The Portland Press Herald / The Maine Sunday Telegram

February 18

Hey, why should kids have all the sledding fun?

By SHANNON BRYAN Staff Writer

NOTE: This event has been canceled due to the lack of snow.

The Eastern Prom boasts some of the best sledding in town. All the area third graders know it.

Of course, being a mature and respectable adult, you swapped the sled for skis years ago, trading local hills for higher altitude. Snow tubes were deflated. Toboggans were put out to pasture.

Because that’s what adults do.

Adults surely don’t show up on the Eastern Prom on snowy Sunday mornings and, in a fit of nostalgia, “borrow” a neighborhood kid’s Deluxe Polar Flyer when he pauses to adjust his mittens. Or they shouldn’t anyway, according to local law enforcement.

This weekend’s Snowman Adventure Race offers grownups the opportunity to sail head-long (or feet first, if you prefer) down the East End hill just like they did when they were young. Maybe even set a new personal best.

The Snowman Adventure Race is a two-person relay combining running, biking and downhill sledding. One teammate heads out first for a half-mile bike ride around Back Cove, the second takes on a 2.25-mile run around the East End. Each leg of the race is begun with a hearty run up the East End hill and a return sled down. And both teammates sled together to the finish.

In a nutshell: this ain’t no Beach to Beacon.

The race is timed, but it’s a far cry from the intense road races that spill onto the streets every summer.

Competitive spirit lives, but it’s also a lively way to “stick it” to Old Man Winter at a time of year when snow and chill have taken their frigid toll on our emotional state. That dispiriting mid-winter slump is exactly what race director Patrick Hackleman was hoping to dispel when he came up with the idea three years ago.

“I wanted to run something in the dead of winter to get people out and about,” said Hackleman, director at Casco Bay Sports.

And nothing gets Mainers out and about quite like sprinting up India Street in a mullet wig or angel’s wings. Perhaps both. See, the costume portion of the Snowman Adventure is equally as important as a team’s finishing time. Maybe more so. It’s questionable whether any of your fellow racers will remember that you missed first place by 43 seconds. But you know what they will remember? Face paint. Animal print. Fat suits.

Hackleman noted that the creativity on race day is impressive. There’s even a Best Costume award given out during the post-race awards ceremony. Of course there’s an award for the winning team. But self-described non-athletes can still aim high with the Spirit Award or Best Team Name award.

For what you lack in athletic prowess you can make up for in witticism and easy puns: “Better Off Sled” or “Victorious Secret” or “Over Forty and Still Naughty.” And while teams of all levels are welcome and encouraged, there are a few ground rules. Helmets are required for the bike rider and the bike must have “knobby” tires.

Old-fashioned hillside fun doesn’t mean you chuck safety out the window. Besides, you want to keep that noggin in good shape for the post-race festivities. At the warming tent, the folks from Kamasouptra in Portland will be serving up finish line soups. From 1 to
3:30 p.m. it’s over to Ri Ra on Commercial Street where a spread of chicken wings, potato cakes and spinach dip awaits along with race awards. And the celebratory drinks, of course.

The Snowman Adventure is still a relatively new local race, but participation has been snowballing since it’s inaugural run in 2008. Fifty to 60 teams are expected to turn out this year, assuming some much-needed winter precipitation shows itself.

The Snowman is plugged as a “rain or shine” event, but it’s typically the excess of weather that race organizers are worried about, not the lack of it. And while the running and biking portions would be easier sans snow banks, mud puddles and sheets of ice, no snow means no sled. And sledding is what it’s all about, really.

Should snow remain elusive, Hackleman hopes to reschedule. The final “go or no go” decision will be made at 6 p.m. on Friday. But with accumulation expected this week, Snowman duos should have the sleds prepped and the costumes washed and pressed. 

It’s city-sanctioned and proceeds benefit Portland Trails. Local law enforcement can’t argue with that.

Staff Writer Shannon Bryan can be contacted at 822-4056 or at:
sbryan@mainetoday.com