Strap on your snowshoes and get outdoors for a unique and exciting competition

photo courtesy of Maine Running Photos

By Lorraine Glowczak

When was the last time you ran a 100-meter dash or ran/walked a 5K? For those of you who have – that’s great news. Next question. When was the last time you did either (or both) in snowshoes? Intrigued and wondering how one can go about participating in such a sport?

Whether you have competed in this form of sporting event before or not, now is the time to either participate or try it for the first time right here in Windham. The Le Club Montagnard- Maine Snowshoers-Racquetteurs, which is collaborating with Windham Parks and Recreation, is offering this popular Franco-American event for those who love the great outdoors and wish to compete in a fun and challenging race that will occur on Saturday, February 9 at the Lowell Preserve at 47 Falmouth Road in Windham.

“Le Montagnard is the oldest snowshoe club in the United States,” stated Denise Tanguay of Windham. Tanguay, who is in her early 50s, along with her sister, Diane and brother, Danny have been members of the snowshoe club since before they could walk. Their father, Roland, was the president of Le Montagnard man’s section in the early years of its existence while their mother, Monique, was the president of the women’s section. Both parents were from Quebec where the original club began.

The Tanguay family lived and grew up in Lewiston where there was a large immigrant settlement from the French-Canadian Provinces. In the early years, as there is now among present immigrants, a level of discrimination and outcast was experienced. As a result, in the early 1920s up to and including the 1980s, the Franco-American population stuck together to support one another. One way they did that is through the sports club that also acted as a social support group.  

According to a Sun Journal article written by Dave Sargent and posted online on January 15, 2013, the Le Montagnard was founded by Louis-Philippe Gagne. “[He] stood just 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 110 pounds, but he was a giant in the history of snowshoe clubs and Franco-American culture in this [Lewiston] city. As editor of “Le Messager,” Lewiston’s French newspaper, he wrote political commentary that was read throughout New England and Canada.

He was elected mayor of the city twice. In the early days of radio, Gagne hosted live broadcasts

called “L’Oeil” (The Eye) on WCOU, and he was responsible for bringing notable Canadian performers to Lewiston.

Two years after his arrival in 1922, Gagne had founded Le Montagnard, which was the first organized snowshoe social club in the U.S. It was named after Le Montagnard Club of Montreal, the first Canadian Club, formed in 1895. Lewiston’s Le Montagnard Club adopted the original club’s gray and scarlet uniforms, as well as the club’s motto, “Toujours joyeaux,“ meaning ‘always happy.’” www.sunjournal.com/2013/01/15/river-views-newspaper-editor-founder-le-montagnard-snowshoe-club.

Denise Tanguaay

Both a sport and a social gathering, the Le Montagnard of Lewiston continued the traditions of parades and events each winter that included colorfully uniformed members from many U.S. and Canada clubs. Many of the events were held in Lewiston.

“I remember playing the bugle in the parade we had each year,” recalled Tanguay. “It was imperative among the parade participants to have and wear as many snowshoes as possible. My dad made me wear snowshoes on my back while playing the bugle just so our club could have the most snow shoes in the parade. I always rolled my eyes. Now that I’m older, I understand his level of commitment and love for this group.”

What Tanguay and her siblings really enjoyed were the ice castles built every year. “Our family really enjoyed the ice castles built during the sporting competition,” Tanguay said. “The ice came in blocks from No Name Pond and we’d always be amazed at its creation.”

Tanguay’s father was so dedicated to the Le Montagnard club and the sport of snowshoe competition that he worked to make snowshoeing an Olympic sport. “I traveled with my father and
representatives from Canada to France prior to the 1992 Olympics to meet with the Olympic Committee to see if we could promote snowshoeing competitions as an Olympic sport,” Tanguay stated. “We discovered that at least three countries have to be involved to be a part of the Olympics.”

As far as attendance and membership in the United States, The Sun Journal article continued by stating, “From its charter membership of 30 members, Le Montagnard’s rolls grew to 1,000 members by 1950. The club built a large chalet at No Name Pond, and from those waters the ice was harvested for ice palaces constructed in downtown Lewiston for numerous snowshoe club conventions.”

Tanguay stated that at one point, snowshoe participation at the International Championships was up

to approximately 5,000 members. But after her father’s death, membership and participation significantly decreased. “When the last race and parade happened in February 7, 2015, my siblings and I knew we needed and wanted to continue this event and club as long as we could,” Tanguay reflected.

As a result, she hopes to make a comeback with this sport by having a race in collaboration with Windham Parks and Recreation.

Roland Tanguay

“While I am always excited about the opportunity to offer an additional recreational opportunity to our residents, I think that this event is particularly exciting due to the history involved with the Snow Shoe Club, as well as the importance of embracing our Maine winters,” stated the Director of Windham Parks and Recreation, Linda Brooks. “Lowell Preserve is one of Windham’s gems, yet many folks have not taken advantage of this wonderful trail network and holding an event there may bring people out who may not otherwise know it exists.”

To register for this event, visit the website at www.runinarace.com/MWPRSnowshoeChallenge/index.html

Sign up before January 24 and get a free t-shirt. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. with check in and late registrations from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. Along with the 5K run/walk open to all ages, there will be a 25-meter and 50-meter race for those 8 and under and 100-meter race is open for nine and over as well as a 200-meter for those 13 and over.

 For more information, contact Denise Tanguay or Diane Williams at montagnard@maine.rr.com.

The Lowell Preserve is over 300 acres of a forested conservation area that has over 8 miles of trails for all types of users from hikers to ATV users.

Whatever your endeavor in life, may you don a pair of snowshoes and toujours joyeaux!

Local runner sets lofty goal by Elizabeth Richards

Scott Paradis running the Sandy Hook 5k in Conn.

Scott Paradis spontaneously took up running in 2015 and just as spontaneously set an ambitious goal for himself: to run 51 5K races in 50 states - and one in the nation’s capital, Washington DC.

Paradis, 35, is a Windham resident who graduated from Windham High School in 2001.  He is likely a familiar face in town since he works as a cashier at both Hannaford and Home Depot. 

He began running just three years ago, on a whim. “I just got a crazy idea - I just feel like going out running,” he said. He began with a one mile-loop on the Chaffin Pond Trail.

That first mile was tough, he said, tougher even than running three miles now. But he stuck with it, gradually increasing his distance, running his first 5K in September of 2015. That was the Stephen Ward 911 Memorial 5K in Gorham. 

After that first race, Paradis got an even crazier idea: to do it again in each of the 50 states. He said at first, he didn’t think it would happen, but then he started, and after running in a few states he realized it could be a reality.

Paradis finds races on runningintheusa.com. He searches each state for a race with a cause he is most interested in supporting. “Whatever charity I like the best for that state is how I usually choose it,” he said. 

Paradis has a logo, designed by his brother that he puts on a t-shirt each year; the races he has completed are listed on the back. His tagline reads “A Race to 51 5Ks in 50 States.” The final race, to cap it all off, will be in Washington, DC. “I figured that would be a good way to complete the whole thing,” Paradis said. His goal is to have run all 51 races within 20 years.

Paradis has a large map on the wall in his room, tracking the races he has completed. In June 2018, he ran his 16^th race, the Honoring Our Heroes 5K in Cincinnati, OH. At that race the runners raised enough money to provide tiny houses to three homeless veterans. “That made me feel really good that I was part of that,” Paradis said.

Paradis said he doesn’t seek out any particular type of charity. He doesn’t have a specific order in which he hopes to complete the 50 states, but has already done a few distant states, including Arizona, California and Hawaii.

One of his favorite causes so far, he said, was the Sandy Hook 5K in Newton, CT. That was a larger race, with approximately 1400 runners. At that event, he said the runners raised about $70,000, which was donated to charities chosen by the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy.

Some races are more challenging, depending on the weather or other conditions. In Hawaii, for instance, part of the race was on the beach, where running on sand added some difficulty. But Paradis said he feels like if he’s going slower, the rest of the participants are facing the same challenges and will also run slower, so he’ll place in the same range he would have.

“I go into these races knowing I’m never probably going to win, I’m not the fastest runner…My goal is to finish better than half the pack, I’m okay and happy with that,” he said. 

Paradis said he prefers races that have somewhere between 100 and 500 runners, because he can get to know people more, and talk about what he’s doing. He tries to approach the race organizers and let them know what he’s doing. 

           

Some of these organizers have been very happy that out of all the races in the state, he has chosen theirs. The mayor of Mt. Airy, MD, where Paradis ran Ava’s 5K for Down Syndrome, wrote him a personal thank you letter after the race.

Paradis funds his own travel, with the help of credit card and hotel rewards programs. He does not do additional charity fundraising beyond paying his race fees. 

Paradis said he has had many great experiences so far – including finishing on the 50-yard line at the Buffalo Bills stadium in Buffalo, NY, and coming in 2^nd male overall at a very small race in GA. 

Paradis said he doesn’t have a specific goal in mind for how many races he will complete each year. He was able to do seven the first year by travelling to states within driving distance. However, that will slow as he heads to states farther away. And some states, like North and South Dakota, don’t have many races listed, so he’ll need to coordinate around what’s available.

Typically, Paradis said, he does a race in March, April, May and June, and then takes the summer off to avoid travelling when it’s too hot. He’ll pick up again in the fall with another race or two.  His 17^th race, the Skeleton Run 5K for Bone Health, will be in Morristown, New Jersey on October 21, 2018. Paradis said this year is the first year for this particular race.  

Paradis said he likes to travel, and has fun choosing a race in each state. He travels on his own, but sometimes visits family on the way, or chooses a race based on where family or friends are located. 

One of his favorite things about doing these races is the reaction he gets from some people when they hear his goal. “It’s just an accomplishment in itself to be able to do it,” he said. 

Kelli's 5K accomplished its mission - By Lorraine Glowczak

Despite the soggy and cool conditions on Saturday morning, August 13th, a large crowd of runners and walkers found their way to the Windham High School campus to donate their time, money and honor the memory of Kelli Hutchison at the 6th Annual Kelli’s 5K. 

This year’s run/walk was a success in many ways. At the time of this writing, $3,500 had been raised thus far. Donations were still coming in and are being accepted. The final dollar amount, less expenses, will be known in a few weeks. 

A portion of this year’s donations were a result of sponsorships from the following organizations: Bob the Screenprinter, Casco Bay Steel Structures, Betty ReeZ WhoopieZ, Capozza Tile & Floor Covering Center, Sebago Trails Paddling Co., Dr. Podhouse at Orthodontic Associates, Grondin, Blue Rock Stone Center, Pike Industries, St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Rowe Westbrook, Homestead Mortgage Loans, Primerica, Titcomb Associates, Joe and Suzanne Joyce.

Congratulations go to the fastest teen male and overall winner of this year’s event - William Chandler with a running time of 18:48. He was followed by the fastest male Eric Martin. The fastest female was Megan Curtis, followed by the fastest teen female, Analyse Harris. 

 

Along with the winners of the event, many others came out in support of this community cause. One such person was George Vooris. George was present because raising awareness and funds for cancer is important to him. He is the organizer of the Second Annual Naples Causeway 5K Walk or Run that will occur this year on August 28th. Proceeds from that event will go towards the Patrick Dempsey Cancer Center and the local food pantry. Originally, George’s intention was to run the Kelli’s 5K but as a result of recently hurting his ankle, he volunteered instead. 

Becky Delcourt of Windham has been a walker for this event since 2008, when it began as the St. Ann’s 5K. Delcourt stated, “I have known Kelli’s family for a long time and my son is a member of the WHS class of 2017.” As a result, she stated that it was especially important for her to participate again in this year’s event since 50 percent of the donations are going to the Windham High School 2017 Project Graduation, of which Kelli was also member. Becky’s friend, Michelle McCartney, joined the race for the first time. She was moved by Kelli’s story and wanted to make a contribution to this year’s cause and to honor the memory of the amazing and loving person that Kelli was known as by her family, friends and the community.

Jeremiah Merrill, a 2016 graduate of WHS, who grew up in the same neighborhood as the Hutchisons shared, “I remember playing with Kelli and her brother Cory. This is the first time I have participated in Kelli’s 5K but it is important to me to be a part of this year’s event. It is a special year since Kelli would have graduated in June 2017.” Jeremiah volunteered as parking attendant and participated as a walker.

Emily Skvorak and Celine Baker, both members of the 2017 graduating class, didn’t let the rain stop them either. Both of the runners were friends with Kelli and expressed how much they miss her presence. They both agreed that it was important for them to “honor and remember Kelli as a member of the graduating class.” They also spoke of Shane Donnelly, another class member who passed away unexpectedly in late spring of 2015. Celine stated that “the passing of Kelli and Shane brought the community and the class together in unexpected and special ways. It’s difficult to go through life without them.” 

Emily continued with that same thought, “Whenever I am doing something for the first time, such as prom, I think it would have been so much more fun to have Kelli here, doing this with me.”

Another Kelli 5K volunteer also shared her story. Beverly Robertson, Kelli’s Aunt, has been volunteering since the Kelli 5K began in 2010. She believed Kelli’s spirit looked down upon Saturday’s event, “Kelli would be very pleased with the outpouring of caring happening today.” It seemed Beverly knew Kelli’s spirit was there as she shared a very special story. “On the day Kelli was laid to rest and as my husband and I were driving home, I asked Kelli for a sign.” Within a few minutes, it seems Kelli honored her aunt’s wishes by displaying a rainbow on a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Not once, not twice, but three times. Beverly continued, “When I got home, I called Melissa (Kelli’s mother), and told her about my experience. As we were talking, a rainbow appeared just outside the window for Melissa to also see.” 

Kelli’s parents, Melissa and Mike as well as her brother Cory wished to express their gratitude to all who participated and made donations. Overwhelmed with the spirit of community, the Hutchisons are happy beyond measure at this year’s successful Kelli’s 5K. It is their hope that Kelli’s essence remains a presence in the Windham community. Her love for life, her deep passion and caring for others, as well as the joy she had despite the challenges she faced at such a young age. May each individual in this small community see their own rainbows on difficult days and remember to enjoy it all, despite it all, Melissa said.

To make a financial contribution for the playground and 2017 Project Grad, visit the website at www.kellis5k.com.

Toby's Dream continues this year with a memorial race event and a raffle - By Michelle Libby

Click for local ad

On Saturday, May 28, the gun will go off on the second annual Toby’s Dream Project Memorial Race event at Windham High School. Last year the event raised $8,000 toward the goal of paving the Windham Veterans Center parking lot, which meant a lot of Toby Pennels, a veteran who gave a lot of his time and resources to the space to make it succeed. The driveway and access road are now paved and through the work of his family and a small group of dedicated volunteers, the initiative will now allow Toby to continue to give back to organizations he loved. 
 

Stuart “Toby” Pennels passed away after a motorcycle accident in 2014. At the time he was running for political office, sat on the RSU14 school board and had served his country. 

This year the committee will honor Toby by splitting the money between three places. All money raised at the races and through a raffle for a paddle board, flotation device and paddle donated by Kittery Trading Post will go to help programs that mean so much to Toby. The first place the money will go is toward the Toby Pennels Memorial Scholarship Fund, then the remaining money will be split between the veterans center and the Windham High School cross country team, who have given so much for this event,” according to Brenda Pennels, Toby’s widow. “We want to make it something Toby would have wanted.” Two of Toby and Brenda’s children ran cross country and cross country coach Jeff Riddle has spent countless hours working on the races. 

At the race on Saturday there will be a 5K and a 1 mile walk, run or wheel and also a kids’ fun run with ice cream cones donated by The Ice Cream Dugout as a reward. Registration can be done online at the website or on Saturday. There will be Blue Mile markers to honor those who have passed on.

“We are very happy to continue to partner with Brian Berkemeyer, Run In A Race, LLC., to help with online race registrations and online donations and also officially time our races and collect all race results,” said Riddle. 

This year there will be a meet a veteran portion of the event and a station for writing to soldiers. Colonel Scott Venable will fly in from Chicago to talk about what it means to serve and what it was like serving in Iraq with Toby in 2007. There will be “a lot of things going on on race day to honor vets,” said Brenda. That includes a non-perishable food drive. People are asked to bring an item or two for the Windham Food Pantry. The items are collected by the American Legion Post 148. They will also be collecting food in North Windham.  

“All of this happens effectively because RSU14 has again sanctioned this race event in respect and honor of Toby and all that he gave over his years of service to RSU14. It is important to also mention that the Town of Windham and Raymond have been overly supportive of this event and we look forward to continuing those partnerships as well,” said Riddle. 

This year the organizers cut out the breakfast and made the whole event shorter. It’s more organized, said Brenda. 

“Last year, year one, Brenda Pennels, Taylor Pennels, Don Swander and I worked with a few other volunteers to make the event a very successful one, all within a very short timeline to respectfully pull it all off,” said Riddle. “In this second year of the race event,…we have increased our event coordination committee with some amazing community members from the towns of Windham and Raymond.”  

The team effort includes Taylor Pennels as web designer/sponsorship coordinator/Facebook marketer and Don Swander liaison with the Windham Veterans Center and fundraising. Others added are Jennifer and Nelson Breton, Suzie Brockelbank, Abbi Brockelbank, Kristy Appleebee, and Nini and Nate Bennett. 

Molly Cobb received the Toby Pennels Memorial Scholarship last year and will be given out again at the senior recognition night before graduation this year. The raffle for the paddle board will be drawn on Memorial Day after the community luncheon event and paver dedication that starts at noon on Monday. 

For more information and to register, visit www.tobysdreamproject.org or Facebook. Donations for the scholarship can be made to The Toby Pennels Scholarship Fund, http://www.tobysdreamproject.org/#!toby-pennels-scholarship/m4oon.

The event in Summary:

1.  We have a guest speaker coming in from Chicago: Colonel Scott Venable

2.  A kids choir coming to sing

3.  Veterans on-site to story tell and answer questions

4.  A collection-site to support the Veterans centers canned food drive initiative.

5.  We hope to have a 'write a letter to a soldier’ station

6.  A 1 mile race, run, walk, wheel   (see the course map online)

7.  A 5K race   (see the course map online)

8.  A kids race.    (See the course map online)

9.  We will have a 'Blue Mile' within the 5K course out on 202 where we will celebrate military members who lost their lives for our country.  

10.  We will have cash prizes and other prizes for our top runners.  

11.  Along with that we have sponsors and raffle items, including a grand raffle of a paddle board, from Kittery Trading Post.