This past weekend was the first event in the Conquer the Bear series hosted by Open Air Big Bear – Snowshoe the Bear!
Snowshoe the Bear is a snowshoe race that you can do as either a 5K or 10K…there was also a kid’s race, but let me tell you…some of the youngest runners were on the podium as overall winners! How cool is that?
Alex and I ran/snowshoed the 5K and one of our friends did the 10K. We managed to place 36th (in the Men’s 5K) and 37th (in the Women’s 5K), and are kicking ourselves for not getting in the top 30. We completed the course in just over an hour…like an hour and 5 minutes…If we had only known! Next time ;)
Our friend, Angela (in purple above), invited us up to the race earlier this year and we knew we wanted to test ourselves. We’ve snowshoed in Big Bear before, but racing? Totally different. Angela was Emceeing the races, so she wasn’t able to join us, but we did have a few friends along the course to cheer us on.
The first hill was killer, and with over 100 of us running together at the beginning, it was crazy! The hill really separated the pack, which was helpful, and allowed those trying to compete to pull ahead of those just wanting to do a fun snowshoe…and those like me who were totally out of their element but trying to compete :)
Alex and I rented snowshoes from REI, wore our Flash Pack 18s and Tumbleweed sunglasses (I’m wearing his pair in the photo above, they are a bit tighter and I was worried I’d break them during the race). I also wore a omni-wick I2O Fusion hoodie by Columbia, snowboots from The North Face (in gravel brown), REI trail gaiters, my beloved Ashley leggings from prAna, and a cool racerback from Lululemon (and one of their underpants, but are you really that interested?)…
Truth be told, I dreaded doing this race. I hate being cold and I hate being wet, so snow is kind of my Kryptonite. And I haven’t been as aerobically active as I’d like to be lately…and the elevation…blah blah blah. I considered staying in bed the morning of the race, I considered just strolling the whole damn time…but in the end, I reminded myself that February is for being brave enough…brave enough to finish the race. I just wish there was a photo of me running (yes, RUNNING) around the last corner and down the street to the finish line. Because that folks, is what this year is all about.
Have you done a snowshoe race?
What is your Kryptonite?
So cool! Your adventures are always so interesting :)
Thanks, Megan :)
So happy for you, that is awesome. I hate being too cold or too hot, I’m such a California brat when it comes to the weather. You are a trooper!
Seriously, I can’t understand how people live with actual weather! I like the idea of living with seasons, but I’d rather just have sun and partly cloudy. Rain is OK on days I don’t need to leave the house ;)
Good for you for fighting your poison. Ha! I am the same. I love snow and the idea of snow, but I think I would need to acclimate for days to function at all. :)
Us Orange County gals just aren’t used to the snow! We’re built for the sand :)
Whoa. That sounds intense! I’ve never really participated in winter sports (largely the whole growing up in Texas thing), but I do love winter and the cold weather. I’m like a cat on catnip! My kryptonite is absolutely a weighty, humid heat.
I hope to never experience truly humid heat…blech.