Dear Editor:

The first day of spring was absolutely perfect. Total sunshine, little wind, and temperature in the 40s. My wife and I went snowshoeing at the Schmid Preserve, starting down Old County Road on the west side, then north on the blue Ridge Trail, to the orange Dance Hall trail to Hunger Road North.

Once on the blue trail we were pretty much breaking out a fresh trail in the crusty snow, which was pretty tough going, but there was one set of footprints that accompanied us all around the loop. The size of the footprint was definitely smaller than a normal hiking boot and with every step he or she sank into the snow at least six inches.

What was really remarkable, however, was the length of the stride. I’m six feet tall and could barely reach from one of the footprints to the next if I made the effort. They had to be about three feet apart. If you ruled out the possibility that this person was over seven feet tall, I could only conclude that this person was running, and they kept it up for nearly three quarters of a mile with no evidence in the snow of having stopped.

What a fantastic feat of athleticism. What great training for a marathon. We may have met up with the next Boston winner.

Philip Brooks

Southport