New Mexico women take the podium at the 2020 U.S. Snowshoe Racing National Championships in Leadville, Colo., from left, Amber Zimmerman – second place, Michelle Hummel – first place and Whitney Spivey – third place. Courtesy/American Trail Running Association

Michelle Hummel leads the field at the start of the championships in Leadville, Colo. with Amber Zimmerman, black shirt and Whitney Spivey of Los Alamos in the pink vest. Photo by Mike Cleveland

SPORTS News:

For the first time in the 20-year history of the U.S. Snowshoe Racing National Championships, three women from New Mexico swept the podium.

Michelle Hummel and Amber Zimmerman of Albuquerque and Whitney Spivey of Los Alamos placed first, second and third, respectively at the 2020 event held Feb. 29 at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville, Colo.

Hummel completed the hilly, high-altitude 10-kilometer event in 49 minutes, 21 seconds. Zimmerman was close behind, finishing in 51:30. Spivey placed third in 57:30.

Of the 41 participants, nearly a quarter (10 women) were from New Mexico:

• 1: Michelle Hummel, 00:49:21, age 36, Albuquerque
• 2: Amber Zimmerman, 00:51:30, age 28, Albuquerque
• 3: Whitney Spivey, 00:57:30, age 37, Los Alamos
• 9: Cassy Scallon, 01:02:46, age 38, Los Alamos
• 20: Kerrie Cottle, 01:17:43, age 45, Santa Fe
• 21: Heidi Byrd, 01:19:44, age 31, Las Cruces
• 24: Collette Haney, 01:20:50, age 55, Albuquerque
• 28: Lorena Devlyn, 01:27:54, age 48, Las Cruces
• 34: Lauri Dodge, 01:32:10, age 60, Bernalillo
• 39: Dara Parker, 01:48:25, age 43, Las Cruces

 *ages are the age of the athlete on Dec. 31, 2020

The top five finishers in the event earned spots on the U.S. National Snowshoe Racing Team, which means they will have the opportunity to compete in the 2021 World Championships in Argentina. The New Mexico contingent brings experience to this event: Hummel recently won the 2020 World Championships in Myoko, Japan. Spivey placed seventh at the 2016 World Championships in Vezza d’Oglio, Italy. 

In the men’s 2020 national championship event, four of the 71 finishers are from New Mexico:

• 22: Shawn Martin, 00:51:33, age 47, Sandia Park
• 25: Mike Engelhardt, 00:53:30, age 50, Los Alamos
• 40: Greg Salveson, 01:00:29, age 34, Los Alamos
• 64: Dan Tallon, 01:20:03, age 66, Placitas
• Santa Fean Abraham Kosgei also competed for Kenya in the international division. He placed second.

To qualify for the national championships, athletes had to compete in a snowshoe race earlier this winter. Popular qualifiers in New Mexico included the Santa Fe Snowshoe Classic, the Chama Chile Ski Classic, and the Sandia Mountain Snowshoe Race. Many of these qualifying races took place at a similar elevation to Leadville, which helped New Mexico athletes anticipate the challenge of running at 10,000-plus feet above sea level in the national championships. 

Snowshoeing running is a rapidly growing sport in New Mexico. People interested in learning more about the sport can register for a clinic Saturday, March 7 through the University of New Mexico–Los Alamos. Register online at losalamos.unm.edu/community-education in the Outdoor Recreation section. National team member Whitney Spivey is the instructor.