At the Start of the race

I ran the Jingle Bells Snowshoe Run with Snowdog Events in December and had so much fun that I had to do it again so I signed up for the February event.  We couldn’t have asked for better weather with the sun shining and temps in the upper 30’s though the snow could have been better.  After having deep powder in December we were left with a mix of slushy snow, ice, and very thin areas with more grass than snow but the course took advantage of what snow was left on the golf course even if it did have to be shortened to a 4k instead of 5k loop.

I ran with the same setup as before – a pair of thin Injini wool socks covered by a pair of thin SmartWool socks, Merrell Trail Gloves and the new Atlas gaiters I won in the pre-race raffle.   Add on the Atlas Run snowshoes and it was a great lightweight setup.

The course was fun given the snow conditions though I felt it was a bit harder than last time around mainly due to the changing conditions.   It all went by way fast and I finished 5th overall in 29:17.  I thought I had finished in 2nd since I only saw one other person at the finish line but evidently the other guys all vanished.   Still, not a bad finish for the event and it was fun.  I didn’t stick around too long afterwards, once I cooled off I headed out to the Yakima in Cle Elum to fish a few hours.

Next up – Ft. Ebey Kettles Half Marathon next week…