US Snowshoe National Championships
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February 28, 2022
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May 21, 2022
This blog was written by Stuart Coaching athlete, Erika Kuhnle recapping the US Snowshoe National Championships in Cable, WI.
Kimberly Owens and I arrived Friday evening. Saturday, we briefly chatted with my friend Bee who finished second overall female among 700 participants at the Fat Bike Birkie. Kim and I snowshoe hiked with a small group that evening and everyone gathered around a campfire afterward with hot chocolate and cookies. 
I realized once we arrived in Wisconsin that my racing showshoes were destroyed – you can see in the picture to the right that three out of four aluminum cleats had broken off.
I had been racing the Cannonsburg Time Trial Series on the shoe base with only one set of teeth under the ball of one foot! I had been dealing with a quad strain and now that looks like it was the culprit.
Kim and I hiked the course, which was a little mashy, so cleats were needed to dig in both up and downhills. The race director generously loaned me a pair of hers, which were a different brand, but now I at least had a full set of cleats for the race!
The course is two 2.75-mile loops with 400 feet of elevation gain each loop. It is laid out in the shape of a hand with each finger offering an up and down. You can see those behind and in front of you the whole time, which I was surprised to find really motivating/inspiring.
I had pace plans but knew most importantly to be open, focused, and optimistic. I have been coached by Stuart Coaching, with dedicated sprint and hill sessions to prepare to hopefully make the US team. The top five men and women and the top five each for masters would be selected.
I could tell that there were enough women ahead of me on the course that I wouldn’t make the top five overall but felt I had a chance at the master’s category. I ran as hard as I safely could and tripped and fell a few times on the borrowed snowshoes, as I was not intuitively used to the shape and size. During the last mile, I felt on the verge of passing out from effort but knew I would reach the finish line soon enough.
The finish was worth it! Second place master’s!! It was not exactly the pace I hoped for but I put it all out there and am thrilled with the experience. I love snowshoe racing and have giddily met others of my kind here, haha!
I made the US team qualifying to participate in worlds this September in Patagonia.
The 2022 World Snowshoe Championships. will be held at the. Copahue Extremo Snowshoe Race. in. Caviahue, Patagonia Argentina. September 2-3, 2022. Learn more at the US Snowshoe Association Website.
UPDATE! TSL SYMBIOZ HYPERFLEX RACING SNOWSHOE REVIEW!
I only ran in the Symbioz for a mile today on mushy, melting fake snow, but am giddy with the feel so wanted to share. This style of snowshoe fits your foot to the base so that you move together as opposed to many others where your foot and the base move independently. It is the lightest snowshoe on the market at less than a pound together. The binding is a little strange as reviews strongly recommended using the extra strap they send for a secure fit, but the extra strap sits uncomfortably high on the foot. Probably will go for a direct mount.
The minimal cleat is worrisome compared to other models that are more aggressive so I’ll be keeping my precious Dions for many adventures in the future. Dion customer service is boss – they not only replaced my cleats, but they also swapped them out at my request for steel ILO aluminum and are sending swag for me to wear at Worlds.
I was surprised at how easy and free the TSLs felt – I didn’t feel the threat of tripping on the base front, they picked up and went with me naturally. I ran up a tubing hill and free ran down, flying and laughing with joy. Excited to use them this week in Colorado!
