Boosted by my previous week’s snowshoe outing, I decided to enter a 5 k snowshoe race up at Greylock Glen. Now, I’m not a runner, but I am a hiker and spend an awful lot of time outside walking in the cold, and I mistakenly thought that I was signing up for a 5k ridge run, not a 5 k “black diamond.”

When I drove by the banks’ time and temp display at 8:30, it read 12°, although according to weather dot com, with the wind chill factor it felt like -4°. I drove up the mountain to the race starting point, paid my $12 registration fee and introduced myself to the race coordinator, proudly proclaiming that this was my first snowshoe race. I’m sure it was quite obvious that I was not one of the regulars as I was dressed for a day of downhill skiing, big bulky parka, ski pants, and what I soon found out were dated snowshoes. My first tip off was looking at everyone else’s snowshoes - and as I looked around the ground, all I could see were the words “Dion snowshoes” and then as I began to scan the bodies up, I saw Dion Snowshoe polartec vests, and hats and earwarmers. In fact, I may have been the only one there not wearing Dion Snowshoes — and as I found out later, there was a reason they were all wearing those shoes …

We lined up, me at the way, way back so that I wouldn’t block anyone’s passage. Ready, set, go and we were off. I ran the first half mile uphill then had to slow down and walk. While I’ve been slowly upping my running distance, I haven’t been doing it in the snow and I’ve been running downhill, not up. It was fairly clear to me that I was no longer at the back of the pack, I was on my own and became content enjoy a day out snowshoeing, knowing I’d eventually hit the finish line. About an hour and half into my hike I became quite paranoid that I had lost the race path and was now wondering aimlessly in 12,500 acres. While I was still following the pink flags that marked my way, the ground didn’t look like 50 snowshoers had just trampled through it, in fact, it looked like I was the first visitor in days. At one point, I got so worried, that I turned around and bactracked for about 20 minutes until I ran into another couple who told me I was going the right way and I spent the next 20 minutes covering the same ground for the 3rd time. I made it over a hill, hiked down and paused for a minute. I was 2 hours in what I thought was going to be an hour and half hike - at the most - and I could tell from my position to the mountain that I wasn’t even close to the finish line. I pulled out my cell phone and called my husband to let him know that I was still on the mountian, that I was on the PINK FLAGGED TRAIL (I must have said it five times) just incase they needed to send out a lost hiker team) and that I thought I was going to be ok, but thought someone should know where I was.

Twenty minutes later, I saw the gazebo and was so thrilled that I finished that I picked up my pace and ran towards the finish line. I was clocked in at 2 hours 2o minutes and was greeted with several rounds of congratulations, followed by promises that this was the toughest race course yet and I should be quite proud of myself for finishing.

I poured myself a hot chocolate, ate a chocolate chip cookie and then chatted with a very friendly woman who tried to talk me into a 4 mile race today (um, thanks, but I need to go home and lick my wounds first). She introduced me to Bob Dion, of Dion Snowshoes, who lends out his snowshoes for these races in the hopes that you will buy them. I think everyone I saw before me had already bought theirs and I could see why. They are narrow and far more flexible than my old LL Bean models which definately slowed me down on the single track sections of the course (not that I was running, but my shoes were so wide that coming downhill on the narrow parts hurt my ankles and I had to move extra slow to make sure I didn’t pull a face plant.)

There is another race next weekend and I’m trying to talk my brother and his wife, who are actual runners and far fitter than I, to come out and join me. And if I do it again, I’m going to be in Bob’s snowshoes!