It was a long winterish season up here in Maine. I say winterish because the weather never could decide what it wanted to do. One day it would be sub-zero, and the next would be in the upper 40s. It would snow, and then all the snow would melt. I don't do well with winter if there isn't any snow. It seems darker and more depressing, and all the outdoor fun stuff I like to do in the winter depends on snow. I never did get my regular snowshoes out, and the racing snowshoes got used maybe half a dozen times, three of those for the actual races.
About those races... I did far better than I deserved, considering I didn't train for them. The first one was a lot of fun, we actually had decent snow for that one. My 14 year old niece, who is mildly special needs, takes part in a really cool program called Girls On the Run and is on her middle school cross country team, so I'd asked her last spring if she'd like to do a snowshoe race with me. She thought it over, and decided that yes, she really wanted to. For Christmas, I paid for her registration in the race, her snowshoe rental, and bought her a pair of wool running socks. Morning of, my sister-in-law drove her and two of her siblings two and a half hours to get here for the race. Fun was had, we didn't go fast, but we finished. The biggest problem came when I realized that her feet are smaller than mine and we couldn't get the bindings tight enough. Being as she'd only ever been on snowshoes once before in her life, we decided to fast walk the course rather than risk getting hurt. She said it was like walking in giant flip-flops. At the end, as soon as the finish line was in sight, we started running and the kid beat me to the finish line. We were fourth to last and third to last, respectively. And we got a pair of light-weight running gloves as our swag for this race.
The second race was another fast walk, as I had the cold from hell (the things you catch, working in a grocery store). I was smart this time and did the early start with a couple of the other slow pokes (I've started calling us Team Tortoise). Eliza is doing it to get in shape, Jerry is 82 years old, and I'm just slow, fat, and lazy this year. I still finished fourth to last, and fun was still had. This race's swag was a pair of arm warmers.
The last race was a little over a week ago. Conditions were horrible, not enough snow, so it went from being a 5 mile race to 2.75 miles, because 1) it was like running on cement, 2) wear and tear on our snowshoes (most of us are running on $250 racing snowshoes, not exactly something you can easily replace), and 3) not much fun to run on. Again with the early start, but this time my friend Gi joined me, Eliza, and Jerry. Gi and I did the whole race together, and I think I ran more this time than in the others. Friendly chat and banter during the race, and we did a good job pacing each other. At the finish line, my mostly dormant competitive streak took over and I left her behind. Fourth from last. It is destined to be my place, lol. Swag this time was a t-shirt, and for those of us who did all three races, a hat with Bad Ass embroidered on the front.
What I love about doing these races is how all ages and abilities are encouraged. The youngest racer is Eliza's son, who is 11, and the oldest is Jerry, who, like I said, is 82. The cheers are as loud (maybe even louder) for the last racers to come in as they are for the first ones. Once people get their cup of coffee and a nibble, they tend to go back to the finish line and cheer the others in. And the real reason Jerry starts early and comes in nearly last? He hangs out on the course and takes photos, and also encourages and mentors new racers and slower races. My real reason for the early start? I discovered that there are still brownies and other tasty food when you don't come in almost last.
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