Rumble in the Jungle

This was destined to be an exciting race. For me, it was a national qualifying race. I entered the race feeling well-rested and ready for a challenge. This course brings all of that. Last year it was a 5 mile race. This year it was converted to a 10K race, which included adding a whole new route of singletrack to go with the route from last year's race. The race started off quickly and proved to be anyone's game for the first 3 miles as it was neck and neck (and neck) between Kelly Mortenson (a member of the Atlas Snowshoe team), Ed Whetham, and myself. Finally, on a straightaway, they edged me out. I finished fourth overall out of 62 in a time of 51:28. This course, being a tougher and longer race than Perkinstown, should have taken me more time than the race two weeks prior, but I finished quicker and had good competition throughout the race. Best of all, I qualified for the United States National Snowshoe Competition in Syracuse, New York. My wife and Mike O'Brien Photo supplied some awesome race pictures of the event. Fellow snowshoers John Kann and Brian Arnold also participated in the event and did well in the race with Brian participating in only his second race.