Shoeing away winterby Welles Lobb"Running on snowshoes is the best form of cross-training." - Tom Sobal, America's top snowshoe runnerMaybe it's an association thing: You know, snow, ice, cold, and darkness somehow adds up to ... bah! Or snow in the streets, slippery footing, windchill factors ... humbug! Whatever the scenario, winter and runners have always had trouble getting along. To be sure, there are fringe folks in our ranks who turn absolutely animal when everything freezes over. But for most of us, once the 10 minutes of exhilaration of running in the first inch of snow of the season pass and drudgery sets in, all we think about is Arizona, Florida, or Tahiti. Runners, of course, have always had evacuation routes to avoid getting stuck in a physical and spiritual snowbank when winter's elements shut down their favorite roads and trails. "Solutions" to the snow problem have included: sit it out on the sofa until spring; run megalaps on pint-sized indoor tracks; pack up and head for the tropics; run on a treadmill until your feet are raw; get Nordic, freeze your nostril hairs, and cross-country ski; or say, screw it, I'm running outside no matter what. And while all of these tactics have their strong points and their swear-by-it devotees, none is necessarily a panacea for snowbound runners. Face it: As runners, we are happy when we can run, ornery when we cannot. We can watch bowl games A to Z, pound the treadmill until the motor quits, or ski hundreds of kilometers in the forest until the thaw, but many of us won't find real fulfillment in winter training until we snowshoe.
A Joy and WonderYep, you heard right. Snowshoe. Today's high-performance "sport" snowshoes are light, stable, and comfortable - and popular with runners. You can run or walk in them, even compete in snowshoe 10Ks and marathons in some parts of the country."You have the freedom to go wherever you want, up and down any slope, at whatever pace you choose," write Sally Edwards and Melissa McKenzie in their book Snowshoeing (Human Kinetics, 1995). "For most runners, snowshoe running will be an absolute joy and wonder." Indeed, runners looking for a workout that is fun and both cardiovascularly and aesthetically fulfilling - and darn close to the real thing - may find snowshoe running more satisfying than any winter cross-training activity they've tried. "Running on snowshoes is the best form of cross-training for runners there is," says Leadville, Colorado's Tom Sobal, the nation's premier snowshoe runner. "It's a lot more specific to running than cross-country skiing, and much lower impact than regular running." Getting started in "shoeing" is as simple as strapping your running shoes into snowshoe bindings and walking (or running) forward. No special boots are needed, and the basic snowshoe gait is mastered in minutes. "If you can walk or run, you can snowshoe," notes Kathy Murphy of Tubbs Snowshoe Company in Stowe, Vermont. "Snowshoeing's learning curve is flat."
Jeremiah JohnsonWait a minute. Light, stable, comfortable snowshoes? Snowshoe marathons? Mastery in minutes? What's become of the traditional image of snowshoeing, of wild-whiskered Jeremiah Johnsons tramping around the woods on clunky, rough-hewn things trapping for their supper? It's true that for most of the 6,000 years that anthropologists can trace the existence of snowshoes, shoeing was a means of transportation for indigenous peoples and assorted backwoods denizens. And though the style of snowshoes runners can relate to - narrow, lightweight, aluminum-frame makes - appeared as early as the 1950s, the sport remained, until very recently, a mostly lone-wolf pursuit in the far reaches of snow country.All of that changed in the late 1980s. That's when snowshoeing, along with mountain biking, kayaking, rock climbing, and everything else alfresco, caught and rode the wave of the outdoor recreation boom. Unlikely as it may seem, Jeremiah Johnson has gone high-tech, yuppie, upscale. Modern snowshoers come from Park Avenue as well as Park City, and it is not uncommon to see Lycra-clad shoers sharing the snow with thrill-seekers at downhill ski resorts and Nordic purists at cross-country touring centers. Sporting goods marketers hail recreational snowshoeing as the fastest-growing winter outdoor activity of the decade. Leading snowshoe makers in the United States have reported an annual doubling of shoe sales through the years of the early 1990s, and the National Sporting Goods Association says more than 500,000 people in the U.S. go on snowshoe outings every year.
Technological EvolutionToday's sport snowshoes are made with a solid decking of durable rubber known as neoprene - the same material used in wetsuits. This decking keeps you from sinking in the snow and creates a feeling of floating on snow as you stride along. It also eliminates the buildup of snow and ice on the shoes.The narrower, shorter length of sport snowshoes reduces the risk of falling over your feet as you run. Recommended models for adult runners range in length from 22 to 30 inches, are less than a foot wide, and typically weigh about 3 pounds per pair. Most training shoes are symmetrical in shape, though asymmetrical racing shoes are also available. Steel traction spikes, often called claws, cleats, or crampons, complete the technological evolution of the modern snowshoe. These devices allow you to step securely over a wide range of surface conditions, including ascents, descents, and ice. As with running shoes, there is no one best snowshoe model. As a rule, get the smallest and lightest pair to satisfy your needs. And the needs of a runner who snowshoes for cross-training and fun, in moderate snow depths, on packed and semipacked trails will likely be met by smaller, lighter models. (Most big shoes are made for backcountry hiking and winter camping.) Make sure the binding system that will handle your running shoes.
Slower, Safer, WarmerNewcomers to snowshoe running will find shoeing somewhat more arduous than standard running, though more efficient - and productive - than trying to high-step through the snow in Nikes or Sauconys. Sally Edwards, a champion ultrarunner and snowshoe runner since 1991, notes that on packed trails snowshoe runners should expect to add 2 to 3 minutes per mile to their 10K race pace. Tom Sobal, at 3:06:17, owns the fastest recognized time for a 26.2-mile snowshoe marathon. What you sacrifice for speed in snowshoeing, you make up in safety and warmth. According to Sobal, snowshoeing is the safest winter sport. "All of the others - skiing, luge, ice skating - involve higher speeds and gliding. You can crash, and it hurts."Snowshoeing's warmth, ironically, is generated by its relatively slow speed. "In other sports," explains Sobal, "you're creating a windchill. Snowshoe running will be warmer than anything you've tried."
Cheaper Than FloridaAs with any piece of modern recreational gear, you're going to be paying decent money for the technologies in new snowshoes. Expect to spend $200 to $250 to get a quality pair suitable for running, with a lifetime warranty. That's less than a treadmill, less than a comparable cross-country ski equipment package, and much, much less than a week in February in the tropics.And if you live, as many of us do, where winter's wrath is fickle, and you don't know if you can justify the expense of snowshoes for occasional use, consider your investment in these terms: How many times has 4 or 6 or 8 inches of new white stuff wrecked your training plans, forced you off the road, and messed up your log book? Enough times to piss you off. So next time snow visits your province, strap on your snowshoes and go run. After all, it's still running. And a lot cheaper than Florida. Senior writer Welles Lobb reports that his nostril hairs freeze at about 5 degrees Fahrenheit. Best places to snowshoe
Wanna shoe?Snowshoes are one piece of cross-training gear not to look for in a running specialty store. In most locales, you're better off to search in ski shops or outdoor equipment stores. While you're shopping, make sure you pick up a pair of gaiters to warm your feet and keep snow from entering your running shoes.You may also want to contact the snowshoe dealers directly. Listed below are seven manufacturers of sport snowshoes in the U.S. and their customer-service telephone numbers.
|