A casual conversation in September of 2024, which I stated to a friend, "I think I'll do the Polar Roll Snowshoe race this winter", ended up as a full blown weekend of adventure and challenge.
I told a couple other friends about my idea, and they quickly jumped on board, and four of us scrambled to snatch a coveted registration for the Polar Roll Bike and Snowshoe event, scheduled for February 15th 2025.
Myself, and my friend Benita, registered for the 15 mile snowshoe race, while my friends, Sharon and Dave, registered for the 15 mile fat bike race.
Training commenced, plans were made, lodging secured, and final details made.
Us ladies decided that we would make a full get away out of this adventure, and all scheduled days off from work so we could head to the UP on Thursday, February 13th and explore the area on Friday.
The Jeep loaded to the brim with all things; gear, clothes, food, and drink, we headed up. The drive was pure Michigan winter; cold, blowing snow and intervals of near white out conditions, making for a slow and cautious trip.
We landed safe and sound at our destination just outside of Ishpeming, at the lovely home of a friend I made a few years ago while visiting on another winter adventure.
Once settled in, we relaxed from the drive and had a good nights sleep, readying ourselves for a full day of chasing ice.
Friday morning started with -6F temps outside, and we layered up, and headed out to explore Eben Ice Caves first, and then to Pictured Rocks to explore the ice curtains, and hopes to catch some ice climbers.
The ice was in pure form as we have experienced much snow and many weeks of single - below 0F temps.
After a few hours of exploring, it was time to head to Marquette to packet pickup for the race! Excitement was growing.
The location was electric with energy of a couple hundred athletes.
There, our friend Dave joined the group, and once finished, we headed home to enjoy homemade chicken soup that was waiting for us in the crockpot, and start preparations for the following day.
Race morning! 5:30am, coffee and breakfast, A few new inches of snow overnight, had us all knowing it was going to be a beautiful day in the woods, albeit, possibly a soft trail for the bikers as well.
We found our parking spot, unloaded, headed to the school and starting area.
Our start times were spread out; bikers took off at 8am, and snowshoers at 8:30.
We gave each other one last "good luck" and took are places in the starting line.
And off we went!
As expected, the new snow and extreme cold, made the trails soft and loose, causing the bikers to resort to pushing rather than riding far more than they wanted, Us snowshoers, on the other hand, made easy work of the conditions. I felt sorry for those bikers, and kept telling myself how happy I was that I decided to snowshoe instead of bike! And, the UP is hilly. So those bikers had their work! At least I just had to get myself up those hills, not a bike.
With all the pushing I saw, I thought for sure my joke to Dave would actully come true, that I was going to catch him out there. (I didn't)
I paced myself just as I did in training, running more during the beginning half, and challenging myself. I was feeling great, strong, and in control. Mile 8, and my problem spot on my left foot started talking. Drat, blister warning. Luckily I was prepared with a couple blister pads in my pack, and at the next aid station I found a chair by the fire, sat down and began the 10 step process of tending to my foot: snowshoes off, gaiters off, boots unlaced and off, pants and tights pulled up, socks peeled off(which was a struggle with sweaty skin), jacket off, pack off, pads out and taped on, then to redo all the steps in reverse.. Geesh. There went at least 15 minutes I did not want spend. Oh well, better to stop and take care of my feet than risk the outcome.
The pad helped, but I could still feel the pain underneath and found myself wincing a little.
My friend Benita has passed me just before this while I was taking a pee break, and I had little hope of catching her. I continued with me running intervals, but they started to become shorter as I made it to mile 11. There I stopped, ate a banana and a Picky Bar, and told myself I would just hike until mile 13 and try running again. Mile 13. I ran. maybe 30 seconds at a time. I was getting tired and my legs were wearing out. Mile 15 was a pleasant stop. A young boy came bounding up to me excitedly asking if I wanted a maple syrup shot. From his farm! "Why yes I do!" It was yummy, and a nice compliment to the dill pickles I eagerly snatched out of the jar. Funny what we consume during a race.
One mile left. I can do this. Almost done. I will run into the finish line. That's when I saw 3 snowshoers ahead of me and I was gaining. Crap. Now I have to try to run. I can catch them. I did, painfully. Then I could see the finish chute down the street, and even though my legs were screaming, I kept running. I just was ready to be done.
5 hours and 15 minutes. That was my finish time.
I had so much fun, and reveled in my effort. I just turned 61 on February 2nd, 2025, and I just raced a hard snowshoe race.
Polar Roll 2025 in the books.
My friend Sharon placed 2nd overall female with a time of 2:43
Dave finish in 3:25
Benita finished 4th Female in 5:10
I finished 5th Female in 5:15
What a great weekend with good friends. Highly recommend
You can check out my complete video from the weekend on my YouTune Channel
Kamie Outdoors
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