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FLRC Newsletter - February/March 2005 |
| Evans Wins Seventh Snowshoe Title; Harman Wins Her Third Women's Title | |
Alan Evans was a marked man Saturday at the eighth annual Finger Lakes Snowshoe, held at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector. But it wasn't just because he was wearing bright pink tights.
Every year, some snow-slinger comes to town aiming to stay one step ahead of the 41-year-old Hornby man who has won all but one of the 7.6-mile snowshoe races. But in the most exciting head-to-head duels in the race's eight-year history, Evans prevailed in his near-perfect winning streak by a mere one second.
Evans, who owns both the open and men's course records, won his seventh Finger Lakes Snowshoe 7.6-mile title in one hour, 5 minutes and 49 seconds.
Ryan Pauling, 28, of Rochester was second in 1:05:50, and Ithaca's Garrett Wagner was third in 1:07:20.
In the women's race, Becky Herman, 35, of Willseyville, won her third-straight title in 1:23:08. Trumansburg's Ann Brewer was second in 1:34:36, and Meredith Peterson, 26, of Ithaca, was third in 1:44:13.
With temperatures near 20 degrees and brisk winds, a record crowd of snowshoe racers and fun runners faced sand-like snow on ungroomed trails. But at the starting gun, Pauling hit the rough fluff in a dead sprint. Evans stayed back in third place, and let Pauling have the arduous task of breaking trail.
"I went out a little hard, and I had to break trail for almost half the race," said Pauling, who has won two shorter snowshoe races, and qualified in 2004 for the national championships in Lake Tahoe. "Once Alan passed me, he got a pretty big lead, but I came back on him. We had a charge to the finish, but even if I had more in the tank, I wouldn't have been able to pass him."
Evans knew Pauling and has raced him in cross-country, with Pauling walking away the victor. But because of layers of snow clothes, Evans didn't recognize his Genesee Valley Harrier teammate until after the race was done.
"Once the gun went off, I had no choice but to follow," said Evans, a research scientist for Corning, Inc. "Ryan and another guy went off really fast. I had to imagine to myself early on that I may not win this thing. By the time I hit the Backbone Trail, I had worked up to second place, about 10–15 seconds behind Ryan. And, I knew at this kind of distance, something is bound to change after we turn into the woods. I also knew those guys didn't know what was in store for them, and that they were in for a treat!"
Knowing the course was key, and there were many treats to come. Pauling, who didn't know the course, hesitated slightly while determining where to enter a steep ascent into the woods. Once the race resumed, Evans was right on his snowshoe tails, with both men trudging through deep snow—all uphill.
"About two-thirds up the hill, Ryan stepped off the trail, and put his hands on his knees," said Evans, who warmed up for the race by cross-country skiing. "I wondered, 'Is he really tired?' I took over the lead, and put quite a distance on him. But by the Blueberry Patch, I caught wind of him again. At the Interloken Spur, I still had 15–20 seconds on him, but I was breaking a trail in what seemed like two feet of snow."
Evans and Pauling crossed Potomac Road, and hit the final half-mile ascent to the finish line. Pauling was just 10 seconds back and closing fast.
"We were desperately clawing and climbing up the gully," said Evans. "When we hit the open, packed section to the finish line, I said to myself, 'He's going to have to go around me (into deep snow for the final sprint).' You don't expect a snowshoe race that lasts an hour to come down to a (one-second) finish. It's the most exciting race I've been in for a long while, and this is one of the best of all."
In the women's race, Harman prevailed for her third victory with more company than usual.
"It was hard this year, and everyone was slower, but it was fun," said Harman, who is training for Ironman Lake Placid. "There were a lot more faster guys around me this year, and I could see people all the way. The uphills were really tough. I think during the entire race, I passed one person, and two passed me."
"Becky was awesome!" added Brewer, who is training for the Boston Marathon. "It was a difficult race, but it was beautiful (on the trail). It's totally like a marathon. I was at the back of the pack at the beginning of the race, then I started passing people. When I came to one of the water stops, they told me I was one of the top five females.
Laura Clark and her husband Jeff drove all the way from Saratoga Springs to participate in the Finger Lakes Snowshoe. The Clarks co-direct two snowshoe races in the Western Massachusetts Snowshoe Series, and this time Laura won the women's veteran's (F50) title at the FL Snowshoe.
"There was a guy in front of me wearing huge Tubbs snowshoes, and he was breaking trail," said Laura Clark, an Empire State Winter Games snowshoe medalist. "I didn't really want to pass him. At first my legs felt tight with lactic acid, but then I started feeling okay. The best part of the course was the cow pasture, which reminded me of Antarctica. I had a really great time today."
The Finger Lakes Snowshoe was presented by the Finger Lakes Runners Club, and was sponsored by Redfeather Snowshoes of Colorado who provided loaner shoes and prizes, and Red Newt Cellars of Hector who donated wine for the overall and age-group champions.
"Our sponsors, and the Finger Lakes National Forest staff, were unbelievably generous," said Joe Reynolds, who has directed the race all eight years. "I had one of the racers who drove up from Philadelphia come to me, and say, 'This is a real cross-country snowshoe race. A lot of races are run on groomed, packed trails, but this race has difficult snow and tough terrain. This is what snowshoeing is all about!' That made me feel really good. People say it's a tough race, but they always come back."
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