Bob Dion competed in his first snowshoe race in 1998. He showed up in the nick of time, rented a pair of bulky mountaineering snowshoes and won the race.
But not without a price.
“The equipment was pretty bad,” Dion recalled in a recent phone interview. “We had banged-up, bloody ankles. People were duct-taping cardboard on their legs for protection. For people who did all four races, it was pretty painful.”
The race was the first of the new Western Massachusetts Athletic Club Snowshoe Series, which marks the beginning of competitive snowshoe racing in the northeast as we know it today, Dion said. Plenty of people were racing in snowshoes before then but not in such an organized way.
After his painful experience running in snowshoes meant for hiking, Dion was inspired to find a solution. By 2010, he was making snowshoes for racing. Today, Dion Snowshoes outfits 60 to 80 percent of the snowshoe racers in the northeast, he said.
“They’re basically like having an extra pair of socks on,” Dion said. “You can back up, turn and jump without worrying about coming down on the snowshoe in the wrong direction.”
Compared to the typical recreational snowshoe, which has a pivoting foot, Dion racing snowshoes have a fixed foot, which makes them more responsive. Racing snowshoes are also a lot smaller and lighter than recreational snowshoes.
“If you’re going out by yourself, out breaking trail, you need a big snowshoe to do that,” Dion explained. “But if you’re in a race, even if you’re in the front, you’re just blasting through the snow. You don’t want a big snowshoe that snow piles up on because you’re you shoveling the snow for everyone behind you.”
Dion racing snowshoes retail price ranges between $200 and $300, depending on where you buy them and what bindings, cleats and frames you choose. The most popular model for racing, Model 121, is the smallest and narrowest snowshoe permitted by the United States Snowshoe Association, the governing body for the snowshoe racing in the U.S.
Racing snowshoes typically are found at running shops and specialty sports shops. Just two Maine stores — Epic Sports in Bangor and Ernie’s Cycle Shop in Westbrook — are on Dion Snowshoe’s online list of retailers.
Interested in trying snowshoe racing?
Maine’s Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe Series, three races held at Bradbury Mountain State Park in Freeport, is in its fifth year. This year’s third race, the 5-mile Bradbury Blizzard, will be held Sunday, March 1. Dion snowshoes will be on free loan for participants.
Also, Bangor YMCA is hosting its first USSSA-approved 5K and 10K snowshoe race Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Bangor YMCA Wilderness Center at Camp Jordan in Ellsworth. Dion snowshoes won’t be available at the event, but people with recreational and mountaineering snowshoes are welcome to participate, whether they walk the course or run.
To learn about the Bangor YMCA race, visit bangory.org/snowshoerace. Information about the Bradbury Mountain Snowshoe Series can be found at trailmonsterrunning.com/bradburysnow.