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 #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