Snowshoe Running Camp with Sarah Canney: stepping out of comfort zones and into the snow

On Friday night it snowed. Not much, a dusting of an inch maybe more, just enough. Just enough to make the inaugural Snowshoe Running Camp feel that bit of winter magic that makes snowshoe running so fun. 

Over the weekend I hosted six amazing women for my first Snowshoe Running Camp. A couple of them had been out on snowshoes before, even tried running a bit, but for many of them, this was a completely new experience.

For me, snowshoe running has been a source of confidence. Stepping out of my comfort zone to try something totally new six years ago has led me down a path of growth, as a runner and as a person. Over the years, showing up to race on the snow time and again has led to some of my biggest breakthroughs. I love this sport for what it has done for me and I’m eager to share that with others. When you step out of your comfort zone and try something that’s innately hard, there’s a lot you can learn about yourself. And when faced with the discomfort that comes with being out on snowshoes, often wet and cold, you develop a mental resilience that translates to so many other areas of life. It’s this strength, confidence, and resilience that the sport offers anyone who chooses to take it up, which is why I want to share it with other women. 

Newbie to Snowshoe Racer

We kicked off the weekend on Friday night with a wine and cheese reception thanks to Cabot Cheese and a relaxing dinner in the Farmhouse at the Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, Vermont--our hosts for the weekend. In those first few moments, we got to know each other and learned a piece of everyone’s story, why they were interested in snowshoe running and what their intentions were for the weekend.

After a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning thanks to Grandyoats and Pete and Gerry’s Eggs, we headed out onto the freshly fallen powder for an introduction to snowshoe running. Everyone laced up their Sense Ride 3 GTX, which Salomon provided for every participant. These shoes are my go-to for training on snowshoes since they keep feet dry and warm in the winter elements. From there everyone got acquainted with their snowshoes, courtesy of Dion Snowshoes. We tested them out with a few strides in the field at the Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, Vermont--our hosts for the weekend. 

Strapping our Salomon Sense Ride 3 GTX into our Dion Snowshoes.

After a brief Q&A we headed out for a relaxed run through the trails, we looped around their trail system which was covered in a thin blanket of white from the snow the night before. It was just enough to give a cushion on the icy conditions. After about 25 minutes of running, we found ourselves back in the field.

Our Saturday morning run was brief, keeping in mind the night snowshoe race that everyone would be participating in later that evening. But after a brief Q&A and a couple of demonstrations, everyone was up for more, so we headed back out for another mile looping through the trails before heading back to the Farmhouse for lunch. 

Answering snowshoe running questions and demonstrating skills and drills.

After lunch I led the group through a strength training routine complementary to snowshoe running, I demonstrated each move and everyone followed along--conscious of the fact that everyone would be racing later on. Once we wrapped up the strength session, everyone had a few hours of free time to explore the area or simply relax at the Farmhouse. The afternoon sun streamed in through the living room windows and a few of us stuck around to chat, knit and relax, while others went off to explore or take naps. For so many people this kind of unstructured downtime is rare and feels like such a treat. There’s no laundry to do, no meals to make, no people to drive here and there just you and whatever you want to do. It’s these moments of pause during a retreat or a getaway that are critical for connection both with the people around you, but also yourself. 

As the sun went down, everyone started prepping for the snowshoe race--a low-key 5K. We all donned their new outfit from Road Runner Sports, who provided their Layer Up half-zip from their R-Gear Line as well as my new favorite winter pants, what they call the Hot Pants also from their R-Gear line. And thanks to Her Tribe Athletics, each participant had a toasty warm fleece-lined hat.

We made our way over to the warming hut, where Nor’east Trail Runs helped us out with registration and bib numbers.

From there I sent everyone off for a brief warm-up, while my friend and help for the weekend, Holly and I got our cowbells ready. After a brief meeting about course markings, all the racers (all 19 of them) were off heading around the field and into the woods. 

I might be partial to night snowshoe races since that’s how I first fell in love with the sport, but it’s safe to say that after the race everyone was hooked. It might have been the lantern-lit path courtesy of Nor’east Trail Runs or the thrill of running through the woods by headlamp, but when everyone crossed the line the excitement was real. 

Pre-race smiles.

We logged more miles on Sunday morning, some chose a shake out on the road while I led another group back out on to the trails for more exploring before the snow disappears for good.

We capped off the weekend by gathering again in the living room of the Farmhouse to revisit our intentions and talk about our takeaways from the weekend.

Intentions

We logged more miles on Sunday morning in the woods, wrapping up the weekend.

When everyone was setting their intentions on Friday night, I also set mine--well, I’d actually set it a while beforehand when I decided to actually do the Snowshoe Camp. I wanted the camp to provide an easy entry point for women to the sport of Snowshoe Running, where the intimidation factor is eliminated and women feel that they can come and try something totally new in a relaxing and inviting environment. My intention was that each woman who came to the camp would walk away with newfound confidence, that they could toss their snowshoes in the back of their car and drive to any trailhead and feel comfortable heading out for a run in the snow. And now that they have a few miles under their belt and the experience of a snowshoe race, I think that’s exactly what happened. 

Despite the thaw and the first signs of spring, I’m already dreaming up more snowshoe running experiences for next year! 

Huge thanks to our sponsors that helped make the camp possible: 

Dion Snowshoes for providing snowshoes for everyone.

Road Runner Sports for outfitting everyone in a top and bottom.

Salomon Running for the footwear.

Darn Tough for cozy, Vermont-made socks. 

Her Tribe Athletics for the great hats.

Goodr for the sunnies.

Momentum Jewelry for the mantra wraps.

Senita for the exercise bands.

GoMacro for the bars.

Grandy Oats for the Granola. 

Cabot for the delicious cheese and yogurt.

FRE Skincare for the samples.

LL Bean for the bags. 

-Sarah