Lauren Swanson / Special to The Daily
Colorado Mountain College Leadville will host the 2020 U.S. National Snowshoe Championships from Feb. 28 through March 1 on CMC’s campus trails.
The 2020 event, which will be the 20th annual U.S. Nationals, will serve as the highest-elevation competition in the U.S. Nationals’ history. This year’s event was hosted in Wisconsin while last year’s was in Vermont.
“We’re thrilled that Leadville will host the championships,” Kevin Mastin, co-chair of the Lake County Tourism Panel, said in a press release. “The event happens at a great time of year for us. The snow is reliably good and will show the town well. The increased lodging nights in the middle of winter will be a real benefit to our shops and restaurants.”
Darren Brungardt, a CMC Leadville assistant professor of mathematics and the coach for CMC’s running club, also served as a member of the committee that worked to bring the championships to Leadville. Brungardt said with Mike Bordogna, the executive director of the Leadville/Lake County Economic Development Corporation, a committee of tourism panel members was formed leading to the submission of the application to host the event.
“There is no place like this in the world that will offer such a unique snowshoe racing experience,” Brungardt said in a press release.
The governing body putting on the event is the United States Snowshoe Association, which promotes recreational snowshoeing across the country. The 2020 national championships will feature a 5-kilometer race, a 10K, a half-marathon and a marathon.
Brungardt said he expects 200 to 350 racers at the event, from as young as middle school students to athletes in their 90s.
“We are excited to share our backyard with a new group of athletes from around the United States,” Bordogna said. “The event combines important elements of our history and our current-day passions in an environment that we are confident will be appreciated by all.”
For more information about the 2020 snowshoe championships, visit LeadvilleTwinLakes.com/Snowshoe.