Junior and collegiate athletes will compete in Leadville Saturday in the Snowshoeing National Championships, and the public is welcome to partake in the Colorado Cup Snowshoe Race.
The day will include a 5K and 10K for both youth and adults, according to the U.S. Snowshoe Association (USSSA). The race will attract snowshoe racers from across the nation.
Colorado Mountain College will host the competition.
The rules for snowshoeing competitions are similar to other races — there's a start line and athletes must stay along the well-marked course until the finish line. In snowshoe racing, each competitor must reattach the snowshoe if it falls off, and they're allowed to submit an offense if another athlete comes into contact with them on the course.
You can register on RunningGuru.com for the 5K, 10K, relay or kid's run. According to the registration page, the course is open to both novice and experienced snowshoers, and winds its way through woods under some of the highest peaks in Colorado.
The course starts and ends at the Nordic ski warmup loops at the multi-purpose field at Colorado Mountain College Leadville.
Those interested can register as high school teams or individuals, college teams or individuals, or simply as public individuals for the Colorado Cup 5K, Colorado Cup 10K or Colorado Cup 2K. Teams must pay a fee of $100 to participate, but all individual entries are $35 or less.
Click here to learn more around snowshoes used for racing.
The Open Nationals will take place on March 13 in Cable, Wisconsin. The 2022 World Snowshoe Championships begin Sept. 2 in the small town of Caviahue in Patagonia, Argentina.
