Atlas Snow-Shoe Company is fortunate to have a partnership with the Beaver Creek Resort in Colorado. If you’ve ever been interested in trying out our snowshoes, Beaver Creek is the place!
In addition to our Nordic Center partnership, Atlas is proud to sponsor the Beaver Creek snowshoe race series. A collection of three snowshoe running events that bring together the very best athletes, as well as snowshoe enthusiasts just looking for a good time.
You may remember our series of training advice and blogs, straight from our Atlas ambassador athletes themselves. In case you missed it: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
The end of the snowshoeing season marks the end to the race season as well. Below, we check in with Team Atlas to see how their Beaver Creek races went. Read on and sign up next year!
Emily:
The Beaver Creek Race Series are three races at the Beaver Creek Resort near Avon, CO. The race offers either 5k or 10k distances with each race having a unique course. I elected to compete in the 5k distance, as I seem to be injury prone in snowshoes. My goal for these races was to utilize them as a challenging but fun workout in my training towards Snowshoe Nationals in Vermont!
To train for the race series, each week I did an 8-10 mile long run on snowshoes in the mountains, one 10k geared speed workout on the treadmill, and then easy trail miles with friends. My average weekly mileage stayed around 45-55 with spinning classes mixed in there to increase strength. The snowshoe long runs allowed me to explore areas that I otherwise would not have been able to access in the winter. My favorite trails are those around Nederland. These are quieter and almost always snow covered in the winter.
The thrill of the Beaver Creek Race Series centers around not being able to look up the course including the exact distance (anywhere from 5k to 3.5 miler) and elevation gain (700 to 1300 ft) before the race. Of the three races, the last one was my favorite. This course was 80% groomed and started at a higher elevation. Racers had to take the Strawberry Ski Lift to reach the Nordic track (given the 30 mph winds, this was excitement in and among itself!). The race course provided amazing views of the surrounding peaks, and the race crew from Beaver Creek was great, as always!
My least favorite part of the race series did not involve the race itself, but the drive to the race. I drove from the Boulder area each time and the drive took anywhere from 1 to 2 hours longer than it would without traffic. The second race, I missed the start by 20 minutes due to a traffic accident. If travelling to the race I would recommend either staying the night before, or leaving around 5am and relaxing at a coffee shop before the start.
EDITORS NOTE: Emily went on to compete in Snowshoe Nationals and took home the silver, earning her a spot on the worlds team. Congrats Emily!!
Tim:
The Beaver Creek Snowshoe series certainly dishes up some of the best snowshoe racing in the country, and 2018 did not disappoint! I raced the first race of the series in January and was excited to see how my run training in Denver would pay off. I am doing an Ironman on 4/28 so I had just started ramping up some of my miles. I chose the 10k race knowing it would take me a good hour to finish the winding and hilly course.
The resort got a good 6 inches the night before so the trails were great for racing. I strapped my trusty Atlas Race shoes and before I knew it we were off! Right away, I was in the front, but soon dialed into 2nd place. We went straight up the mountain and climbed for about 2 miles. I was feeling good and my feet felt very light with my racing snowshoes doing a lot of the work. After 15 minutes or so, I could tell I was going to be racing in 2nd for a while as there was no one behind or in front of me. I took in all of the views as best as I could while still pushing hard to the finish. The snowshoe course covered some incredible trails that have seen the likes of XTERRA, US Cycling Pro Challenge, and even the US World Alpine Skiing Championships back in 2015. So, yes, it was a hard course! I cruised to the finish in 1:04, 2nd overall, about 5-6 minutes back from 1st place. It was a fantastic time and I just wish I could have raced more!
Thanks to Atlas for all of the support…their snowshoes are the best!
Brandy:
The Beaver Creek race series is always appealing as the venue is stunning. However, the I-70 traffic can sometimes be a deterrent. My family and I moved to Summit County this past June as my husband took the Athletic Director position at Summit High School. Being less than an hour away from Beaver Creek, I decided to lace up the snowshoes and jump into the series after a several year hiatus.
I have a love/hate relationship with the January race. I enjoy the holidays and probably indulge a bit too much in Christmas sweets. So I always go into the 1st race feeling a little undertrained and overfed! My goal races are typically mountain races over the summer and into early fall so I’m in the middle of my base-building phase.
As the race approached, the snow conditions looked dismal. However, the night before the race, CO got some fresh powder. I got to the venue a bit early to ease my pre-race jitters, did a short warm-up, used the port-o-potty a zillion times and soon enough the gun went off and the rest was history! I was thankful for all the times I’d run up/down Keystone already this winter as I forgot how much fun bombing down the steep donwhills can be in fresh powder. It was a great rust buster, workout, and fun to catch up with Atlas teammates and friends.
Karen:
The beaver creek snowshoe race series was again a great success! Mother nature was kind to us and we always had fresh powder for each race. (Unlike road races snow is welcome sight!) The courses consisted of deep snow, singletrack and steep climbs and descents. The organizers always manage to find great trails for us , keep them well signed and marked , and you can’t beat the free lunch after the race. Atlas Snowshoes also provides free running and race snowshoes to try out! Snowshoe running is not completely like running on the roads. It requires a higher leg lift and wider stance. And you find yourself transitioning from running to hiking and back again. So having a great pair of snowshoes specifically designed for these conditions is awesome and allows you to make the most of your experience at the race.