Last year's high school state championship race gets underway with a lot less snow underfoot than we'll have for this year. Photo by Stan Lambros.
Snow is up, fun is on deck, and snowshoers are on hold--or in the hole depending on what part of the state you are in.
The 5th Colorado High School Snowshoe State Championships are to be held this Saturday, February 8th, at Summit High School just south of Frisco. The snow continues to dump on the course with nearly four feet of snow the last two weeks. More snow is expected this week. The course will be packed down all week by Summit High School PE students, and marked to perfection on Friday.
There is still time to register. The new scoring format has piqued a lot of interest. Teams will no longer be coed. There will be a first ever boys and girls team champion this year. Runners will compete on teams of unlimited snowshoers with the top three racers scoring. The top ten snowshoers in each gender will be All-State. Awards this year will be running gloves, and there will be team trophies for the top boy and girl teams. Tech shirts will be given to all racers.
Cheyenne Mountain’s snowshoeing team is headed up again. The pioneers in the powder look to reclaim their title from the defending champions, Summit High School. With two titles now on the line, Lakewood, Smoky Hill, Summit, and Cheyenne Mountain are looking forward to any teams or individuals to come up and challenge for the title. The individual title is wide open, but an early favorite on the girls’ side has to be 2013 Colorado and US National Champion McKenna Ramsay from Summit.
Teams get a $5 discount per runner, so email me at dillondash1637@yahoo.com if you are registering a team. Individuals will need to pay $25 and can still register online at runningguru.com If you don’t have snowshoes, Crescent Moon snowshoes will be coming up and allowing snowshoe demos. Don’t forget, we provide a chili lunch for you after the race, and there is a world famous raffle drawing. If you come up Friday night, please email me and let me know if you want to preview the course. I will be packing and marking away all day on Friday.
Also new this year: the middle school championship. The top five boys and girls middle schoolers in the 5K will be crowned. The new school I teach at, Centennial Middle in Boulder, has a team put together to take on all comers. They have even been practicing in PE Class for the race!
The race is a qualifier for the 2014 US Snowshoe Association National Championships. The race is held in Belmington, Vermont. Information on the national race can be found at snowshoeracing.org
This race is going to be a lot of fun, and I am excited to see what the results will be with the new changes!