Winning the World Snowshoe Championships with Jennifer Britz

0:01On a quiet morning in the mountains of Bar Harbor, Maine, Jennifer Brittzlaces up her running shoes and heads out to the trails of Acadia National Park. For about half the year, she also straps on running as snowshoes. Unlike the long, wide frames you typically see, running snowshoes are designed to be more compact and lightweight. Snowshoe running is a niche sport, but Jennifer has dedicated the last 10 years to mastering it. In fact, in 2022, Jennifer even took home gold at the World Snowshoe Championships in Argentina. I'm Shelby Stanger, and this is Wild Ideas Worth Living, an REI Co-op Studios production presented by Capital One and the REI Co-op MasterCard.

0:49When she's not on the trails, Jennifer works at her local YMCA, running youth programs and helping with fundraising. She also coaches cross-country and track and field at Mount Desert Island High School. As a lifelong runner, Jennifer gets outside whenever she can, which is what brought her to snowshoe running in the first place.

1:12Jennifer Britz, welcome to Wild Ideas Worth Living, your first snowshoe racer on this podcast. Very exciting. It is a pretty old sport, so I'm surprised you haven't anybody else yet. So first of all, snowshoe racing, has it been around since like the beginning of time, since people put rackets on the bottom of their feet? Or like, tell me a little bit about the history of this sport? The classic snowshoe is that kind of tennis racket shaped wooden snowshoe. Those have been around for, you know, since Native Americans use them here, at least North America. When the Europeans came over, they kind of, you know, hey, we learned how to use these.

1:48They use them for hunting and trapping. And they'd set up these like kind of outing clubs. And, you know, they went on their hunts and traps. And at the end of the day, it was like, hey, let's have some competition. And so they would, you know, this is like 1800s and stuff. And they would do kind of like a snowshoe races just for fun, just to like, hey, how good can you do? How fast can you go? And these would be like sprints. So if you think of like sprinting in those tennis racket shoes, it was probably really hard. And then like it started kind of to pick up the pace. And so you had places like Dartmouth College would hold like winter festivals.

2:20And at these winter festivals, they would have snowshoe races. And they'd be like nothing super long like we do now, like 5K, 10K, more of like sprints. they would hurdle in snowshoes, which I find there's some great pictures out on the out there of old time people like hurtling in snowshoes. And that sounds like a way to wreck yourself. I know, seriously, because those things are huge. So, yeah, so it was, you know, kind of came about that way. And then little by little, like Canada was was a big leader in like making snowshoe clubs where then they would organize races. The U.S. kind of followed after that.

2:54And I believe it was until 1999 that they were still holding races in wooden snowshoes, like the old school snowshoes, which is crazy. I can't even imagine. And I think because I think the aluminum, first aluminum snowshoe came out in like 1970s. And, you know, some people would use it just to like hike around and people were trying to run in them. And then I think around 2001 or so is when the U.S. finally had the first like U.S. championships. and they allowed people to run in aluminum snowshoes and it kind of like went from there. So yeah, it's been going on for a while, kind of unofficially and then officially.

3:32Officially though, 20 years. That's not that long. Yeah, that's true. How did you get into snowshoeing? So I have a history. I was a road runner. I ran in college. I was a heptathlete. I got into trail running after I had kids and I just love being outside in the woods. Like, that's just something that I love to do. And I ran a trail race series of gosh, it was years ago. And I won the series and they offered me as a prize a entry into their snowshoe series. And I was like, wait, you guys run on snowshoes? They're like, yeah, like, how else would you run in the woods in the winter? Like, I had always been like, running on the trails.

4:12And then when winter came, switching over to running on the roads and the sidewalks and kind of just dreaming about off, I could only get into the woods. Um, so I was like, okay, I'm going to try this. So, um, I actually went, I'm an REI member and I actually went to like this, one of the local stores and bought myself a pair of running snowshoes, which I knew nothing about. I raced in, it was a three race series and absolutely fell in love with it. So that's kind of how I got started, which was kind of like thrown in. Okay. So what was it like running in snowshoes for the first time as a race?

4:45So running in snowshoes is very different than running just say on a trail, as in you have to go into it knowing that your time per mile is going to be much slower. You can't look at your watch. It's a much harder effort. I would say it's akin to running. If you ever run on a soft sand beach and your foots are kind of slipping in with each step, plus a snowshoe weighs a little less than a pound. So it's about, you know, having a little bit weight on your feet, trying to run in like deep sand. It's hard. Your cardiovascular, like it'll feel like you're sprinting all out and you're only running like 10 minute miles.

5:23So it's a lot of effort. And I think going into it knowing like, hey, I'm not going to try to run this pace I usually run while I'm on the roads. I'm just going to enjoy what I can do with whatever pace works for the situation and with the conditions. It can be really fun. I think a lot of people go into it thinking they're going to be like this super fast runner and it's like, snowshoe running isn't really super fast. You're going to run a slower pace, like I said, than what you would run on the roads. But one thing good is when you go up a hill on snowshoes, you always get to come down. And one of the best experiences on snowshoes is running down a steep incline in deep snow and just having snow fly everywhere.

6:01And it is the most amazing experience. Like just doing that, if everybody could try that, they'd probably love it. Just running downhill in snowshoes. Oh, it's so fun. And deep snow is absolutely amazing. Because if you fall, it's fun. It's fun, yeah. You just end up in a pile of snow and no one gets hurt. Running downhill in snowshoes almost feels like you're flying. It's half running, half sliding. And once the speed starts picking up, it's hard to stop. You never really know how deep the snow is, which makes it both fun and challenging. Running a 10K in snowshoes usually takes Jennifer about twice as long as it does on a regular trail run.

6:41Even though she can't move as quickly, she still loves being out there in the snow. Everything is so quiet, and the sunlight sparkles on the snowy banks and ice-crusted branches. Jennifer was initially drawn to the novelty of the sport, but she quickly realized that she was quite good at it.

7:02Was there a moment when you realized, oh, yeah, I'm good at this? Yeah. So that first series I ever ran on Snowshoes, it was set of three races over three months that I had one entry to. I ended up winning the series. And I was like, I haven't really even figured this out yet. And like, I actually did pretty good. And so I kind of started looking into like, what other races besides the series are there out there? And that's when I kind of, you know, started doing other races. And then somebody mentioned like, hey, the U.S. championships this year is in Vermont. And I was like, oh, I can make it to Vermont.

7:36So I went to that first one and I was like, oh, my gosh, like that was 2014. And I just missed making the U.S. team that year after only racing for a little bit. And so I was like, oh, my gosh, my goal is next time the U.S. championships gets close is like I want to make the team. Like that's what I want to do. So so you won. How did you make the team? So every year the U.S. holds U.S. championships and it kind of moves around the country in different places. In 2018, I ran in the ones in Bennington, Vermont, and I won the master's division there. And so they take the top five and that's basically the U.S.

8:15team for that year. All right. So when you got noticed that you're going to enter the world championships, tell me when that was and how old you are. If you're okay telling your age. Yeah. So, okay. Let's see. That was, I've run in a few of them. The first I ran was in 2019. That was in Italy. So I'm 48 now. I don't have to do the math. Rad. Good for you. You're winning the snowshoe race. So yeah, I ran one in Italy. It was my first world. They actually had no snow that year in the Val Anon. And so they actually have like some crazy amount of euros saved up so that they can always put snow down if there's no snow.

8:56And this is January. And we're running in shorts beforehand. And what they did is they hauled snow from a place that they were making it. And they laid down like a track of snow that was probably as wide as a road and about two feet thick for a 5k loop. And so we had to run the loop twice for 10k. And then they dumped snow into the streets so that we could finish like how they traditionally finish in the village. And that was my first Worlds. And I was just like, this is crazy, amazing, like that people are so, you know, into this sport that they're going to spend like millions of euros to like make a snow track for us to run on.

9:33It was crazy. After the World Championships on that year, they actually have a citizens race. And there were like 3000 people running in the citizens race on snowshoes. So like that was my first, I think, show of what the rest of the world actually does snowshoe racing and how much they love it too. So. So it's big in Italy, big in Europe. But yeah, it was great. That first world championship felt electric. It was exciting to see that this niche sport was actually respected and loved. And Jennifer wanted more. She knew that she couldn't really go pro as a snowshoe racer, though. The sport isn't officially recognized by USA Track and Field.

10:12So there's really not any money in it. Still, that hasn't kept Jennifer from continuing to race. so there's 2019 and then do you just keep going back every year well there's the pandemic so yeah so actually i ran in tokyo in 2020 right before the whole world shut down so we had flown over there in january or february sorry february and the race we flew into tokyo where the race was up in mayoko which is like the japanese alps they had the most snow i've ever seen in a place Like the snow was like over the first floor windows of all of the village that we stayed in. It was and they were worried that it wasn't going to be enough.

10:52And we were like, this is the most snow we've ever seen anywhere. Bad thing about that race is that it actually started raining in the middle of the race, which kind of was crappy. The snow kind of turned into a like mashed potato, we call it. It's like that heavy, wet. It wasn't great, but they still held it. It ended up being a great experience anyways. like being running in that part of the country, seeing like a different part of the world that I've never been to. What's it like running in mashed potato snow? Is it just sticky and like you can't? So the bottom of your snowshoe has a big metal cleat on it.

11:27And when you get that like mashed potato kind of snow, it'll pack into that cleat and refreeze. And so you end up running with like snow slammed into your cleats. You don't get any traction anymore. It's sounds slippery. Yeah, it's not great. You always have to look at things like that where it's the weather and you can't control it. It's like everybody's dealing with those same issues. Nobody's got any advantage. You just run your best for those conditions. Like, that's probably the best way to look at it. Because if you can, if you let all those outside factors influence your race, like it's just going to be a negative impact.

12:02So you have to look at it like everyone's dealing with the same thing. How can I make this better for myself? Wow. Okay, so you're in Japan. And then the next year 2021, is it on or did they cancel it? It is off. Yeah, it is off because because of pandemic. So the next race they hold is September of 2022. And that was in Argentina. What was that like? That was really hard to get to. So it was, gosh, a 14 hour flight to Buenos Aires, and then another two hour flight to this little village called Nyaken, and then a six-hour bus ride to the mountains of Patagonia. And on our six-hour bus ride, our bus broke down.

12:46So you have a bus full of runners, and we're all looking at the sign, and we're like, 20K, we could easily run that. Like, how can we get to the village faster? So that was kind of funny. But yeah, this was way off in a little village. Basically, they don't plow the streets down there. They just pack the snow, and people just drive on top of it, which I thought was crazy. So the streets just get deeper and deeper as more cars just go on top of the snow, which was nuts. It was at this little ski resort on like the border of Chile and totally different experience. Like I said, the trip down there just was the most I've ever traveled to get someplace.

13:25And we got to hang out down in this little village for a few days. And then we took a run on the course with the team the day before. And last minute, like the night before the race, they changed the course on us. Of course they did. Yeah, of course they did. So I guess there was a few spots of snow that was starting to melt at the very top of the – basically it was on a volcano. And the volcano was steaming the whole time, which was kind of unnerving. But so we're basically a few spots had like kind of started breaking through and they didn't want people to break their snowshoes or bust a cleat or something.

14:05So they changed the course slightly and they took out a lot of the climbing. My preference, I love climbing. That's what I train for. I train for steep ascents and steep descents. So I was kind of bummed that they took a bunch of the climbing out. But it was still a great course. The next morning, we all got up there and yeah, like the race went off on a bright bluebird sky day and everything just clicked that day. And you won. Yeah. So right off the start, it was a very fast start. It was a packed, packed snow start. So basically groomed. So it was easy to get going quick. And it went right up to the first climb.

14:47And I remember looking up on that first climb and being like, oh, like, I know this. I know climbing and looking up and seeing a woman in front of me and being like, all right, I'm just going to work to get up past her, not knowing that she was actually the first female. And also like that was her home course. She was from Argentina. So I caught her on the uphill and never saw her again. And I didn't even know it because we run we run a race. It's both male and female together in one race. So sometimes it's really hard to figure out where you are. You're like, I don't know if there's another woman up in front of me.

15:18I don't know who's behind me. So, you know, I'm running. There's some people in front of me. I'm just figuring there must be somebody else. And then I get to about two miles to go. And in Spanish, I start hearing people saying like, Primera, you mujer. And like, oh, I was like, oh, my gosh, I think I'm in first place. I did catch up to another man from Argentina by the end. And he even said, he's like, I think you're first. He's like, I'll run in with you, which was super cool. So yeah, I ran with him and then he just like backed off and let me cut across the tape first, which was absolutely amazing.

15:52Absolutely amazing.

16:08Snowshoe runner Jennifer Britz won first place at the Snowshoe World Championship in Argentina in 2022. Training for the event was particularly challenging for her because the race took place in September. Jennifer lives in Maine near Acadia National Park, so she hadn't run on snow in months. How do you train for a snowshoe race, like especially in the summer when it's not snowing? Yeah, so I spent all summer training for the Worlds and basically did a lot of trail mountain running. I do know people who will take their snowshoes out onto the beach and try to get some workouts in that way. I didn't want to wreck my snowshoes.

16:48So, yeah, I spent a lot of that summer running a lot of mountains, try to get a lot of vert in. And doing a lot of snowshoe running takes a lot of core work. So core, not just your abs, but like hips, glutes, like all of your core. You're going to be taking a lot of sharp corners and also having to lift your feet a lot with a lot more effort. I didn't have like, oh, you know, it's going to be negative 15 degrees with lots of wind and all ice and I have to go drive someplace to train. I just ran mountains all summer. It gets really humid in the northeast in the summer. And so I think training in the humidity where cardiovascular is very taxing, that almost helped when I got to the snow shoe race down in Argentina because my lungs were primed to deal with really hot, humid air.

17:38and I got down there and it was like crisp and dry. And I was like, oh my gosh, I can breathe so well down here. I think that helped a lot. Like people I know do altitude training and we always joke that we do humidity training here because it can be rough. That's so interesting. And you're not 20. So how have you like maintained not getting injured? I do get injured. But I think one of the biggest points, and we kind of talk about this when I'm with my training partners and stuff is getting into the weight room. Like I know it sucks because I love being outside, but I think making sure you get all your muscles in a strong sense so that you're not ripping stuff.

18:20You're not tearing stuff. You're protecting your joints. And I think that's one of the biggest things is keeping your strength up and doing a lot of trail running. Trail running is great because it has, you're not just moving in one direction like you would on a road. You're taking corners, you're stepping off on rocks. And so that kind of keeps those muscles kind of in tune also. And also running on the trails is a lot easier and on your body. So what do you do day to day to trade? So I usually get up very early because it's quieter in the park here in the morning. And then I'm usually out there for, gosh, two and a half, three hours.

18:56Trail running right now, that usually is about, because it's a lot of climbing, it's usually about 15 miles or so, maybe 20. Then I have almost like a second workout because I run with a cross-country team in the afternoon at practice. I lift two to three times a week. So I've got it down where I can get in and out of the weight room in like 35 minutes and get everything done, which like I said, I'm an outdoor person. So not my favorite place to be, but I know it keeps me not injured, but I get everything in just squeezing it in between my other schedule. What about the mental training? Like how do you how do you train for that or is it just time yeah so um mentally i go into it i always go into it my i have goals my first one is always have fun like if you're like i said if you're not running for fun then why are you doing it so it's always have fun the second is always finish the race don't get injured don't get injured training for it you want to finish and put out a good effort and then the third is always like getting into that uncomfortable place where you're like this hill is really hard, but I'm going to keep moving forward and mentally talking yourself into being stronger.

20:06You said you like climbing up and you love running down. Yes. Your technique to run down a hill like a little kid as fast as you can. What's your technique about running up? So running down the snowshoes I run in have two cleats that kind of go parallel to the length of the snowshoe. So it keeps your snowshoe from like sliding out to the side. So what I tend to do is just lean back and almost like ski run down them. So you're sliding with each step. It's really fun. It's, you know that you have a big cleat in the front that you can always break with if you have to, but you use the gravity as much as you can.

20:39And climbing up, I just do it so much, I think. Here, like I said, here in Acadia, to get mileage and to get vert, you have to go up and down a bunch of mountains. Like there's no super long one ridge that you can climb for seven miles and then come back down. Like everything's going to be a short, steep climb. And so we do it all the time. And I think that's just like what I train to do. So when I see a course that I'm like, oh my gosh, yes, we're going to be climbing a lot. I'm like, that's just my home. That's like what I do.

21:14What are you wearing for shoes? Like you're not, your snowshoes aren't shoes. They're like things that you put over your shoes. So what are you wearing? So in running snowshoes, you wear a regular pair of running shoes. You're not wearing boots. That would be way too heavy. For training, I have like a pair of like Gore-Tex shoes to keep my feet a little bit warmer because usually I'm out there for way longer than I would be in a race. So I have a pair of like regular running trail shoes that are Gore-Tex. I throw a pair of gaiters on, just low-cut gaiters, like the kind that people usually wear for trail running, just to keep the snow from packing down into my shoe.

21:49I always wear over the calf like tall darn tough socks because they're so much warmer and your ankles and your calves will get so cold being packed in the snow for like hours on end so like keeping your lower leg warm I think is super important you'll be so much more comfortable than if your toes go cold but yeah so it's like you're wearing your regular running shoes and just strapping them they fit right into a running snowshoe and then when you raced you wear a different shoe? I just have a pair of a more lightweight running shoe. I know I'll be out there for about an hour, so I'm not too worried about my toes freezing.

22:26So I'll just wear a regular running shoe and just not my Gore-Tex ones. They're kind of heavy. Any advice on like getting into snowshoeing, just plain snowshoeing and then snowshoe racing? Yeah. So if you want to get into snowshoe running, probably want to start with being a runner. Like that's always a good base. Like if you're a runner, it's pretty easy to make that next step. Like I said, snowshoes for running are much narrower. So you don't really have to change your stride much. You just have to acknowledge that you're, don't try to go the same pace that you're going to be going on the roads.

23:00I suggest like if you first are trying it out, find someplace that has a packed trail because it's easier. You could kind of get the gist of like, okay, this is what's going to feel like. This is the weight of them before you start going off trail on deep snow or anything like that. Only because you'll get frustrated, I think, if you go right to the deep snow right away.

23:24I may not be in love with the cold, but snowshoe running sounds really fun. I'll definitely try it on one of my winter trips to Mammoth or Colorado this season. If you live near some snow, you should try it too. Let us know how it goes in a review wherever you listen. This year, the Snowshoe World Championships are taking place in Wisconsin. All of us are cheering Jennifer on. Wild Ideas Worth Living is part of the REI Podcast Network. It's hosted by me, Shelby Stanger, produced by Annie Fassler, Sylvia Thomas, and Sam Pierce-Nitzberg of Puddle Creative. Our senior producer is Jenny Barber. Our executive producers are Paolo Motula and Joe Crosby.

24:05as always we love it when you follow the show take time to rate it and write a review wherever you listen and remember some of the best adventures happen when you follow your wildest ideas