The latest Storm of the Century (aka whatever shitty name they decided to give it this time, because that’s a thing now) didn’t quite hit much of anything north of Boston. That’s not good news for the still young snowshoe racing season of 2016. The Moose Mountain Runaround, which was to be the second stop on the Granite State Snowshoe Series circuit, was rescheduled until February 6th. But there was still a chance to get your fix.

Six03 threw their beanie into the ring and put on their first snowshoe race on Sunday, The Frigid 5k, with the Nippo Lake Golf Course serving as the perfect backdrop for runners to test their mettle. The wide open terrain provided glimpses of mountains in the distance as the runners traversed the rolling, frozen fairways.

As is normally the case in these events, Jim Johnson shot out to the front and was soon leaving the pack behind to settle the rest of the places. Eric Narcisi gained some separation early as well and was left with nothing but fleeting glimpses of Johnson’s speed suit and the fear of being run down by the chase pack to help push him along.

Johnson made the final cruel, steep (and mercifully short) climb and crossed the line in 20:32 for “5k”. Narcisi was next, as he gracefully traversed the unique finisher’s mound in 22:07. Scott Mitchell broke up Six03’s bid for a podium sweep by taking 3rd in 26:14.

Lost another battle to JJ in the snow at the Frigid 5k Snowshoe Race, but I sure do know how to finish in style. When you have a big old snow pile at the finish line then you need to take advantage of it. Thanks to @six03endurance for putting on a great race. ? Jim Johnson #5k #running #nordic #snowshoerace #levelrenner #stuntman #dive #leaveitalloutthere

A video posted by EJN (@ejn_onthelevel) on Jan 25, 2016 at 9:35am PST

Leslie O’Dell was the first woman in 26:39, and the Six03’er was 6th overall. She would’ve have top 5 status if she hadn’t gotten out kicked…by a 10 yr old. Yeah…10! Aidan Cox was 5th in 26:34. That’s pretty incredible…and it’s also no fluke. As you’ve undoubtedly read here before, Aidan already has a national record under his belt. And now he has Leslie’s scalp.

Maureen Gillespie was the next woman in 29:55, followed by Lisa Plante in 32:13. The top three men were presented gold, silver and bronze snow shovels as their awards. However, the ladies did not get their own shovels. That most likely means that the men are now contractually obligated to shovel for those ladies during the next big storm. So who got the better end of that deal?

It looks like both Johnson and O’Dell are going to be the ones to beat this year, as long as Narcisi doesn’t close the gap on Jim and Leslie can hold off the 10 & under crowd.

The Granite State series continues on the 31st with the Beaver Brook race.