Having originated in the Northeast in the mid-1800s, snowshoe racing in the United States is nothing new. But the pace of the sport’s westward spread has been somewhat glacial.

So while many folks in Central Oregon view snowshoeing as simply recreational wintertime hiking, it can also be a form of competitive wintertime running.

Bend is set to host the 2013 U.S. National Snowshoe Championships this Saturday and Sunday at Virginia Meissner Sno-park. Pre-qualified endurance athletes from across the country will compete Saturday morning on a 10-kilometer course (two laps of a 5K loop) that includes a mix of groomed trails and newly broken singletrack. A junior boys and girls national championship race (for age 18 and younger) and a citizen’s 5K fun run are also set for Saturday. On Sunday, relay races for all ages will be staged.

“It’s just trail running during the winter,” says Mark Elmore, sports director for the U.S. Snowshoe Association (USSA), based in Corinth, N.Y. “It’s a natural extension of what all these trail runners enjoy during the dry time of the year.”

This weekend marks the 13th edition of the U.S. National Snowshoe Championships. Last year the event was staged in Frisco, Colo., and the 2011 nationals were held in Cable, Wis. This year marks the first time the Northwest has hosted the annual event since 2009, when the nationals took place at White River Sno-park near Mount Hood.

Snowshoe racing started in the 1840s and 1850s, according to Elmore, in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Snowshoe clubs were formed among New Englanders and Canadians, and they began competing on a regular basis.

The popularity of the sport eventually spread westward to the upper Midwest and Colorado, Elmore explains, but snowshoe racing has yet to gain a strong foothold, so to speak, on the West Coast.

“Mountain cultures there (the West Coast) have been a little slower to pick it up,” Elmore says. “Alpine skiing and nordic skiing have been such a strong force in many of those areas that the snowshoe aspect has been slow to take off.”

But Elmore says he is encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm he has seen from the Central Oregon running and endurance community.

“We’re hoping to build on this excitement,” Elmore says. “The sport is being presented to a lot of new endurance athletes, who are seeing the cross-training benefits and just the sheer enjoyment of getting out on the snow during the winter, and doing something that they do all year long, which is run.”

Because modern snowshoes are so lightweight and functional, the main challenge of snowshoe running has less to do with equipment and more to do with the conditions of the snow and race terrain. Running on a softer surface requires more power, Elmore notes, so core strength is more of a factor in snowshoe racing than in conventional running. Triathletes tend to be more successful at snowshoe running because they typically train their core muscles more than runners, Elmore says.

Because snow conditions are so variable, it is difficult for road runners to determine how fast they could run a particular distance in snowshoes.

“People always ask me: ‘If I ran a 40-minute 10K on the roads, what will I run in snowshoes?’” Elmore says. “And you can’t tell them. It’s completely based on the difficulty of the course, the altitude, the snow quality. There’s so many variables.”

More than 200 athletes representing 25 states and Canada have qualified for the nationals via 37 USSA-sanctioned qualifying races staged across the country. Elmore says that typically, between 150 and 350 runners attend the national championships.

Five-time U.S. champion Josiah Middaugh, a pro triathlete from Vail, Colo., is expected to compete this Saturday, as is Montreal’s David Le Porho, a two-time World Snowshoe champion. Two-time U.S. champion Brandy Erholtz, of Evergreen, Colo., is expected to lead the women’s field.

Many locals are expected to race as well. Bend’s Laura Kantor, who started a snowshoe running group here in December 2011, says as many as 22 runners have joined her for Saturday morning snowshoe runs this winter. She says 16 athletes from that group have qualified to run at nationals.

“Bend will be well represented this Saturday,” Kantor says, “by athletes of all ages and abilities.”

More about the event

What: The U.S. National Snowshoe Championship snowshoe races for pre-qualified runners and non-championship races open to the public.

Where: Virginia Meissner Sno-park southwest of Bend (see map, C4)

When: Championship races start this Saturday at 9 a.m.; relay races start Sunday at 9 a.m.

Cost: Fees range from $5 for the 1K kids’ race to $40 for the 10K championship or relay.

Spectators: Spectators are welcome along the course at no charge, but a sno-park parking permit is required; best place for viewing is the start/finish area near the parking lot; demo snowshoes will be available.

Contact: To register or for more information and a complete schedule, visit snowshoeracing.com or visitbend.com. Registration is also available Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at FootZone in downtown Bend.