Kahtoola Bigfoot Snowshoe Festival 50K

[Left: at start of race] January 31 was my 50K snowshoe race up at Midway. This is my first race for the 2009 season. In preparation, I had been snowshoeing the Alpine Loop since late December and working my mileage up from my Achilles Tendinitis from the Bear 100.

[Right: groomed trail and fog] The course follows a groomed golf course trail for 10K and a mountain trail loop for 5K, in the following manner to get 50K: golf, mountain, golf, golf, mountain, golf. The race director required us to wear snowshoes for the first 15K and the last mountain loop, totaling 20K. To win the race, snowshoes would be required for the entire time. Since I decidedly wasn't going to be the running to win, I only wore them for the 20K. I decided to try the Kahtoola snowshoes (they are provided free as Kahtoola is the title sponsor of the race). They have a cleat that straps on your shoe, which then snaps into a platform. The cleat by itself will give you better traction on icy, packed snow, while the platform is for looser snow conditions. They have a quick release cable you pull to detach the platform. The new system is better than the bootie approach they had before, so I thought it would be worthwhile to try (and my Tubbs Catalyst snowshoes are wearing out after 3 seasons of use, and they aren't made anymore).

[Left: burrrr....] The race started at 8:15am. The marathon runners would run with us for almost their entire distance, but we would add an extra golf loop at the end. The temperature outside was reported at 5°F and 0°F. A fog was over the lower parts of the course, and our water bottles froze up as we were starting. On of the difficult decisions to make in these conditions is what layers to wear. While waiting to start, you freeze, but wear too much, and you begin sweating alot when you're running. The first loop was rather quick, with everybody fresh, so it was the fastest 10K loop. The course was modified from last year with an additional 0.7 mile loop about half-way out. My GPS (and others) measured the course to be a little long at just over 6.5 miles (10K is just over 6.2 miles).

[Right: on the mountain] On the first mountain loop, I had great trouble with my snowshoes. My feet were not inline with the platforms, and as I tried to run downhill, my feet were turning inward. It was extermely uncomfortable, and I decided at that point that these shoes were not for me. I came into the start/finish area ahead of my plan and did a quick change of layers, took the platforms off, and ran the next two golf course loops with only the cleats.

When I came in again to the start/finish area, I was now half way down (25K down, 25K to go). I was beginning to notice fatigue setting in, and after a brief refueling and bathroom break, I was back onto the course. The day was now warming up and sunny now, with the fog gone. I had been doing well on food, but was probably not drinking enough water. As I came in at the end of the fourth loop, I knew I was going slow down on the last mountain loop.

[Left: sunny day] At the start/finish, I was having trouble getting my platforms to attach, and the Kahtoola lady noticed and tried to help. She then noticed I had the cleats on backwards (right on left, and left on right), so they quickly helped me to switch them. Now my feet were positioned perfectly in the center of the platform and they felt much better. While I was exhausted on the final mountain loop, the snowshoes worked very well. Based on that experience, I've decided that I will likely purchase a pair.

[Right: Ducks on the course] I had lost time on the fourth and fifth loops, so my when I started the sixth and final loop, I was feeling quite tired. The sun now disappeared behind the mountains and the temperature dropped fast. My main goal was to finish without injury, so I didn't stress myself for the final distance and finished around 9:15. Though I was 7 minutes slower than last year, I estimate the course was at least a couple miles longer, so my average rate was faster this year.

[Left: top of course] I was sore the next day, but no injuries. I was able to return to a regular routine with spin, weights and yoga on Monday and 8 mile treadmill run on Tuesday.

Gear at start: Goretex shell, long sleeve technical shirt, short sleeve tech shirt, tights, warm pants, wool injinji socks, Montrail Continental Divide GTX shoes, Marmot gloves, Nathan fanny pack w/ one water bottle. After 15K, I took off the shell and wore a insulating long sleeve tech shirt and carried a ultra-light wind shirt as backup.

Lessons learned: wear the cleats on the correct feet. Layering was perfect for conditions.

[Right: Finished!] Next event: Moab Red Hot 50K+ on February 14.