This past Saturday January 29, the Colorado Cup Snowshoe race hosted the 2022 Collegiate and Youth Snowshoe National Championships at the Colorado Mountain College (CMC) in Leadville, CO. Race conditions were ideal with sunny skies and 40-degree temperatures.
More than 80 Runners were challenged by the high altitude (10,200 feet) and a hilly 5-kilometer loop course that included a 1.5-mile uphill climb. In addition to the college and high school championships, there were also five and ten kilometer race options open to the public following the same course. The event was a fundraiser for the CMC Leadville Cross Country team.
Leslie Gamez, Regional Development Officer of CMC Leadville, spoke on her involvement hosting this championship on campus, “We’re excited to support our runners here in Leadville. It’s also an opportunity to bring people to our campus and snowshoe running is the perfect winter alternative to trail running. Our campus is a fantastic place to host this event, our trails are magnificent and we’re happy to give runners an opportunity to race.”
Sean O’Day, cross country coach at Cheyenne Mountain High School, shared why he brought his team to compete at the Snowshoe National Championships this year, “January is the hardest time in a distance running season to get the team fired up about doing work. Snowshoe racing is a way to do something totally out of the box, a novel stimulus both physiologically and mentally. Everyone is out here enjoying themselves and this will give them the energy they need to stay motivated leading up to track season in the spring.”
HS girls champion Trystan Spence. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
College Results
College Men:
- Jason Macaluso – Colorado Mountain College
- Andrew Allen – Dixie State University
- Reese Fledderjohn – Colorado Mountain College
College Mens’ Team Champion: Colorado Mountain College
College Women:
- Natalie Hyde – University of Colorado Boulder
- Abby Hagen – Colorado Mountain College
- Madisen Johnson – Colorado Mountain College
College Womens Team Champion: Colorado Mountain College
Cheyenne Mountain girls High School team finished 2nd. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
High School Results
High School Boys:
- Cedar Collins – Cheyenne Mountain HS
- Tyler Stogsdill – Central HS
- Jackson Edwards – Central HS
HS Boys’ Team Champion: Central HS
High School Girls:
- Trystan Spence – Central HS
- Jocelyn Olson – Central HS
- Cora McClain – Cheyenne Mountain HS
HS Girls’ Team Champion: Central HS
The author with high boys race winner Cedar Collins. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
Boys’ race winner Cedar Collins spoke on his snowshoe race experience and how snowshoe running is different from high school cross country or track competitions, “It’s a completely different sport. After the first mile, I was already feeling like I was dying but had to find a way to keep pushing. I felt dizzy with the high altitude and the climbs were way harder than anything in cross country. Snowshoe running is a strength-based sport and requires a different skill set than cross country and track running.”
Open 5K
Men:
- Joel Thatcher, 40, Grand Junction, CO
- Brian Kerns, 34, Grand Junction, CO
- Richard Henry, Arvada, CO
Women:
- Julia Fuller, 30, Buena Vista, CO
- Amy Crowder, 47
- Alina Acosta, 26, Golden, CO
Cory Linfield finished 2nd in the open men’s 10K. Photo: Peter Maksimow.
Open 10K
Men:
- Brandon Birdsong, 33, Alamosa, CO
- Cory Linfield, 34, Colorado Springs, CO
- Dan Vega, 54, Colorado Springs, CO
Women:
- Stacey Hendry, 50, Arvada, CO
- Mary Toman, 59, Colorado Springs, CO
- Neddie Legg, 70, Arvada, CO
Are you interested in competing in the 21st Annual U.S. Snowshoe National Championships coming up on March 13 in Cable, Wisconsin? The event is open to all open and masters runners – no qualification necessary and it’s not too late to register! Register on RunSignup now. If you’re not quite ready to race, learn more about snowshoe running on our website.
For even more images by Peter Maksimow see his Google Photos album.
Complete race results can be found here [Google Sheet].
Additional race coverage and video from local Denver news station KOAA – “Colorado Cup Snowshoe Race will take your breath away“
