January 2002 Newsletter

WORLD CLASS SNOWSHOER TOM SOBAL COMING TO THE FL SNOWSHOE RACE!

Tom Sobal, of Leadville, Colo., is flying into Ithaca to give a public slide show on his snowshoe adventures, Jan. 25, and to compete in the Finger Lakes Snowshoe 7.6-mile Race on Jan. 26.

Sobal is sponsored by Redfeather Snowshoes (a Colo.- based snowshoe company), and they are paying his expenses to come east. Our race will be the only snowshoe race he will do in the east this season. (See www.Redfeather.com.)

Who is Tom Sobal, you wonder? Tom Sobal is the Bill Rodgers or Frank Shorter of snowshoeing in the United States. He is frequently featured in trail running magazines. Besides being the most accomplished snowshoer in the U.S., Sobal is famous for trail running, and his mule racing (runner and mule team up over mountain races) -- most notably: Get Your Ass Up the Pass!

Here are some of Sobal's credentials:

• 15-year resident of Leadville, Colo. - at 10,430 feet in altitude.
• Overall winner of 125 snowshoe races at distances from 1 mile to over 100 miles. He is a five-time world champion.
• Holder of the world's best 26.2-mile snowshoe marathon time: 3:06:17!!!
• Has snowshoed in 15 states.
• Frequent snowshoe author, speaker, instructor and event director.
• Probably snowshoes more miles each year than anyone in the world.
• Featured in Sports Illustrated and The Wall Street Journal for snowshoe exploits.
• Has acted as volunteer snowshoeing technical delegate for the past two Special Olympic World Winter Games.
• On USSSA national advisory board.

Tom Sobal will do his slide show "Fitness, Running, and Racing with Snowshoes" Friday evening Jan. 25 at McGraw Hall, Room 165, on the Cornell campus (near the Arts Quad) at 7:30 p.m. Parking is available on the north end of West Ave., and at University and Stewart Aves.

The slide show is co-hosted by the Finger Lakes Runners Club and Cornell Outdoor Education.

Sobal is traveling here courtesy of Redfeather Snowshoes. He will race the FL Snowshoe 7.6-miler on Saturday.

Sobal's talk Friday night will be about 75 minutes in length, and will cover many aspects of snowshoeing from history, gear and clothing selection, technique to training and fitness. He will answer questions, and offer door prizes. The lecture is geared to individuals seeking to use snowshoeing to maintain or add to their fitness/running program, but it is also geared to beginners.

I strongly urge all of you to attend Sobal's slide show, and then do our race Saturday morning. We would like to have a good showing for Sobal's appearance.

Thanks to Snowshoe RD Joe Reynolds, Redfeather snowshoes have agreed to sponsor our race this year, and provide about 50 pairs of loaner shoes for our hike/run and race. Always on a first come, first served basis, the snowshoes will be available race morning pre- each event. It's a good way to get exercise, learn about snowshoeing technique and enjoy the beautiful woods. If you don't want to run 7.6-miles, we have a terrific one-mile fun hike/run.

Kevin Brew Associates of Ithaca, Action Sports of Cortland and Pro-Am Sports of Binghamton (Ken Moses) -- all affiliated with Redfeather snowshoes, are all supporting the FL Snowshoe event too.

The snowshoe entry, with full details, is enclosed again this issue. Remember to bring warm clothes for post-race. We'll have hot chili and hot drinks, a campfire, newly-designed T-shirts (so Sobal can autograph them) -- and pray for snow!

PLEASE! Don't miss the FL Snowshoe Race this year. We have a unique opportunity coming to our neck of the woods.

-- Diane Sherrer

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