Twenty-six people gathered at the west-end of West Ridge to take part in the snowshoe racing championships Saturday.

Runners won prizes not only for best time in the race but in total points earned over this and four other races. Nineteen of the runners competed in the official 10-kilometer race, which consisted of two laps around the UAF Biology Research Center and a turn-off or two. Six others chose to do a single lap, and were separate from the multi-race championship.

Chad Carroll had the best male time on the 10-kilometer race with 44 minutes, 28 seconds. The appropriately named Heather Best had the best female time at 55:00. Andy Holland won the most points in the male category with 75 points and Elizabeth Little had the most points in the female category with 55 points.

Art Nash had the fastest time in the 5-kilometer at 28:11. Holland, Joey Williams, Steve Bainbridge, Corky Herbard, and Amy Carroll received special prizes for having competed in all five races of the series.

So many prizes were available that by the time Chad had given out over a dozen prizes to the various participants and winners, he offered up the rest of the prizes to anyone who had not yet gotten one.

With the exception of a log that had somehow found itself in the middle of the trail, the race started and finished without a hitch.

Chad Carroll, the organizer of the event, could be seen racing alongside the rest of the runners.

Marking the times of each runner was Ben Nelson. Using a stopwatch, he was forced to hold the watch between his teeth to keep it warm, and wisely chose a pencil to bring outside instead of a pen.

Upon completing the race, one runner who had done the 5-kilometer race had only one thing to say: "That