Race
I kicked off the new year with my first snowshoe race of the year. The “Snow or No, we go!” at NHTI was on my radar since announced back in December. I’ve run a few of the races in the past and they are always fun and a good test of fitness. It had been five weeks since I last raced and it was time to shake off some of the rust. I struggled this week with the remnants of a head cold and some really tough running with black ice nearly every day. I was on the fence about doing the race with fears of how icy it would be and not wanting to get hurt. Ellen Raffio (the race director) checked out the course on Thursday and declared it to be good for snowshoes. Rain and 40 degree temps on Friday did not improve the course but I wouldn’t know how bad it was until I got there. My plan was to show up extra-early and run the 1 mile loop a couple of times in snowshoes and a couple of times in Kahtoola’s and then decide if it was safe enough to race.
I arrived at 8am for the 10am race and put on my snowshoes and gingerly made my way to the start. The road was untreated and black ice was everywhere. I bumped into Ellen near the start, and she had just taken a spill in the parking lot and declared the course to be in much better shape than the roads. I headed out doing two laps (the race would be either 2 or 4 miles and I would be doing 2 which would be plenty for my painful ankles). Conditions were not bad at all, there was some snow, a lot of ice, and a few patches of bare ground. It could be done in snowshoes. I switched into Kahtoola’s and headed out for another 2 miles. The footing was very good with the traction devices, and I ran a minute per mile faster with out the cumbersome snowshoes (10:30 versus 9:30 pace per mile). I should have kept the Kahtoola’s on as I headed out on the road for another 3 miles. It was nasty running with every step being an adventure. I was happy to make it back to the car unscathed and quickly switched into racing gear and snowshoes. A few people asked me about the course, and I was honest that it was icy but told anyone who’d listen that it was snowshoe-able and this was a snowshoe race, so go with snowshoes!
About 60 lined up for quick announcements including a moment of silence for Tom Walton (who had come up with the idea of the Snow or No). Most were wearing snowshoes but maybe 10 went with Kahtoola’s. They were to be scored separately as that choice was a major advantage. I took off and had the lead for about 100 meters and then two guys in Kahtoola’s and a snowshoe runner went by. A gal in Kahtoola’s got along side me and she’d be right behind me or at my side the entire way. I was only concerned with the guy in snowshoes as he slowly pulled away. He was about 10-15 seconds up as we came back by the start at the mile. I felt like I was pushing as hard as I could and he was not coming back. I did catch one of the Kahtoola guys at 1.5 miles and pulled slightly ahead of the gal. I had no way of knowing who would be doing 2 miles and who would be doing 4. I could see the leaders up ahead (20-30 seconds) as they continued straight and I turned into the finish and crossed the line in 16:13. The win kept my streak alive and I’ve now won at least one race every year from 1979-2026. I finished the morning with a nice four mile warm-down on the road and a celebratory Dunkin’s coffee.
Place Chip Time First Last Gender Age City State Pace Bib Age Place Age Group Desc.
1 0:16:13 Dave Dunham M 61 Bradford MA 0:08:07 53 1 M Top 5
2 0:19:25 Freddi Triback F 53 Lynn MA 0:09:43 47 1 F Top 5
3 0:19:39 Matthew Lund M 12 Barrington NH 0:09:50 52 2 Katoolahs
4 0:24:03 Justin Deflumeri M 37 Nashua NH 0:12:02 4 3 M Top 5
5 0:24:12 Cory Lund M 46 Barrington NH 0:12:06 51 4 M Top 5
6 0:25:04 Alice Tuson F 51 Concord NH 0:12:32 14 2 F Top 5
7 0:27:19 Joe LaFrance M 67 Tilton NH 0:13:40 48 5 M Top 5
8 0:27:45 Cheryl Lasell F 66 WilliamstwnVT 0:13:53 7 3 F Top 5
9 0:29:49 Gary Girolimon M 72 Manchester NH 0:14:55 34 1 M7079
10 0:30:42 Katy Murray F 45 Concord NH 0:15:21 21 4 F Top 5
11 0:31:03 Nancy Nemcovich F 63 Franklin NH 0:15:32 13 5 F Top 5
12 0:31:02 Lynda Caine F 69 Loudon NH 0:15:31 38 1 F6069
13 0:31:22 Mike Barry M 69 Northwood NH 0:15:41 60 1 M6069
14 0:31:37 Tom Raffio M 69 Bow NH 0:15:49 1 2 M6069
15 0:34:08 Colleen Connolly F 64 Pittsfield NH 0:17:04 12 2 F6069
16 0:34:51 Michelle Schlickman F 55 Hooksett NH 0:17:26 5 1 F5059
17 0:35:12 Melanie Brehm F 30 Sanford ME 0:17:36 41 1 F3039
18 0:35:14 Allison Brehm F 34 Allenstown NH 0:17:37 42 2 F3039
19 0:35:39 Sara Brehm F 62 Pembroke NH 0:17:50 40 3 F6069
20 0:36:44 Heather Judkins F 54 Franklin NH 0:18:22 61 2 F5059
21 0:39:03 Doreen Lehoullier F 55 Chichester NH 0:19:32 33 3 F5059
22 0:39:05 Diana Menard F 55 Chichester NH 0:19:33 32 4 F5059
23 0:39:26 Colleen Falardeau F 60 Litchfield NH 0:19:43 35 4 F6069
24 0:41:30 Timothy ChrysostomM 59 Canterbury NH 0:20:45 58 1 M5059
25 0:44:16 Laurel Baerman F 59 Laconia NH 0:22:08 9 5 F5059
26 0:46:29 Mikki Hughes F 68 Loudon NH 0:23:15 8 5 F6069
28 0:46:31 Stacey Dubia F 54 Hopkington NH 0:23:16 59 7 F5059
29 0:46:43 Steve Moland M 82 Sidney ME 0:23:22 30 1 M8099
30 0:46:40 Judi Moland F 80 Sidney ME 0:23:20 31 1 F8099
Place Chip Time First Last Gender Age City State Pace Age Place Bib Age Group Desc.
1 0:31:10 Colton Piper M 31 Concord NH 0:07:48 1 27 M Top 5
2 0:31:22 Mike Barry M 69 Northwood NH 0:07:51 2 60 Katoolahs
3 0:32:05 Sarah Rak F 34 Concord NH 0:08:01 1 57 Katoolahs
4 0:32:29 Jonathan Kovar M 55 Contoocook NH 0:08:07 3 39 Katoolahs
5 0:33:31 Daniel Blanchard M 37 Essex Junction VT 0:08:23 4 29 M Top 5
6 0:34:00 Marsha Kavanagh F 51 Durham NH 0:08:30 2 28 F Top 5
7 0:34:26 Cris Cote M 63 Essex Junction VT 0:08:37 5 22 M Top 5
8 0:35:14 Deirdre Lowe F 46 Salem MA 0:08:49 3 49 F Top 5
9 0:36:42 David Audet M 60 Concord NH 0:09:11 1 24 M6069
10 0:39:25 John Kowalski M 57 Essex Junction VT 0:09:51 1 50 M5059
11 0:39:44 Darrel Lasell M 68 Williamstown VT 0:09:56 2 19 M6069
12 0:40:50 Brian Walfield M 63 Lynn MA 0:10:13 3 46 M6069
13 0:42:00 Ellen Raffio F 57 Bow NH 0:10:30 4 2 F Top 5
14 0:42:17 Richard Chipman M 65 Concord NH 0:10:34 4 45 M6069
15 0:43:08 Christopher Baerman M 60 Laconia NH 0:10:47 5 23 M6069
16 0:46:10 Bruce Johnstone M 67 Weare NH 0:11:33 6 16 M6069
17 0:48:44 Cari Causey F 46 Jericho VT 0:12:11 5 18 F Top 5
18 0:49:39 Robert Knight M 81 Hopkinton NH 0:12:25 1 17 M8099
19 0:50:16 Keith Shah-Solle M 45 Malden MA 0:12:34 1 43 M4049
20 0:51:01 Katja Fox F 60 Wolfeboro NH 0:12:45 1 20 F6069
21 0:52:09 Judy Tasker F 53 Melrose MA 0:13:02 1 56 F5059
23 0:52:34 Douglas Rice M 47 Malden MA 0:13:09 3 55 M4049
24 0:52:44 John Mulroy M 70 Reading MA 0:13:11 1 44 M7079
25 0:53:17 Richard Kee M 63 Franklin NH 0:13:19 7 25 M6069
26 1:06:30 Tom Graham M 0 Boscawen NH 0:16:38 0 54
27 1:07:28 Evan McAlear M 49 Malden MA 0:16:52 4 15 M4049
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