The snow finally fell and the course is primed for the U.S. Snowshoe Association (USSSA) National Championship at Summit High School Saturday. Making its Colorado debut and climbing to an elevation of roughly 9,350 vertical feet, this weekend will be the highest-ever installment of the championship in its 12-year history.

The course will run in reverse compared to the Love Me Tender snowshoe race, which took place a couple weeks ago. The new route will not only provide variety for repeat costumers, but also force the racers to run up Heartbreak Hill at the end of the loop, rather than at the beginning.

“We ran it in one direction (for the Love Me Tender) and I think it's going to work better in the opposite direction,” said local race director Darren Brungardt. “It's really spectator-friendly. All the people in the county can come out and watch, bring the cowbells out and all that good stuff for a good time.”

The course will start just north of the high school on the recpath and head up into the Iron Springs Open Space area, which is just south of the school. The race consists of a gradual 300-foot climb and will loop back around to the high school property. Like the Love Me Tender, the race's marquee event will incorporate two 5k loops, which also happens to be better for spectators.

“We're pleased to be here (in Summit County), and we're expecting a great race. It's a beautiful setting and a good course and a proven local race director (Brungardt),” said Mark Elmore, U.S. Snowshoe Association sports director. “We look for the support of people wanting to bid to host the event each year, and we were fortunate that Darren has been competing at nationals the last few seasons and is a dedicated snowshoe racer and supporter of the sport.”

A national event

The event, which rotates from year to year through five regions — Northeast, Midwest, Rocky Mountains, West Coast and Alaska — always attracts some of the country's most talented endurance athletes, many of whom use snowshoeing as a way to stay in shape over the winter season.

“We expect to have a very, very competitive field in both the senior men's and senior women's races — and the juniors for that matter,” Elmore said. “It's going to be a really deep field, predominantly a showcase of Rocky Mountain athletes. But we're certainly going to have some good, competitive athletes from other parts of the country.”

Among the expected contenders are four-time national champion Josiah Middaugh from Vail, last year's winner Eric Hartmark of Minnesota and Iowa's Scott Gall, who finished in the runner-up spot in 2011 and 2010. Some of the top women include Breckenridge local Helen Cospolich and Littleton's Lindsay Krause.

Junior national team members Samantha Lewis and Mitch Kasyon, both from Colorado, will look to fend off a competitive field of up-and-comers.

The top-five senior men and top-five senior women will earn a spot on the national team, as will the top-three junior boys and girls. Membership on the national team is the best way for athletes to get invited to the world championships in 2013, which will be taking place in northern Italy. For this year, the winning senior man and woman will receive an automatic invite to the 2012 world championship in eastern Canada.

Welcome to Colorado

“When we were at Mount Hood a couple years ago, it was pretty high, but I don't think it was quite this high, so that certainly has an impact (on the athletes),” Elmore said. “A lot of the rest of the country is from lowland areas, and they don't feel like they're going to get a fair shake. The way we feel about it, snowshoeing happens here — and we're here to support it.”

Brungardt, who designed the course, said previous race venues have been characterized by quick up-and-downs, in contrast to this weekend's race, which will have two big, slow climbs followed by a long, fast downhill.

“For the most part, this course is pretty flat,” Brungardt said. “I think people will be surprised. It's not your typical Colorado course. I had a few people tell me that at the Love Me Tender: This isn't a Colorado course by any means; it's more like a fast, New England-style course.”

For the not-quite-so-competitive snowshoers, there will be several open events (no USSSA membership or qualification required), and vendors will be on hand for snowshoe demos and rentals.

Aside from the men's and women's 10k championship, there will also be a 5k junior boys and girls national championship, a citizen's 5k run/walk, a “kids' kilo” run/walk, and on Sunday, a 4 x 2.5k team relay.