Snowshoe Racing Blossoms In Durango…

2nd Annual “Winter Warrior 5 & 10k” Race arrives February 11th!

by Steve Ilg

49 year-old Durango legendary outdoor athlete, author, and yoga teacher, Steve Ilg,  cranks to a 2nd Place Overall in the King of the Mountain classic ski/snowshoe
combined event at the 39th Chama Chile Classic near Chama, New Mexico.  Ilg is the founder and race director of the annual  “Winter Warrior 5 and 10K Snowshoe Race”
to be held at the Durango Nordic Center, Saturday, Feb. 11th.   photo by Pat Hogan.

Beyond the clatter of my preciously busy hometown of Durango, up high among vanilla-coated pines and naked aspens there is arising another, albeit softer, clatter.  The sound is from ‘sport snowshoes’  dancing across wintery landscapes like the mystical hooves of Santa’s reindeer.  These are NOT your grandfather’s snowshoes.  Rawhide webs and leather bindings are an eon of high technology lost to these 8″x 22″ speed weapons made from composite decking and frame materials to which NASA would approvingly nod.  These new generation snowshoes, the love children from die-hard winter athletes like myself, have suddenly become the vehicle of choice for a winter fitness revolution drawing millions of dry-land fitness warriors – such as runners and cyclists –  toward a loving embrace of winter endurance training.

Until you’ve stepped into these new-age snowshoes you simply won’t understand how fun, how enchanting is the world of snowshoeing.   Ergonomics is a major reason for this recent surge in snowshoeing: lightweight frame, flotation decking which spreads your bodyweight across the snow, pivoting step-in bindings which embrace your favorite running shoes in seconds, and wickedly effective cleats which grip the various nuances of snowy terrain much more predictably,and safely, than nordic skis.  All of this technology results in a flight across snow which delights the senses and spurs an amplitude of health and fitness benefits.

Having had the great honor to be at the forefront of competitive snowshoeing since the late seventies, I’ve helped design and test several generations of snowshoes. It’s been fantastic watching this slow-motion revolution pick up steam!   Sport Snowshoeing, already wildly popular in Europe, has tripped its tipping point here in America as well, for snowshoeing is now our fastest growing winter sport.  I’m convinced that it will soon be an Olympic sport; as well it should be.  Did you know that pre-historic civilizations of our Northern Hemisphere owes its survival to snowshoes?  Talk about a historically important ‘sport’!   If Beach Volleyball can be an Olympic sport?  Why not the far more historically relevant, extremely dynamic, and fun-to-watch sport of snowshoe racing?!  And, if you can help me keep my goals stay on track?  Durango may one day host a National Sport Snowshoe Championship!   C’mon!

Up at the Durango Nordic Center, waiting for you right now, is a 5-kilometer “Winter Warrior Snowshoe Course” that I have designed to meet the United States Sport Snowshoeing (USSSA) standards as a sanctioned competitive course.  Come up and snowshoe it sometime. Snowshoe rentals are available at the Nordic Center, Pine Needle Mountaineering (a sponsor of my race) and at all local ski shops.  If you think you’re fit?  Jog my course.  Think you’re super fit?  Run it.  Hard as you can…I dare you!  Then, whether you can walk, jog, or run this wildly beautiful course, come out on Saturday, February 11th and enjoy my Winter Warrior 5 or 10k race!   I need your turnout to get this race to become a Regional Qualifying event!   My course features a (literally) breath-taking 500′ vertical feet per lap at a spirit-expanding 8,800′ elevation.  Oh yeah, you’ll burn an amazing amount of calories and create a Brazilian butt whether you want one or not before you realized what happened!   Snowshoeing is ideal off-season for all runners, cyclists, mountain athletes, white-water athletes and serves as an ideal cross-training venue for both alpine and nordic skiers.

Working with the open-minded Durango Nordic Board (thank you, Coach Elliot!) and Helen Low – the high-octane Director of the Nordic Center, as well as the San Juan chapter of the National Forest Service, I gained permission to plot out a fantastic course which slithers and slinks her way like a mountain lynx among our stunning natural terrain – some of which was heretofore unaccessible to everyone save for Forest Service staff!   To meet the USSSA’s standards for a National Qualifier Race Course,  I had to make sure the percentages of single track, groomed track, uphill, downhill, and flat terrain was in proportion.  I recently spoke with USSSA President, Mark Elmore, who seemed quite confident that my race could become a Qualifier race as early as next season.  Geographically, the next nearest Qualifiers are in Red River, NM and Flagstaff, AZ.  It just makes sense to have a National Qualifier here, especially with all of Durango’s elite endurance athletes.   I also created and cultivated the Flagstaff race to Qualifier status, so I know I can make Durango’s course gain the sanction.  I need your turnout, however.

See, racing on snowshoes is less than half the draw.  It’s the recreational and fitness snowshoers which are our bread-and-butter of this emerging revolution of winter enthusiasts. Just walking on snowshoes cranks the heart rate into fantastically healthy zones without a lot of compaction on body.   Unlike trying to run or cycle throughout a long Durango winter? Snowshoeing offers a beautiful escape to our outdoors while developing glutes like Godzilla, lungs like a world-class cyclist, and a core like a nordic skier.  It’s truly a full-body workout due to the enhanced knee lift, arm drive, and core engagement which snowshoeing requires.

Among the shimmering snowfields at the Nordic Center,  Director Helen Low smiled brightly as we spoke about the economic impact that my snowshoe course has already had on her Nordic Center, “Especially during a crazy winter like this one where ski conditions were a bit sketchy for a long time, our snowshoe course has been a blessing to us.  During the holidays, we were renting more snowshoes than skis.”  Sometimes, Low ‘profiles’ the visitor by simply watching them walk toward the Center.  She can tell if a person is more suitable for the snowshoes rather than the skinny, edgeless cross-country skis.  “Once I get people onto our Snowshoe Course, it’s all over!” she giggles, “They come back having the time of their life instead of being frustrated on the skis.”

The reason for the instant gratification on snowshoes is three-fold.  First, the learning curve for sport snowshoeing is far easier and safer for beginners and families to enjoy compared to skate or classic nordic skiing.  With the advent of technology in modern snowshoes,  they are so light and agile that you can barely tell you have them on.  Secondly, with the mercurial nature of a southwest winter? Snowshoes allow for a much more reliable and longer season for cardio workouts among the scintillating snow-covered terrain than skiing. Ease of access is also a highlight benefit for snowshoeing.  We’ve got fantastic trails around Durango which are technically difficult and spotty in snow conditions for cross country skiing,  yet are resplendent for snowshoeing…Junction Creek, Overend Park,  and Rim Trail to name just a few.  Try a few snowshoe hill repeats up and down Chapman Hill, then try to tell me there is a more accessible, full physiologic and body-enhancing activity you could do on your lunch hour!

Finally,  sport snowshoeing is less expensive than nordic skiing and a several bank accounts cheaper than alpine skiing while offering equal or greater health, safety, family, and aesthetic advantages.  As a snowshoe owner?  You can just put on your favorite running shoes and workout clothes, step into your snowshoes, and lose yourself into a wonder wonderland!   What’s not to love about that?  Snowshoeing is fantastic for families…it’s stable, fun, and who can measure the impact of having a family picnic during a snowshoe among the winter woods upon the cells of a child?   It’s a no brainer;  come on out this Saturday, February 11th and support my race; the Winter Warrior 5 & 10k Snowshoe Race!  Bring the kids!  We’ll have a 5k, 10k, and a Kids SnowDash (no showshoes needed for the Kids Snowdash)!    Race Day registration only!   Registration begins at 9 am.  Races start at 10am.  Great prizes.   Title sponsors;  Pine Needle Mountaineering and Tafoya Barrett and Associates PC.  Proceeds to benefit the Durango Youth Nordic Program!   C’mon!

Durango yoga teacher and personal trainer,  Coach Steve IIg, is a Durango native, author, and a 2x OUTSIDE MAGAZINE cover athlete.  He is a USSSA columnist and a sponsored snowshoe racer with Kahtoola.  He is a 2x World Mountain Snowshoe medalist with 7 World Championship appearances in 5 different sports. He is the creator of the world’s first and only Sport Snowshoeing Instructional DVD available at:  Flight Without Wings DVD.    for more information on the Winter Warrior 5 & 10k Snowshoe Race,  contact the Durango Nordic Center at: 1*970*385*2114 or email Coach Ilg at:   Steve@WholisticFitness.com