Boulder High School's Sam Lewis has already made a name for herself in track and cross country. Now, she's on her way to snowshoe nationals. Photo contributed by Jim Lewis.
On February 13, Sam Lewis destroyed the girls field at the Colorado Youth Snowshoe Championships (article here). On March 6, she gets to test her newfound passion against the best youth snowshoers in the nation.
Near Syracuse, New York, at 9 AM (EST), the Junior Boys and Girls National Showshoe Championship event begins. And, if you've watched Sam Lewis on the track or on the cross country course, you have a sneaking suspicion that she just might surprise some people back in New York. Altitude training can't help but be a plus at lower elevations for this sport.
If she does raise some eyebrows, it just might be the start of something big right here in Colorado. On a personal level, I'm hoping it does catch on and intend to start snowshoeing myself next winter. Maybe I'll see some of you at a race or two next winter!
I got a chance to ask Sam a few questions in advance of Saturday's event. Here is what she had to say:
I think I may know the answer to this one, but what got you started with snowshoeing?
My coach, Melody Fairchild, suggested trying snowshoeing. She believed I could have fun with this, and get strength training out of it. Melody mentioned that Eldora had these Wednesday night Nighthawk races. My first time on snowshoes was at one of these races and I loved it, it was a blast!
With the roads be lousy and all, did you ponder turning back before you even got to the Colorado championship race?
I never thought about turning back. The roads going to Frisco were a bit sketchy, but as the snow came down I just got more and more excited because that's my type of weather. I love running in the crappiest of conditions, so I knew it would be an awesome experience!
How much snowshoeing had you done prior to the race on February 13 where you came pretty near to taking down all the high school guys?
I didn't get much time at all on my snowshoes before the race. I only raced twice and had one weekend workout, all at Eldora.
What's the most difficult thing about transitioning from cross country running to snowshoeing?
There are a few things that are difficult about the transition. One is that you have to get use to carrying a lot of extra weight on your feet that you are not accustomed to. That extra weight and size does affect your running form. So you have to figure out what the best way is to run in the snowshoes, whether it's a shuffle or picking up your knees really high. Snowshoeing does make you pick up your knees a lot. You have to, or the spikes at the front of the snowshoe will get caught in the snow and you can fall. The nice thing though, if you do fall, the snow is very forgiving. Another thing that I experienced, at state championships, is that the terrain can be really tricky to decipher with these huge shoes. I fell many times during that race because the snow was very deep. Running with the extra weight and size of your snowshoes, then adding the weight of the snow as you plow through it, and the depth of the snow changing with every step. I never knew what to expect, and it was really tough. The other thing, is getting use to the feeling of the slower turnover than in cross country running, yet you are working 10x harder, so it feels hard, but it's slower. You have to be careful that you don't start out too fast thinking that you aren't going fast enough, because you will pay for that mistake later in the race.
It's obvious you're a competitor at heart and competitors find it difficult to just shut down that side of their personalities. So, do you go to New York with any expectations or dreams?
Going to New York, I just want to go out there and have a blast and get a good start for my upcoming track season. We'll see what happens, but I'm excited to see what I can do, seeing that I don't have a ton of experience racing, I want to take my experience in New York and put it towards future snowshoeing events. I'm hoping more kids my age will start snowshoeing, it's a great sport and winter cross training.
Are you getting any input or teasing from friends about this adventure?
When I tell friends about my adventure, they don't even know that there is such a thing as snowshoe racing or that it's even considered a sport. Last weekend, my track teammates and I went up to Eldora and we snowshoed together, and I don't think they realized how tough it is, but now my nickname is the Positive Punisher.
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Colorado Track XC will post results from this Saturday's race, and maybe a photo or two of Sam as well. If I don't have the results up fast enough to suit your curiosity, you can find the USSSA web page at http://snowshoeracing.com/. This much I will promise, as this sport grows in popularity in our state, Colorado Track XC will be on top of coverage of the sport at the youth level.
