What the heck is SnoFatShu? Central NY’s snowiest park hosts annual race this weekend

Winona State Forest to host annual SnoFatShu race this weekend

Cyclists on 'fat bikes' -- mountain bikes with fat tires designed for running on icy trails -- race on a groomed double-track trail in Winona State Forest, near Mannsville.

What do you get when you cross snowshoes with fat bikes — basically fat-tired mountain bikes on steroids — and put them on meticulously groomed trails in one of the snowiest parks in New York State?

The answer, of course, is SnoFatShu.

The 7th annual SnoFatShu race, a fat bike/snowshoe duathlon billed by organizers as the first and only competitive event of its kind in the country, takes place Sunday, Feb. 12, in Winona State Forest, near the Tug Hill town of Mannsville.

“It’s not for the beginner,” said Rich Shumway. “But it’s a lot more fun if you fall over, that’s for sure.”

Shumway, bike director for the Winona Forest Recreation Association, the nonprofit group that organizes SnoFatShu, compared SnoFatShu competitors to triathletes.

“They’re kind of special,” he said, “they train all year for this.”

Still, Shumway encourages anyone with consistent cycling and running experience, as well as a good set of lungs, to give it a try.

“We’re going to have fire pits going, we’re going to have music going, we’re going to have food for the athletes when they’re done,” Shumway said. “Just hang out and enjoy the camaraderie of other athletes.”

Shumway said this year’s SnoFatShu course will be a little different. “We amped it up a bit,” he added.

It begins with a 10-kilometer bike race on a double-track trail, followed by a 5-kilometer segment on single-track trails. Then repeat: bike, snowshoe, for a total of four segments. Shumway expects most participants will be able to complete the race, which kicks off at 9 a.m., in three hours or less.

Although Central New York hasn’t seen a lot of snow so far this season, there’s plenty on the ground in Winona State Forest, Shumway said. He described the current trail conditions as “pristine” and expects them to remain in top shape on Sunday, despite a warm up later in the week.

Shumway said participants can choose to run SnoFatShu solo, or with a partner of either sex. Registration for the event closes Feb. 9 at 5 p.m.

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.

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