Snowshoe #5 - Sidehiller - 1.30.10

This was slated to be a 4 mile race. That has been the distance in the past. Due to the rain we experienced last week race director Paul Kirsch was forced to change the route and the length. Rather than leaving the fairgrounds and crossing the street for some bushwhacking, we stayed on campus and did 3 delightful loops around the grounds in Center Sandwich, NH. Thank God - it was a dry cold. The temperature at the start of the race was set to be right around zero degrees and factoring in the bit of wind we had i am betting it might have been a tad below that mark. The Sidehiller was race #4 in the GSSS and also a part of the WMAC series. In addition to that it was the only qualifier for the US Snowshoe Championship to be run in NH. So all the stars came out to play. The front row of the starting line had the likes of Jim Johnson, Kevin Tilton, Ben Nephew, Dave Dunham, Josh Ferenc, Jim Pawlicki, Charlie Therriault and Chris Dunn. The nice thing about a loop course is after the first lap you know what you're in for on the second lap. Although when you are making the second loop and you realize you still have another one to go...well, at least we were warm at that point. Congratulations to Kevin Tilton from Team CMS/Inov8 he took the tape with a speedy finish of 31:08. Josh Ferenc grabbed 2nd and Jim Johnson "took the day off" and grabbed third snapping his undefeated streak this winter which had grown to 7 races until Saturday. Mind you he was running hurt. Still the man to beat at any race in any weather and a great competitor. My team Acidotic Racing was unfortunately without our best bet Geoff Cunningham sidelined with tendonitis. Here is hoping we get him back for the upcoming Exeter Snowshoe Hullabaloo at Fort Rock. It is a gnarly course and extremely technical, so I have been told. Acidotic was well represented in the top twenty by teammates Charlie Therriault, Tim Cox, Danny Ferriera, Steve Wolfe, Ri Fahnestock and Chris Dunn. I pulled in at 46:55 to grab 52nd place out of 91 ice cold racers. Still thawing out and getting ready to hit a training run right now. Fort Rock is going to be a test and I need to get ready. Thanks for checking out the blog and for helping my snowshoe races $upport the good work at JDRF all in the names of my son Cameron. See you in the powder.

Timmy & Team Cameron

Snowshoe #3 - Feel Good Farm - 1.16.10

No throwing up and no falling down. Two goals that I achieved without necessarily setting out to do so. The Feel Good Farm Snowshoe race is aptly named, as I was certainly feeling good when we finally left the farm. This was race #3 for the season and race #2 in the GSSS that myself and my teammates from Acidotic Racing are competing in and it was a test. Feel Good Farm in Lyndeborough, NH were our gracious hosts and both the setting and weather were great. Michael Amarello and his crew from 3C Race Productions knocked out another seamless event and made the grueling race a little more bearable.

This race was roughly an 8.5K comprised of 2 laps up and down Moose Mountain. The way up was steep and slow as the running was so difficult at times crawling on all fours might have been more effective. I had the pleasure of passing a few racers that decided to "lighten their load" on the way up - delicious! As for the way down, calling the terrain treacherous would be a gross disservice to the word treacherous. Many competitors met the ground with more than just the bottoms of their cleats. I was thankful to have my Dion 121's with the deep cleats in play, thanks Bob. If you have never snowshoed before I can only explain descending a trail like this as "organized confusion." You are throwing your feet so your tips don't drag while trying to center your balance all the while concentrating on your footing and maintaining a good pace. It is a relative pounding on the lower extremities and luckily I did not tweak anything until (left ankle) the second descent. Acidotic Racing had a great showing in numbers and we were lucky enough to have Geoff Cunningham take a step on the podium when it was all said and done placing 2nd. The overall results are here. Check out the view from the shoes of Scotty Graham , Steve Wolfe who raced with a heavy heart (RIP Molly) and our captain Chris Dunn in their respective blogs.

I had set one goal for myself in this race, simply to finish strong. I figured based on distance and difficulty the leaders would be in around the 35 minute mark. Sure enough 1st place went to Kevin Tilton from team CMS with a time of 37:19. I said to Gianina before heading to the starting line that she could expect me no later than 59:00 unless of course the first lap took me 55 minutes then she could adjust accordingly. When we finished our first lap I came out of the woods trailing Scott Mitchell from Team Blazing Turtles. He commented as we headed back in and up that we were horrifically far from done, I checked my watch for the first time to see that we were at the 29 minute mark and told him that we might want to pick it up. Not wanting to get much more conversational with him I made my move to pass and continue to push forward as we once again hit the delightful climb up Moose Mountain. The only benefit about lap 2 was we now had the knowledge of what was ahead of us. I hit the summit for the 2nd time at the 53 minute mark and knew that I had only 6 minutes to "get off" the mountain to maintain my personal goal. As I cleared the trees and the trail continued to wind towards the crowd and the finish we leveled out. A flat surface - what a treat! As we neared the parking lot I heard my son Aidan yelling GO DADDY! (audible on this video at the 5:52 mark) It really doesn't get any better than that.

I pulled in at 58:12 which gave me 53rd out of the 104 that toed the line. Four runners finished that first lap and figured that was enough. We have enjoyed more $upport from family and friends and thank you for visiting our donation site to benefit JDRF this winter. Next up on the schedule is the Pooh Hill Snowshoe Scramble at King Pine in East Madison, NH. I am not sure of the distance on this one, but it doesn't really matter after this week I now know I can handle anything that is thrown my way. Thanks again to my amazing family and friends for all of your encouragement and my teammates for helping me in my training.

Timmy & Team Cameron
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Snowshoe #2 - Olde Salem Greens - 1.09.10

My wife is amazing. Have you met her? She is the woman at all of our races corralling two young boys and trying to take photos at the same time. She is the one that works all week and then on her "days off" drives me and the boys all over New Hampshire and New England for that matter so Daddy can go run another race. When I write these blogs I always refer to "Team Cameron." Although there is only one runner on the team, it certainly takes a group effort to pull off the endeavor of getting to and from all these events. This week we had a very special member of the family team with us as my mother braved the early hour and the cold to cheer me on. As always we are hoping through these races to bring an awareness of Juvenile Diabetes and Autism to light as well. Thanks in advance from the Cameron Lindsey Foundation for all your $upport. I would be remiss if I continued to blog about "Team Cameron" and our efforts without tipping my cap to my spectacular wife of 13 lucky years.

So onto the race. The Olde Salem Greens 5K Snowshoe Classic in Salem, Ma. This was a non Granite State Snowshoe Series event although it did count for team scoring purposes for the season. The good news, Jim Johnson was busy winning another race in Pittsfield. He most likely will contend to win both the Western Mass Athletic Club Series and the GSSS. An amazing athlete. So it was wide open, well, not for me but some other favorites in the field. The CMS Polar Bears were well represented by the winner Ben Nephew with a time of 22:41. Team Acidotic was fortunate enough to grab two spots on the podium thanks to my teammates Geoff Cunningham(2)and Charles Therriault(3) and our captain Chris Dunn rounded out the top five. The guys continue to remind me that as long as I finish I am helping the team. Not bad for my 2nd race ever. I pulled in at 36:27 which was good enough for 63rd place out of the eventual 191 souls that braved the cold temperatures.

Race Director Eileen Dunn and Race Producer Michael Amarello from 3C Race Productions put together a great event. Michael is also an aR teammate, a busy guy that brings it on and off the course every week. We definitely got some cool shwag for entering early. Most races do the standard t-shirt or water bottle. Eileen Dunn and the guys from Dungeon Rock Racing put together some event specific wool socks and some DRR running gloves. Once again Bob Dion had his people on hand with loaner shoes which is such a gracious thing to do. You could potentially walk in that morning sign up for the race and if early enough score some shoes as well. I am excited to report that "Team Cameron" has some new Dion Snowshoe 121's on the way. I am looking forward to getting them cold and wet this coming week at GSSS #2 in Lyndeborough, NH at the Feel Good Farm 9K. Thanks again to my wife and my boys for inspiring me each week to just finish!

Timmy & Team Cameron