconds back, and Sean was 15 seconds. My disappointing time was 28:31, good enough for 11th overall and 2nd masters.
Overall I had a great time. There's just nothing like racing on snowshoes at night. My knee was scraped up pretty good and a little stiff but I'll survive to race again! After hanging out for a little food, awards and raffles, I finally was ready to head home...and get some rest. 7 more miles done, 18+ miles for the day. Now that's one way to get a long run in!

Kingman Farm Soldout - Good or Bad?

Well, 3 days after registration opened, the Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe race has SOLD OUT. All 125 spots have been filled. Who would have guessed a snowshoe race selling out....in 3 days (other than Chris Dunn)???

I suppose it's good because it shows that Chris and acidotic RACING really know how to organize a unique and fantastic event. In two short seasons it has become the highlight of the local snowshoe racing season for a heck of a lot of folks. I dare you to find one negative comment from anyone concerning this race.

Of course the bad is it may have become too popular. I know a few snowshoe veterans liked the low-key, smallish crowds that historically made up a typical snowshoe race. For some, bigger isn't always better. Me personally, I welcome the growth and local interest in snowshoeing and snowshoe racing. Well run events are always going to be popular (and probably sellout), whether it's a snowshoe race, road race, trail race or relay race. However, I may have been telling  a different story if I didn't get into Kingman!

Kingman Farm Moonlight Snowshoe Race

Saturday - I made the relatively short trip over to Madbury for the last race in the GSSS with wife and kids in tow. As usual I was early and as usual I was not the first. I think Scotty slept over and Jim Johnson was hanging in the Town Hall. Michael was setting up his timing equipment so I took a few minutes to swap out one of his cleats with a spare I had brought. It was nice to have an indoor facility, a fact not lost on my family (or me for that matter).
Jim and I headed out to run the last section of the course (Hicks Hill) to check conditions and course markings while we still had some daylight. After summiting up and over the hill we decided to run the entire course (backwards) since we had plenty of time and Jim likes to get his gazillion miles in anyways.
Oh, did I mention this was a night race. I did this race last year and it was one of my favorite races of the year. I was really looking forward to running it again. Surprisingly, this is the ONLY snowshoe race I've run this year that is exactly the same course as last year. Last year I was 5th out of 88 and ran 27:42.
As usual, Jim told me how he was going to take it easy, blah blah blah. Of course I said pretty much the same thing. We were both running the Jones Group 10-miler the next day so the smart thing would be to take it easy. Unfortunately that's not the way I run. I guess I can't help myself.

Deb (along with Ben and Jessica) positioned themselves about 100yds from the starting line and managed to get some interesting night video. Actually, the audio may be more interesting, at least it was for my kids (note their commentary).



The start was very narrow, maybe 4-5 wide tops. With a 107 snowshoers it meant they were stacked pretty deep. I settled in behind Josh Merlis and waited for the start command. It was a VERY fast start with about 5-6 shoers jumping out in front and me just trying not to trip, following comfortably behind (my favorite spot). Shortly after the first turn I slipped by Chris Smith and Scotty G and found myself all alone (or so I thought). Heck, Bob Jackman and Jim Johnson were nearly out of sight by the 2k mark.
Then I spotted what looked like a runner without a headlamp. WTF? As I got closer I realized it was Josh but he must have had the worst headlamp ever and I don't believe the light even reached the snow. I got up on his heels and adjusted my light to shine a little more in front, trying to give him something to see (especially at the turns). We stayed in this position all the way to about the 4k mark (except for one brief section in which I lead for about 100yds). Around the 4k mark (on one of the switchbacks) Josh missed a sharp turn and headed into the woods. I yelled, ran past him and never looked back. Heck, if I had looked I probably wouldn't have seen him anyways. I figured he was right behind me but I hoped I could put some distance on him on the downhills since he was running nearly blind. Hey, I'll take whatever advantage I'm given!
As I came across the finish I was told I got 2nd place with a time of 25:18 (nearly 2 1/2 min improvement over last year). Huh? What the heck happened to Bob Jackman? I didn't recall seeing or passing him. Very strange. Of course then I was told what happened to Bob. Bad luck Bob got tackled by a dog somewhere along the course and in the process had his snowshoe knocked off as well. Now that's the story he's telling anyways, I don't recall seeing any dogs either :-)

Splits for the night:
1k 4:12
2k 4:58
3k 5:09
4k 6:04
5k 4:51

Danny Ferreira was able to nose out Josh Merlis for 3rd with Bob 'the dogman' Jackman rounding out the top 5. The top 20 are listed below (with my team mates highlighted in RED)

Place Time    Pace  Pts  Name                   Team                      Age Sex Bib City St         
===== ======= ===== ==== ====================== ========================= === === === ==================
1   22:36  7:16  107 Jim Johnson            CMS                        31 M   115 Salem NH        
 2   25:18  8:08  106 Steve Wolfe            acidotic RACING            44 M    36 Merrimack NH       
   3   25:50  8:19  105 Dan Ferreira           acidotic RACING            26 M    87 Concord NH      
4   25:51  8:19  104 Josh Merlis            ALBANY RUNNING EXCHANGE    27 M    34 Albany NY       
5   25:53  8:20  103 Robert Jackman         TUESDAY NIGHT TURTLES      26 M   113 Warwick RI      
6   26:40  8:35  102 Ri Fahnestock          acidotic RACING            30 M    55 Dover NH        
7   27:08  8:44  101 Warren MacPhail        DUNGEON ROCK RACING        42 M    47 Winthrop MA     
8   27:11  8:45  100 Shane Sherwood         Dungeon Rock Racing        36 M    91 Winthrop MA     
 9   27:13  8:45   99 Leslie Dillon          acidotic RACING            25 F    56 Troy NY         
10   27:20  8:48   98 Patrick Smith          DUNGEON ROCK RACING        46 M    43 Salem MA        
11   27:23  8:49   97 Jay Myers              acidotic RACING            38 M     7 Dover NH        
12   27:36  8:53   96 Luke Fernandez         Team TNT                   22 M   122 Kennebunk ME    
13   27:48  8:57   95 Chris Smith            DUNGEON ROCK RACING        42 M   110 Woburn MA       
14   28:15  9:05   94 Dan Cooper             DUNGEON ROCK RACING        36 M    42 Salem MA        
15   28:31  9:11   93 Scott Graham           acidotic RACING            50 M   100 Westford MA     
16   28:40  9:13   92 Danny Chick            DUNGEON ROCK RACING        49 M    63 Lynn MA         
17   28:45  9:15   91 Austin Stonebraker     acidotic RACING            29 M    84 Dover NH        
18   28:47  9:15   90 Jay Curry              DUNGEON ROCK RACING        37 M    45 Lynn MA         
19   29:19  9:26   89 Ted Hall               acidotic RACING            35 M    58 Merrimack NH       
  20   29:20  9:26   88 Elizabeth Hall         acidotic RACING            35 F    59 Merrimack NH       

These snowshoe races have been really cool. Almost all runners stick around afterwords for awards, the infamous Chris Dunn Raffles or just to socialize. Road races tend to be 'run and done'. Of course it helps to have an indoor facility (thanks Madbury for the use of your town hall).
I got my first podium win too (although I've been second twice before, I've never actually stood on a podium). I think my kids thought it was cool as well. I also picked up a 12-pack of Copper Hook for my effort. In my house this is equivalent to winning 'Beer for 2 years'....I'm a slow drinker :-)
I managed to finally beat Jim Johnson at something: I won a Redhook hat in the raffle and he scored a goose egg. Keep training Jim, you'll get better at the raffles next year.

Maybe Later

I'm tired. No race reports for today, maybe later.
Quick summary of my weekend:

• I ran the Kingman Farms Snowshoe race last night. I felt great and had a good race, finishing 2nd overall out of 107. It was a ton of fun and I'm looking forward to telling you all about it...later. It was also the first time my wife and kids joined me at a race this year. Deb was nice enough to take some video during the race and pics after the race. I've posted the pics here. I haven't done anything with the video yet. Stay tuned.
  
• On Sunday I got up early and drove 2hrs to Amherst, Ma for the 35th Jones Group 10 Mile USATF race (along with 30+ Gate City Striders). What a tough course! Finished with a time of 1:02:26 (6:15 avg) and humbly finished 110th overall, 31st in my age group (ouch). There are some FAST folks in New England. Overall, I was happy with my time.

My legs are tired.

Kingman Farm Preview (maybe)

Chris Dunn has an update on the conditions at Kingman Farm on his blog, but that might change after tomorrow's potential snowstorm. Wait and see.
I marked up the local trail map with what I believe to be the course for Saturday night. As far as I know it's the same course as last year.

What I remember:

• The start is a short walk up the trail from the parking lot (town hall).
• The start is very narrow.
• The course runs clockwise.
  
• Most of the early stuff is on typical winter hiking trails, maybe snowmobile width.
• There is a sharp left turn maybe 1/4 mile in. I only remember it because I tripped on my own snowshoes making the turn and had visions of being trampled by 80+ pairs of snowshoes.
• Most of the course is fairly flat to gentle rolling terrain, all the way up to the composting shed (see map). My guess is it will be fairly fast, with plenty of room to pass if needed.
• Once you get past the Compost shed the trail is mostly single track if I recall. You really need to get position before heading back into the woods and begin ascending Hicks Hill.
• The climb is taxing but runnable if I remember correctly. There are some pretty long switchbacks on the way up AND the way down, allowing you to see runners in front and behind. If you can't see them I promise you'll hear them.
  
• I think we sort of summit Hicks Hill and descend for a while before slowly climbing again around the perimeter towards the summit again. This was a difficult section last year (icy), sort of like running on a side of a hill.
  
• Lots of sharp turns up and over Hicks Hill so pay attention. Sight range is limited at night and you might run into a tree.
• The course was very well marked with surveyor flags...as long as you pay attention.
  
• The last section towards the finish has some fairly steep sections with lots of turns before leveling off near the finish.
• The finish was within spitting distance of the start.
• My guess is this course will have the fastest times of any race in the GSSS.
• Don't be surprised if you get beat by a banana.

The owner of this blog is not responsible for any inaccuracies, falsehoods or outright lies associated with this race. I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.