Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race - Report and Results

(video credit: Jane Newman-Ralph)

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race held on Saturday, January 23.

Conditions were fast and the competition was fierce as 35 snowshoe runners challenged the rolling 7.3km course at Frontenac Provincial Park. The weather was perfect for snowshoe racing with sunny skies and -7C.

Former Canadian National Cross Country running team member Taylor Murphy of Napanee posted the fastest time of the day winning in a time of 31:16. Taylor was followed by ultramarathoner Keith Iskiw of Kingston in 36:40, and Justin Pozin of Toronto in 37:10. Gilles Parisien of Cornwall was the top male masters runner in 38:03.

In the women’s race, Elizabeth Primrose of Brockville won in a time of 42:24, followed by Shauna Connaughton of Kingston in 44:34, and Eliza Murphy of Sydenham in 47:27. Kim Bohn of Kanata was the top female masters runner in 49:46.

Complete results are posted at Spafford Health and Adventure

Numerous awards and draw prizes were given out with one lucky participant going home with a pair of Dion Running Snowshoes. The vegetarian chili and munchies were also a hit for tired racers looking to refuel following their hard effort.

Many thanks to our sponsors Dion Running Snowshoes, Spafford Health and Adventure, La Sportiva, 5 Peaks Trail Running Series, Running Room, Trailhead and Stonehaven. A very special thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers.

One final thanks to Frontenac Provincial Park, and staff, for permitting us to hold this race in their beautiful park. We encourage you to come back to Frontenac Park again soon and explore it further.

For more race photos, please click here.

The next race in the SHA Trail Running Series is the Kingston 5 Peaks Trail Race on May 15, 2010.

See you on the trails!

Derrick Spafford
Race Director
Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race

Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race - Final Course Update

(January 22, 2010) We're just back in from setting up the course for the Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race.

Conditions will be fast for most of the route with hard packed snow. There are a few sections that feature some uneven footing between the 2 - 4 km point. You'll have to pay close attention to the trail here, but it was in that much better shape after we went over it a couple of times this afternoon. I'll be running the course first thing tomorrow morning again and that should help to smooth it out further.

On the whole though, the conditions are very good and will make for an awesome race.

Looking forward to a fun day tomorrow.

See you soon!

Derrick

Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race - Course Conditions Update

(Jan 21/10) I just got back from a snowshoe run at Frontenac Park on the race course for this weekend’s Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race. The course is still in excellent shape and we will be using our planned route. No snow has been lost there since last Sunday and it looks like they have even received a few cm’s of snow in addition.

The snow is quite packed down so the conditions will be pretty fast for the most part. Due to the hardening of the snow after mild conditions there are a few sections where the footing is a bit uneven, however this improved with even just me running over it the one time today. We will be running the course at least twice more before race day to pack it down and smooth it out a bit more.

There are still a few sections from the 2-4km point that have some rocks, roots and stumps to go around, but this is easily done. You will just need to be a little more careful on this section and watch your footing…especially on the downhills.

After the 4km point it is lightning fast and exceptionally good conditions. Save some energy for this section as you’ll want to be flying and will have a blast.

The final 2km will be packed down very nicely after the start of the race, so conditions will be great here as well and make for a fast finish.

If you have any questions about the race or course conditions, please post a comment below or email me directly.

Oh, just one more thing. CKWS TV in Kingston interviewed me for the race and will be airing the interview either tonight or Friday night during the news broadcast.

See you on race day!
Derrick

Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race - Course/snow conditions

(Jan 17/10): Trail/snow conditions were good to excellent for snowshoe running on Sunday in anticipation of the Dion Frontenac Snowshoe Race next Saturday.

The snow was soft in places, but there is still so much snow in the park that it wasn't a problem. There were a few sections that had exposed rocks, roots and mud, but they were easy to avoid. Sara, EJ and I all ran the course which helped to pack it down further from where hikers (without snowshoes) had chewed up the trail a little. Sara even wore her Dion Deep Cleats (for deep snow conditions) on her snowshoes and had no problem with hitting ground.

0-2km: Excellent snow conditions. Deep snow on the wide trail. Well packed down and quite smooth.

2-4.5km: Fair to good snow conditions. This is the most technical part of the course that includes negotiating around a few rocks, roots and tree stumps. Snow is melted off of a few of the wooden bridges, but just take it easy going across and you'll be fine. The softer snow conditions over this section of the Corridor trail is now in much better shape after the 3 of us ran over it to pack it down.

4.5-5.4km: Excellent snow conditions. This section is packed down very well. The long bridge past the Big Salmon Lake boat launch still has snow on it too. This is the fastest section of the course and you'll be able to fly, even with some good rolling hills.

5.4km-7.3km: Same as first 2km, excellent snow conditions. After everyone has packed this down further at the start of the race, this section will be in exceptional shape for the final sprint to the finish.

There is always a lot more snow in the park than what is in Kingston or surrounding areas. We've had a lot of people contact us who are concerned about the conditions for the race, but we would have to get a huge melt for there to be a problem considering how good the base is right now. Worst case scenario if a big melt did occur is that we would still be running a snowshoe race, but exclude the Corridor Trail section.

The temperatures are dropping below 0C each night, and some flurries are in the forecast this week, so conditions should remain good or even improve. I expect to be running the course again later in the week and will post further updates if conditions change.

See you on race day!

Derrick