CARRABASSETT VALLEY – As soon as Chris Fowler arrived at the snowshoe venue Monday morning, he announced that he was on a bit of a mission this year.

The last time he competed in the Special Olympics Maine Winter Games, things didn’t turn out quite so well.

The 23-year-old Winslow man, who competed for Somerset Team Outreach, explained that he’d learned some hard lessons and was determined to do things a bit differently this time around.

“I’m ready to do right what I didn’t do right last year,” Fowler said with a grin.

That, in a nutshell, means that he meant to do everything possible to arrive at the finish line with all of his equipment still attached.

“In my second race [of 2006], I dropped a shoe and had to turn around and go back and put it back on,” Fowler said. “I finished last in that one. But I tried my hardest.”

Fowler said he learned later that he should have just kept on running, and let the judges decide his fate. And that’s exactly what he vowed to do during the 2008 Games, which began on Monday at Sugarloaf/USA.

“I’ll just keep running, basically,” he said.

More than 500 athletes gathered at Sugarloaf to take part in the 38th annual event, which originated as the first Special Olympics Winter Games ever staged.

Time trials in most events were held on Monday, with finals to be contested on Tuesday.

Fowler was eager to race, and just as eager to talk about racing – and girls – and more.

“I’ll even tell you my secret afterward,” he promised, just before cinching up his snowshoes and finishing the 25-meter event in a virtual dead heat with Brian Fillion, a 39-year-old who competed for Momentum of Casco.

That Fillion even got to the finish line at all was in question at one point, for a very simple reason.

He’s a fashion plate. And he likes the ladies.

Fillion sported a snappy three-peaked winter hat, and was eager to show the volunteers his cool Mickey Mouse watch.

And every time his group was called to the starting line – he didn’t show up.

Not at first.

Fillion makes friends easily, you see, and each time he went AWOL, volunteers found him nearby, a flock of pretty young women surrounding him.

“Fun Town!” he called to one of them, a Special Olympics volunteer he met on a summer trip to that Saco water park.

In the 50-meter event, Fowler was among the first to arrive at the starting line (Fillion was otherwise occupied, as he had been earlier), and built a sizable lead through the race.

His shoes stayed on. He stayed focused. And he established a speedy qualifying time for Tuesday.

Then it was time to share his secrets.

“Pay attention and never fall back on what’s on your mind,” he said. “That, and [drink] that new Vitamin Water. It’s a lot better than regular water, and has a lot of vitamins and minerals.”

At the Special Olympics, however, dietary decisions run the gamut from Vitamin Water to – well – nearly anything.

Over at the Nordic skiing and skating venue, 25-year-old Dale Weymouth of Embden lounged around at midmorning after cheering his L.C. Dill Center teammates on during their competitions.

Weymouth wasn’t scheduled to compete until 2 p.m., and was taking some time to check out the free chow.

First, a hot chocolate.

Then, a hot dog. Both, before 10:30 a.m.

And in between, Weymouth offered his views on snowshoe racing, competition, and the Special Olympics creed.

Weymouth competes in the longer two snowshoe disciplines – 50 and 100 meters – but said the grueling races don’t bother him a bit.

“It’s not too tough for me,” he said. “No way, Jose. They’re gonna eat my dust.”

After a moment to reconsider his comments, Weymouth allowed that he probably wasn’t being very nice.

“I like winning. Sometimes,” he said. “Sometimes winning can be greedy, too.”

Winning is a goal for all who compete here, but trying hard and congratulating your fellow competitors for their efforts is the true focus.

Most Special Olympians realize that, and act accordingly. And some take things even more seriously, and try to figure out how to improve the event.

That’s what Milford Scott did, anyway.

Scott, a 69-year-old athlete for Skowhegan’s L.C. Dill team, is a top-notch cross country skier. And he wasn’t all that impressed with changes that had been made to this year’s course.

“It’s more crooked this year,” he said. “More people falling down. They’ve got to let the fast people go first. Like me.”

Scott is, indeed, fast, and he said he had to slow down to change tracks when overtaking slower skiers on the course.

And while the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center’s lodge is now much bigger and better than it was before, thanks to a massive renovation project, Scott said the large building posed another problem.

“And that building?” he said, pointing at the lodge. “Somebody like me, who’s quick, is going to run into that building.”

Others didn’t worry about the course construction that much. But that doesn’t mean they weren’t having fun.

Elvis Lee Wells, a 42-year-old competing for Medical Care Development, Norway Region, showed up for his snowshoe races in functional garb that he wanted to show off.

“I have a SkiDoo suit,” he said, proudly.

That he did. And he, also, had a way with the ladies.

Wells doesn’t like to sit around, and when a woman fitted him for snowshoes, he spent his time fluffing, fluffing, fluffing her hair.

Others simply seemed happy to be back at the Winter Games.

“Yay! Yee! Yaaaay!” exclaimed 32-year-old Margi Stearns of Somerset Team Outreach as she worked her way through the staging queues on her way to the snowshoe starting line.

Stearns liked the weather – more or less – and was certainly happy to have her coach nearby.

“It’s nice out. If the wind wasn’t bad, it would be better,” she said before turning to her coach and getting a word of encouragement in return.

“If you’re here, I won’t need my mother,” Stearns said.

Stearns competed hard in her races, and will try to improve in Tuesday’s finals.

But before then, all of the Special Olympians had plans.

Just ask Chris Fowler. But before you do, realize this: If you ask a Special Olympics athlete what they’ve got planned for the rest of their day, you might get tired just hearing about it.

“I think we’re going to go snowmobiling. After that, maybe some lunch. Then maybe go swimming and sit in the hot tub, and then after that, maybe play a game of poker, like I did last night, with a couple of my teammates,” Fowler said.

And after that? If you’re at the Special Olympics, the last part is obvious.

It’s time to dance.

And Fowler had some special plans in mind for that occasion, too.

“That girl right there,” he said, pointing at a nearby athlete. “She said something about maybe going as her date or something like that.”

That sounds like something an athlete would be excited about, even after a day full of activities.

“Yes, I am,” Fowler said shyly. “Yes, I am.”

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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