‘No Blizzard!’ Surprises JazzTrax Snowshoe Stomp

It was a perfect day for the Jazztrax Snowshoe Stomp at Bear Valley, Ca.– for once! The conditions were much better than in the years past; this time the blizzards happened during the week, dumping about eight feet of new snow on Bear Valley. Locally, that’s considered flurries….

Chikara Omine raced in shorts and a t-shirt — again!– to win the 10km in a time of 53:07 for the men. Erica Kikuchi won the 10km for women in a time of 1:16:03. Because of the small field all racers qualified for the USSSA National Championships in Syracuse, New York, March 6, 2010.  Returnees to Nationals may include: Erica Kikuchi, Jason Reed, and Amelia Forney.

5km victories went to Craig Whichard (25:08) and Maureen Forney (48:37).

Both the 5k and 10k courses were set up by Paul Peterson (BVCC management) and Steve. Paul Durante, a local racer, helped design the course — everyone agreed it was the best course so far at Bear Valley Cross Country. The event is growing due to popularity of a quality event put on by race director, Patty Jo Struve and the Vallecito Music Boosters.  There were 46 competitors in the combined efforts of a one mile, 5k and 10k races. The boys winners in the one mile, Nicholas Abila and Austin Varn, tied at the finish line in a time of 17:27.  The girl winner in the one mile was Nicole Ayala in a time of 22:38.

After the race, participants were invited to Sky High Pizza’s Restaurant and the awards ceremony hosted by the Vallecito Music Boosters and the Avery Middle School Jazz Band, a huge highlight of this event.  There was great food, tons of awards and raffle prizes, and music provided by the AMS JAZZ.

Isn’t there something that seems in tune when jazz is combined with snowshoeing? It just seems right; Jazztrax has premiered a unique feature in all of snowshoeing

This is annually a well received event.  Patty Jo, race director, thinks everyone had a fun time and will return in the years to come.  The sponsors for this National Qualifier are impressive:

ATLAS SNOWSHOES
HAMMER NUTRITION
DERMATONE
BEAR HANDS
BEAR VALLEY CROSS COUNTRY
SKY HIGH PIZZA AND BEAR VALLEY LODGE
BIG TREES MARKET
ALL STAR ATHLETIC AND TROPHY SHOP
ON YOUR MARK EVENTS
LOCAL BUSINESSES IN MURPHYS & ARNOLD
JOE LILLY/PHOTOGRAPHER
VALLECITO MUSIC BOOSTERS

Thanks to Mary and Patty Jo for providing this information.

USSSA: www.snowshoeracing.com

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