USSSA Nationals Here We Come!

This past weekend, Amber and I raced the Sidehiller Snowshoe race in Sandwich, NH. Due to the lack of snow in the woods, the race ended up being a 3 lap 5.2 mile FAST race. The competition was steep as CMS men came out to qualify for the United States Snowshoe Association's National Championships which will finally be held on the East Coast. My hope was to crack the top ten overall to qualify as well. With 8 racers well ahead of me, I settled into a comfortably hard pace for the first lap. As I was rounding the fair grounds to start the second lap, CMS's Dave Dunham passed by me. For the few people who have never seen Dave run, it really makes you feel like you're running in mud the way he almost floats above the ground. I decided to stay right on his heels for as long as I could and see where it brought me. The two of us ran the next lap together when Acidotic's own Steve Wolfe, passed us both. Now the three of us were vying for spots 9-11th! Everytime that one runner would make a move it was quickly picked up by the other two runners. It was neck and neck until the final turn where I sprinted by Steve who, once he realized that I wasn't in his age-group anyway, let me pass to finish 9th, with Dave 3 seconds behind and Steve 4. So on March 6th, Amber and I will forego the Frigid Infliction we had scheduled to head up to Syracuse, NY to compete in the National Snowshoe Championship.
Amber ran a strong and smart race, running even splits for all three laps, taking home her fourth win in the Granite State Snowshoe Series also qualifying for the USSSA nationals. I do find it a bit interesting that Amber's won every snowshoe race that's she's entered and yet is only ranked 4th in the New England Rankings. Therefore, I've convinced her to take a week off of the Granite State Snowshoe Series Races this coming week to head down to Northfield Mountain and take on some of the CMS women. Should make for an interesting race. We'll keep you posted on the outcome...