Race report submitted by Mindy Nicholds, Race Director
It was a pleasant morning on Sunday, January 11th with a hint of a breeze and temperatures in the 20’s as staff and volunteers set the course and clubhouse for the 11th annual Swift Skedaddle Snowshoe Adventure. Participants checked in between 9:00 and 10:15am, discussing eating, fueling and training regimes along with styles of snowshoes. MSR representative Matt Niedermiller was on site with over 40 demo MSR snowshoes. One hundred and thirteen athletes chose this as their event of choice with 51 participating in the 3K romp and 62 choosing the grueling, hilly, single track terrain of the 10K course, a USSSA National Championship Qualifier.
The event started just after 10:30am with a gun shot by Town of Silverthorne Mayor, Dave Koop. 3K rompers, donned with a Hawaiian Lea, started out with the 10K racers on the Raven Golf Course 10th hole, wound through the golf course over hill and dale, through the woods and down through the finish line. The fastest rompers were coming in at about 20 minutes; hardly a romp!
Those that chose the challenging 10K course, after a nice warm up on the golf course, followed a single and double-track course, including some deep-snow sections, through the forest, up and down hills, over various obstacles. The most famous is passing through a long metal culvert (see photo, above, of Wendy Jewsbury checking it out) on one’s knees or squatted way down while managing to keep the snowshoes from crossing up. The finish is at the Raven Golf Club.
Dennis Flanagan of Breckenridge came in first with a race time of 58.17. Scott Oberbreckling of Dillon came in second with a race time of 1:00:24. A mere 8 seconds afterward came Tim Hola of Highlands Ranch, CO.
Top female finishers were: Brandy Erholtz 1:08:32, Colleen Ihnken 1:15:56 and Rebecca Kane 1:24:57. These athletes as well as many others, qualified to compete at the National Snowshoe Championship on Sunday March 8th at the White River Snow Park on the flanks of Mount Hood just outside of Portland Oregon. For a complete listing of 10K results please go to the official USSSA website at snowshoeracing.com.
After the snowshoe, athletes and volunteers were served cuisine from our local sponsoring café’s and restaurants: Kulas Café, Old Chicago’s and Blue Moon Bakery. While enjoying their warm lunch, participants enjoyed raffle prizes and an awards ceremony acknowledging 1st-3rd place in 6 female and male age categories.
The Silverthorne Swift Skedaddle, originally founded in 1998 by Danelle Ballengee (North American Women’s Snowshoe Champion and adventure athlete), has been handed over to the Town of Silverthorne and the Silverthorne SPORT Committee. The Town of Silverthorne plans to continue its tradition, grow and improve on this race therefore increasing proceeds for the Recreational Youth Scholarship Fund.
Results: United States Snowshoe Association http://www.snowshoeracing.com/
(phillip gary smith writes about snowshoeing from snowdrifts in Minnesota http://www.ultrasuperior.com/)
(Back to www.snowshoemag.com)
photos courtesy of Bill Linfield.
