The Battle of Pooh Hill

East Madison, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- The first race of the inaugural Granite State Snowshoe Series is in the books and I must say it was a phenomenal success! The perfect combination of beautiful NH winter weather (cold, but mostly sun splashed), a picturesque course, and great competition led to the trifecta of snowshoe splendor. [Did I oversell just a little?]. In all honesty, this wasn't the first snowshoe race we've hosted, but it was one of the best. We couldn't have asked our hosts at King Pine & Purity Spring Resort to do any more than they did. They were gracious, accommodating, and provided us with a first class venue. Our volunteers and sponsors also came through and made the registration & timing seamless and the beer and prizes bountiful! I know there were some people that went home without any Redhook, but not many. If you raced with us this weekend and thought the piles of prizes were impressive, wait...you ain't seen nothing yet. Join us at Gunstock Mountain Resort on January 31st for the 2nd annual Cobble Mountain Snowshoe Classic.

Anyone who knows me, knows that if I do 9 things perfectly and 1 thing poorly I'll spend the next several days stewing about what "could have been". I'm a perfectionist. I can't help it. From a technical standpoint, I should have manned the right hand turn up the Pooh Hill Trail with a volunteer, but sometimes it's not obvious when you've trekked the course 10 times and know exactly where you're going. Plans have already been made to improve that part of the course. I was devastated when a member of the Tuesday Night Turtles (Warwick, RI) walked off the course after missing the turn completely. Those things keep me awake at night. With any luck the 6-pack of Redhook Winterhook that I offered as a consolation prize made up for his bitter disappointment.

Jim Johnson of CMS and Crystal Anthony of Dungeon Rock Racing were the respective overall and female winners. Patrick Smith of DRR and Laurel Valley of the Rochester Runners took home the masters men's and women's titles. Finally, the team title was won by our own acidotic RACING holding off new rivals DRR and Buckingham Brown & Nichols (BB&N) out of Cambridge. A special thanks to Bill Morse and his gang at DRR for sending 10 snowshoers to the first race of the season and providing exactly what the series was intended to offer...great team competition and a welcome distraction from the bitter, sometimes trying, New England winter. Is the Gunstock race really three weeks away?