February, March Give Way to the New Champions of Snowshoe Racing

Jim McDonell, Braveheart Snowshoe Series Director

Combine the results of the Dion 2012 USSSA National Snowshoe Championships, the 2012 World Snowshoe Championships, the 2012 Winter Teva Mountain Games, and the 2012 Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championships and you have the best of the best of snowshoe racing making history.

On Feb. 24-26, the United States Snowshoe Association held its 2012 National Snowshoe Championships. Sponsored by Dion Snowshoes and hosted by Frisco, Colo., the qualifying racers from around the nation competed for spots on the national snowshoe team and for their place on the podium.

The top five men included Josiah Middaugh, Jared Scott, Eric Hartmark, Scott Gall and Travis Macy. The top five women included Sara Tarkington, Sarah Raitter, Helen Cospolich, Brandy Erholtz and Christy Runde.  All 10 snowshoers are members of the U.S. National Snowshoe Teams.

Of course, like most USSSA races, the competition was fierce and the 10K track was a challenging mix of single track, steep ascents and quick downhill tromps that proved to be great photo ops.

Overall, the racers said the track moved fast, which was reflected in the finishers’ times. Taking his fifth U.S. snowshoe championship title, Josiah Middaugh of Vail, Colo., finished the race in less than 43 minutes. Middaugh finished the race five minutes faster than his win at the 2012 Winter Teva Mountain Games in Vail.

Sara Tarkington with fellow Atlas Snow-Shoe Team Member Adam Chase

Middaugh also captured first place at the Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championships – with a time of 47:47. Joining him on the podium included Peter Maksimow (second) and Travis Macy (third).

Josiah Middaugh at the U.S. National Snowshoe Champs

As part of the Atlas Snow-Shoe Team, Sara Tarkington of Boulder, Colo. also took first in both the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships (a time of 51:21), the Winter Teva Mountain Games (a time of 57:56) and the Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Champs (a time of 58:51).

This year, the World Snowshoe Championships took place in Quebec City and several racers from the United States showed up to compete with some of the world’s top athletes. Taking first in under 46 minutes was David Le Porho of Montreal. A close second was Eric Hartmark of Duluth, Minn.—a member of the U.S. National Snowshoe Team. Minnesota native, Greg Hexum, finished in fifth.

Among the women, Maria Grazi Roberti of Italy took first place with a time of 55:08. Coming in second was Amber Ferreira of Westford, Mass.

Congratulations to all the competitors throughout the 2011/2012 snowshoe season. It was a season for the history books!

For more information on the United States Snowshoe Association and the U.S. National Championships, visit http://www.snowshoeracing.com.

Women competing in the 2012 National Snowshoe Champs

Winter Teva Mountain Games, visit http://www.tevamountaingames.com/winter.

Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Championships, visit http://www.bcsnowshoe.com.

2012 World Snowshoe Championships, visit http://raquettequebec.com.

For Snowshoe Magazine’s coverage of the 2012 Dion U.S. National Snowshoe Champs, click here (and photos).

For Snowshoe Magazine’s coverage of the 2012 Winter Teva Mountain Games, click here (and photos).

For Snowshoe Magazine’s coverage of the 2012 Jeremy Wright North American Snowshoe Champs, click here.

For Snowshoe Magazine’s coverage of the 2012 World Snowshoe Championships, click here and click here.

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