BOYLSTON and MANNSVILLE, NY – Winona State Forest beckons winter enthusiasts to come out and enjoy the great outdoors during the 7th annual “Festival of Flakes,” The event includes IditaFAT fat bike racing on Saturday, March 5 and the SnoFatShu duathlon on Sunday, March 6.
Competitors and fans alike will enjoy unparalleled racing fun with one of the biggest fat bike events in the U.S. and the first-of-its-kind duathlon which features a combination of fat bike and snowshoe racing.
The events begin at 8 a.m. Saturday and at 9 a.m. Sunday at the Winona CCC Camp in Mannsville.
Online registration is open through 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28. To register for either the IditaFAT race or SnoFatShu race, go to https://www.bikereg.com/winona-forest-iditafat-bike-race and select the appropriate category. On-site registration will also be available the day of the event.
Both races offer a variety of courses for all ages and skill levels. The IditaFAT course offers distances of approximately 12k, 25k or 50k, depending on conditions. The SnoFatShu race is made up of a 5k snowshoe portion, followed by a 10 to 20k (depending on conditions) fat bike section, and ending with another 5k snowshoe lap. Competitors can tackle this duathlon solo or with a partner.
Special recognition will be given to the male and female athlete with the fastest combined times in both the 50k IditaFAT and solo SnoFatShu. They will be crowned king and queen of the “Festival of Flakes” Weekend and receive prizes and cool swag.
On Sunday, families and individuals can also enjoy a 5k Run/Walk Snowshoe event. The course for this event is relatively flat and fast, depending on conditions, and walkers are encouraged to participate.
The IditaFAT and SnoFatShu events are fundraisers organized by members of the all-volunteer Winona Forest Recreation Association (WRFA) to help maintain the grooming machinery and manage the trails. The group’s experienced crew of volunteer groomers, many of whom are fat bikers themselves, start grooming the fat bike and snowshoe courses in December, using a diverse arsenal of equipment to provide the best-groomed trails possible.
For more information on Winona events, visit http://www.winonaforest.com/. For Oswego County accommodations and visitor information, go to www.visitoswegocounty.com.
missing or outdated ad config