| March 2003 Newsletter |
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Hornby man reclaims record in snowshoe race
It was such a magical, winter wonderland at Saturday's sixth annual Finger Lakes Snowshoe 7.6-mile race and one-mile fun run that many of the record field of 90 runners imagined themselves racing inside a swirling snow globe.
In near-perfect conditions for snowshoe racing over the 7.6-mile course at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector, Alan Evans continued his near-perfect streak of victories, and Rebecca Harman finished third overall while breaking a women's course record that had appeared unbreakable.
The 39-year-old Evans, of Hornby, won his fifth Finger Lakes Snowshoe title in a course-record 1 hour, 12 seconds. He reclaimed his course record broken in 2001 by Derek White of Fayetteville (1:00:29), the only man to have defeated Evans on his home turf.
Garett Graubins of Norwalk, Conn., who had received the trip to the snowshoe race as a Christmas present from his girlfriend, took second in 1:05:04. David Boor, 45, of Horseheads finished third in the men's division -- and first among masters -- in 1:10:49.
"I feel redeemed," said Evans, a Corning Inc., research scientist. "I realized fairly quickly that no one would be close to me, and I wanted to get my course record back. I felt really good, and I haven't run in four weeks. I've been cross-country skiing six miles a day. I guess I have a knack for snowshoeing, although I don't train for it. The course was not only ideal for speed, there was the beauty of it. I just wish I could have enjoyed it more as I was chugging through."
Boor, who set the men's masters record in 2001 (1:08:18), found himself a bit slower this time around despite dueling with the lead woman for the No. 3 spot.
"I took right off behind Alan, but he flew out faster than two years ago," said Boor, a Horseheads dairy farmer. "He really spread it out, and I mainly took off so I wouldn't have to deal with the crowd of runners. Then Rebecca went by me, gained another 20 to 30 seconds, and slowly pulled away from me. I tried to stay right behind her, but she was really running well."
It was no surprise that Harman, 33, of Willseyville won the women's race. She's a seasoned trail runner and rugby player who has earned multiple gold medals in the Nordic snowshoe sprints and 5K race at the Empire State Winter Games.
Harman's time of 1:09:52 wiped out former Ithaca ultra runner Barb Bellows' long-standing record of 1:10:21.
Christine Beach, 32, of Interlake placed second among women in 1:27:52, and Trumansburg's Ann Brewer, 28, was third in 1:28:13.
"It was a great event," said Harman, employed by Cornell University. "The race so nicely spread out that I never saw any of the lead men, or many others."
The Finger Lakes Snowshoe is presented by the Finger Lakes Runners Club, and was sponsored this year by Redfeather Snowshoes of Colorado, and Logan Ridge Winery of Hector.
Redfeather provided 26 pairs of loaner snowshoes, which were utilized for free at the snowshoe race, and by local high school runners last week during learn-to clinics.
Overall winners in the open and masters categories -- and age-group champions -- in the 7.6-mile race each received a bottle of Ridge-Runner Red wine, donated by Logan Ridge Winery. The wine bottle features a stick person with wild blue hair running up Logan Ridge in front of a rising sun.
Finger Lakes Snowshoe creator Joe Reynolds, who works in the Finger Lakes National Forest, was grateful for the huge turnout, the course records and for the local sponsorship which has embraced the race.
"We couldn't have done the race without loaner snowshoes, and Logan Ridge Estates generously donated prizes and opened up their winery to the race participants," said Reynolds. "People are finally coming to Hector to visit the wine trails and the forest trails.
"My goal six years ago was to introduce snowshoeing to our region and get people outdoors in the winter to enjoy the woods," he added. "I know we're successful because I see snowshoe prints all over the forest trails, and not just on race day. Things couldn't be better for the sport."
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