Winter Wild in New Hampshire

Winter in New Hampshire offers unique and exciting opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. In this month’s blog I share my training and research in preparation for running a race up the ski slopes of Mt Sunapee in the middle of the winter. The race is called “Winter Wild“ (http://www.winterwild.com/) and is held March 5th at Mt Sunapee Ski Mountain, Newbury, NH (http://www.mountsunapee.com/).

The rules for this race are pretty easy and simple. Whatever you carry up the hill is what you descend the hill with. Acceptable devices area downhill skis, XC Skis, Telemark Skis, snowboards, snowshoes, crampons or just plain running shoes. You cannot leave anything stashed anywhere on the mountain! Whatever you go up with you must return with at the bottom the hill.

The first video describes my winter run at Pats Peak (http://www.patspeak.com/). The second video is my practice run at the Mt Sunapee course.

Both courses are marked on the video’s maps in red and follow the peripheral of their ski areas. The courses starts at the bottom of the mountain at the ski lodges, and finish on steep downhills that rush you back to the lodge. The Pats Peak course is counter clockwise, and the Mt Sunapee course is clockwise.

The Mt Sunapee course starts up Elliot Slope to the access road down where you start ascending the Williamson Trail to Stovepipe and up to the Mount Sunapee summit. You descend the Upper Ridge all the way down to the Lower Ridge and finish in front of the Spruce Lodge.

The learning experience:
Since this would be my first time doing this type of winter event, my practice runs would help me decide:

• Was I in good enough physical shape to do my first ever uphill and downhill ski run?
• Do I wear running shoes or hiking boots? Or, do I could carry my back country skis up the hill, and ski down. Another possibility was to carry my snowshoes uphill and use them downhill.
• Do I wear crampons? I had never run in crampons before so I was concerned about their feel.
• What clothing should I wear for a run up a mountain in the middle of a New Hampshire winter?
• After the Pats Peak run I experienced a sore right calf. My remedy was to use a wooden dowel to massage my calf throughout the day. Three days later I ran five miles with not a wimp of pain.
• Half way through the two mile downhill Mt Sunapee run I felt an ache in both quads. I slowed to a walk for a few minutes and then picked up my run. That evening and the following day I used my wooden dowel to massage both quads.
• The Sunapee run produced a blister on my left foot middle toe. I suspect the uphill trek in my hiking boots caused this. A band aid for two days cured the blister.
• I drank lots of water to ward off possible cramps. Must have worked, as I experienced no cramps.
• My running base of twenty to twenty five miles a week running has me at a good cardiac level for this unique winter ski mountain run. The lesson here is before you do a ski mountain race, be sure to develop a good cardiac level.

Enjoy my pictures and video as you join me in answering my questions for this unique winter event, so that I never have to say, "I wish I had ran the Mt Sunapee Winter Wild race".