Red's Race 5 Mile - 4.25.10

I am finally back out racing. Since the snowshoe series cancelled a few events due to not enough weather and then my left knee cancelled a few more at the end, it felt good to be wearing a bib again. This season on the asphalt started the way last season finished, with a partner.

Another one of my friends from Weight Watchers wanted to do her first road race. I told Amanda when she was ready I would be happy to run with her. She had some hesitation as the race grew closer but then decided she was ready after all. Was she ever ready! When I did my first race back in September of 2008 I merely took on a 5K (3.1 miles) and was thrilled to have completed it. Amanda should be very proud of herself, she ran a 5 mile race today and never once punched me in the face for "maintaining positive chatter" throughout the entire run. As someone once said to me before I set out on my first road race, "don't worry, you won't be last."

Sure enough Amanda pulled in at 1:00:04 which was good enough for 461st place and according to the results I was in at 1:00:34 - we were not last! It was a nice way to start the season and get back out there. I will be heading out next for the Hampton Falls 5 Mile on May 8th looking to better my time. In shocking news, the incomparable Jim Johnson won the event with a time of 25:56. Congratulations to him coming off of his amazing 76th place finish (2:30:00) at Boston last Monday. Thanks for checking out the blog and see you at the starting line.

Timmy and Team Cameron

Snowshoe #7 - Horse Hill - 2.20.10

I got lost. I missed a left turn on the power line road and continued on ahead. One of the racers in the pack with me finally said "hey, i don't see any tracks ahead of us." An extremely disappointing moment, eclipsed only by turning around to see a dozen other racers bang the left and take the lead we had built on them. More on this later. Michael and the crew from 3c Race Productions put together another great event by shoveling snow onto the thin parts of the trail and supplying plenty of cornbread and kale soup after the fact. This was a GSSS event and the leader thus far held his own. Jim Johnson (1st/27:07) was in attendance so the outcome was somewhat predictable as it became a battle for second place among the high seeds. Acidotic teammates Ann Rasmussen (women's winner/33:59),Steve Wolfe, Richie Blake and Michael Amarello rounded out our contingent amongst the 46 that showed for the event. I was able to recover some ground after my mishap in the woods and finished a dismal 32nd in 40:40. After the race it was back to the house to shower, stretch and grab a quick nap before the nightcap. Next up the Kingman Farm 5K in Madbury.

Timmy & Team Cameron

S(no)wshoe #6 - Frosty's Dash - 2.14.10

No snow. No good. After other postponements I was happy just to be racing again. Frosty's Dash for a Cure to benefit Cystic Fibrosis turned out to be a road race in the end. The course which would have normally taken us up and down and around the fairways of the Atkinson Country Club gave way to a traditional asphalt surface of cart paths and roadways. Set to be a 5K or 3.1 miles it reportedly came a little short 2.9 miles I am told by those who ran with gps watches. Jim Johnson was among the few snowshoers who still came out for the race as this was part of the GSSS. He took the tape at 15:29 and was followed by my Acidotic Racing teammates Ann Rasmussen placing 8th at 19:29, Richie Blake 11th at 20:16 and Gary Rueter 43rd at 25:18. I pulled in at 21:59 for 17th place out of the 120 racers that showed for the converted snowshoe event. As always Michael from 3C Race Productions directed a nice event and Deb Fudge and her crew put together a nice pre and post party for all those that attended. Next up is a double on Saturday. If the projected snow holds up we should be shoeing at both Horse Hill 7k in Merrimack on Saturday morning and then Kingman Farm 5K in Madbury on Saturday night. It will be a long hard day. We'll see how it goes. Wish us all luck and remember we are always thankful for your $upport of JDRF during this entire snowshoe series.

Timmy & Team Cameron

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 #4 - Pooh Hill Scramble - 1.23.10

"If nothing else this is beautiful!" I shouted to a guy out on the trail today, he laughed and we trotted along. This was race #4 for the season and race #3 in the Granite State Snowshoe Series. My team captain Chris Dunn of Acidotic Racing was not on the trail today as this was his baby and he did us proud. What a great event. I had never even heard of King Pine in East Madison, NH our hosts for the day. There is lots to do and see up there. Ski, ride, cross country ski and SNOWSHOE! It was a winding 8K course that lead us through some beautiful scenery and kept you busy on what seemed to be an endless roller coaster of mini hills. Chris took the liberty of creating some winding virgin single track in fields we could have clearly just run straight across, I'll have to ask him about that? :) As we neared the finish others let us know this was the last big hill. Excellent. Nothing better than cruising a downhill into the tape. Of course the tape was gone because Jim Johnson had already broken it minutes before finishing in 34:02. Congrats to Jim and the crew from Central Mass Striders for the log jam of racers in the top 5 - official results here. I pulled in at 51:41 which put me in 42nd overall out of a field of 82. Again a great race and after party thrown by my team captain Chris, his wife Karen and their family. Lots of great food and beer from our team sponsors at Redhook Brewery. A killer a grand prize in the post race raffle of some Kahtoola flightdecks that Scott Mason made off with in the end. Next up for the series is the Sidehiller 4 Miler in Center Sandwich, NH this coming Saturday. As always I am running to benefit children like my son Cameron with autism and juvenile diabetes. Thank you for your $upport.

Timmy & Team Cameron

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

Snowshoe #1 - Beaver Brook - 1.02.10

Today was Team Cameron's first ever snowshoe race. Also race #1 for the Granite State Snowshoe Series.We finished 46th out of 87 racers at the Beaver Brook 5K in Hollis, NH. We completed the race in 24:38. Jim Johnson from Team CMS was the winner today with an amazing 15:48 finish. Thanks to Michael Amarello and the crew at 3C Race Productions for putting on a great event. Bob Dion Snowshoes for the great equipment and my team captain Chris Dunn at Acidotic Racing for training with me. To follow our progress and get involved with JDRF awareness this winter go to - I Run For My Son - thank you for your encouragement and $upport. Next up is a non-GSSS event in Salem, MA. The Olde Salem Greens Snowshoe Classic this coming Saturday @ 9am - who needs sleep anyway?

Thank You

Timmy & Team Cameron