Just recently I completed the Jeremy Wright Snowshoe Championships held in scenic Beaver Creek, CO and it was a tough race.  Nikki and the boys and I all drove up Sunday morning battling ski traffic and arrived about an hour before the race.  It’s a 10K that starts at a park at the top of a mountain, about 10,500 ft.  As it’s championship name implies, the race certainly attracts the fastest snowshoers around and this year wasn’t any different. I was 12th overall here in 2006 so my goals were  to just improve on my place, but still give it a good hard effort.  When I got to the starting area about 30 min. before race start, my luck took a turn for the worse when I was in the port-a-pottie and my data recorder came unclipped from my tights and fell right in! I did what anyone would do to retrieve a heavily valued piece of training equipment: I held my breath and reached in until I found it.  After 5 quality hand washings later, I was ready to go, with my data recorder working at 100%.  But man, I hope that never happens again! 

Before the race, there is a traditional “dash for cash” sprint where anyone can sprint for 100 yards for $100 cash prize.  I gave it a go, but a snowshoe malfunction made it difficult to keep up with the top guys.  After the real race started, I pushed hard up the 1st hill and soon settled in my pace.  A few people passed me here and there, but kept up my effort. After mile 2, we headed into a very fun & challenging down hill of all powder.  As we headed for the finish, it was all uphill and by this point I was just trying to keep my position.  I finished 11th overall and had a lot of fun!  Now, I am focusing on some longer rides & runs to prepare for Oceanside 70.3 in March and Strongman Japan on April 20!  Hope all of you are doing well & thanks for reading!
 
Tim