I had the privilege of participating in the World Snowshoe Running Championships in Vezza d'Oglio, Italy. Vezza d'Oglio, a mountain town of 1500 people, treated this event like it
was the Olympics.
The weekend began with an
opening ceremony where they paraded the runners through the town with our flags
and a marching band that played each nation's national anthem. As we entered the
town square we were greeted by a large cheering crowd. That was followed by a fire and light
show with fountains that were synchronized to music. The whole
experience inspired me to run a strong race the next day as I was the only
Canadian male runner. My goal was to finish in the middle of the pack amongst
this elite group of runners.
Because of a lack of snow they
had to truck in snow from the mountain tops. It obviously took a lot of work but
the end result was a beautiful 8.7km course with some up and downs through a
forest beside a stream with mountains all around.
Race day was warm at just over
0 degrees. I'm used to running in those temperatures in shorts in Edmonton and
decided to do the same in Italy. It was a fast course and I had to be very
deliberate about not going out too hard. I ran a consistent, controlled pace for
the first few kilometers before hitting a loop that included a hill which I used
to pass a number of runners with an aggressive climb and descent. At the end of
the second loop I knew that I just had a few kilometers to go and despite the
protests of my legs, I picked up the pace and held on. All in all, I ran a
strong, controlled race and was thrilled to discover that I had finished 39th of
60 men.
A few hours after the race,
over 3,000 people came out to do a recreational snowshoe walk along the
course under the moon. The course was illuminated with torches and every few
kilometers there were wine and cheese
stations.
The 2016 World Snowshoe Running Championships
was a thoroughly enjoyable, memorable event. I formed a number of friendships
with other athletes and appreciated both the competitiveness of the race and the
fun, surrounding events.
Andrew
