Middaugh and Cospolich Lead the Way at Beaver Creek

Once again, Mother Nature and Beaver Creek served as sensational hosts for the start of the seventh annual Snowshoe Adventure Series.

The sun beamed high above the alpine sky as more than 400 people participated in the first B.C. event of the season. Among those enjoying the weather and hospitality were Josiah Middaugh of Vail and Helen Cospolich of Breckenridge, who took top honors in the men’s and women’s 10K.

Keeping close pace was Silt’s Bernie Boettcher who finished at 55:55 behind Middaugh’s 55:17. Lisa Isom of Vail came in second on the women’s side with a finishing time of 1:09:16. In the 5K, John Litchert of Fort Collins shocked everyone when he broke the tape at 43:17 to win his first snowshoe race, the first he had ever competed in.

“I’m a biker and a runner for the most part. I didn’t expect this much climbing,” said an out of breath Litchert. Several first timers at this event echoed the sentiment regarding the steep grade of the course.

“Every time we climbed a hill I kept thinking ‘ok, we’ve got to be going downhill now’, and then we went up again,” said Katie Klehr of Denver.

Perhaps Litchert’s win shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. According to team Atlas runner Greg Kraus, who had to miss this race with a fractured tibia, everyone should expect the unexpected. “It really depends on the terrain as far as who is going to win. Some runners are better in certain conditions than others. The favorites are always there, of course. Josiah has been especially dominant lately, and Lisa Isom is a strong runner. You just never know though.”

The kids got in on the action too, as Christian Kloser and Kerry Carmody trotted to victory.

The Beaver Creek Snowshoe Adventure Series continues in 2005 on Jan. 9, Feb. 12, and
concludes March 5 with the North American Snowshoe Championships. You can register to compete by visiting http://www.bcsnowshoe.com or calling 970.476.6797 x.107.

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