Buerger wins national snowshoe championship

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - Tim Buerger of Ironwood won the United States Snowshoe Association 5-kilometer junior men's national championship at Eau Claire, Wis., on Feb. 28.

He finished with the same time as Tyler Dezago of Paul Smiths, N.Y., 21:39.4, but finished just ahead of Dezago.

Buerger allowed others to lead the first mile. He then led for 1.5 miles despite falling three times on an icy trail that went through the woods and up and down hills. Dezago came to the final 100-yard straightaway in the lead, but Buerger passed him - barely - on the outside.

Buerger is also now a member of the Junior National showshoe team that will compete in the world championships in 2016.

Paul Buerger, Tim's brother, finished 10th. Their sister, Siggy, had the fastest qualifying time in the nation coming in but came down with the flu that weekend.

Their dad and coach, Larry Buerger, adjusted Siggy's lighter and faster snowshoes for Paul, but 30 seconds after the gun went off, a binding came lose and ended Paul's chances.

"Months of training and now two kids are out of the running," Larry said.

The Buerger family has been snowshoe racing since 2003 and started preparing for this season in December.

It's a fringe sport.

"You don't see it on TV or in the Olympics, but as most people know in our area, snowshoeing is a fast growing sport with many local races and group walks," Larry said. "You can find designated snowshoe trails all over the area as well as countless miles of county, state and national forest land to explore."

They also ran the half-marathon in Eau Claire the next day. Paul finished 15th in the country and was first in the 19 and under age group.