With Grey Mountain towering in the background, a group of seven athletes gathered on the F.H. Collins field on Saturday morning to participate in the snowshoe racing trials for the Arctic Winter Games.

The young racers got off to a slippery start in the first race of the day, with three of the racers catapulting face first into the snow within the first 50 metres of the run.

"That was something to see,” said coach Don White, who has been coaching the Games team since 1992. "You don't get that very often.”

White says the athletes have been focusing their training on distance running and aerobics, with Saturday's trials being the first event of the season with the athletes strapped into the snowshoes.

Aidan Bradley, who is participating in his second Arctic Winter Games, said the hardest part of the day was staying upright.

"It's very easy to fall over in the shoes,” he said.

"Keeping your snowshoes on is the hardest part,” added Sara Burke-Forsyth, a veteran racer who has had success in the Games past snowshoeing events.

The hopeful athletes lined up for races ranging from 100 m to 1,200 m in distance.

As the day wore on, the racers made noticeable improvements in their technique and speed.

"It's a tough sport and it's not a glamourous one,” said White.

For Burke-Forsyth part of the appeal of the sport is the uniqueness and the connection with the winter.

"Why go for something like basketball when it's the Arctic Winter Games?” she said.

"Why not try snow shoe running?”

For the racers, getting used to their altered running stride while wearing the shoes is one of the hardest factors to adjust too said White.

"It's just a case of getting that technique down,” he said.

"For some of the kids there's very little change in stride technique to what they do when they are in running shoes but then some kids, especially the sprinters, have quite a bit of technique to learn.”

After completintg the longest races of the day the athletes were visibly winded but had avoided finding themselves buried in the snow, a marked improvement from earlier in the day.

Once the Arctic Winter Games are finished, White said the athletes will notice an increase in their stamina and speed.

"Because each snowshoe weighs over a pound it's like doing a strength workout every stride.

"They come out quite a bit stronger and they're noticeably faster running in the spring,” he said.

One of the reasons Bradley became involved with the sport is because it serves as great cross training for running, which is his favourite sport.

Kate Londero, racing for her first time, said she could have done better but enjoyed the opportunity to try the event.

"It seems like a fun sport and it's cool to do something for the Games,” she said.