September 12, 2015
This race was my favorite race last year of all the 17 races
I ran for shoot the moon so when registration opened up I knew that I wanted to
register. For the first year this race registration would be handled as a
lottery. So upon entering the lottery I could only hope that I would make it
in. I also had to decide very early which distance I wanted to run. I had not run my first 50 mile race yet so I decided to play it safe
and stick with the marathon distance for this race. I was pleased when I got
the email that I had gotten into the lottery.
I went into this race not very nervous as I have been
training hard and racing 50k or better since spring. I felt prepared and was
excited to get back out onto the superior hiking trail. I skipped the Spring
Superior race (I was going to bump up to the 50k distance this year) and raced
IceAge 50k instead. I discovered that I much prefer the superior hiking trails
with its rooty, rocky and most times muddy single track trail over the Ice Age
trail in Wisconsin. I also am discovering that I much prefer a point to point
race on the trails rather than multiple loops. But I digress.
I drove up with Mike and Dawn on Friday very early. We were
all going to volunteer at the Silver Bay Aid station to help out the 100 milers.
This is always a fun time being able to see our friends run into the aid
station and give them encouragement and aid along their journey.
After spending the afternoon helping out we then headed up
to Lutsen to check into our rooms and then be at packet pickup that began at
5pm. We saw a lot of friends and had dinner at the pasta buffet the restaurant
at Caribou Lodge arranged for the runners.
It was easier than eating at the restaurant off the menu as it was
getting late and we were anxious to get back to the rooms to finish prepping
for the race and to get to bed.
Alarm went off at the late hour of 6 am as the marathon
start was not until 8am and the bus was not leaving until 7am. This was nice to be able to sleep in as the
50 milers had to be on the bus at 3:45 am for their 5:30 am start. Although I
at times was wishing I had signed up for the 50 mile race I have to admit being
able to sleep in and knowing I would only be running 26.2 miles had its
advantages!
Cramer Road to
Temperance Aid Station (7.9 miles)
We arrived at the aid station and waited for the start of
the race. The temps were chilly for shorts and a short sleeve shirt but for
running the temps were wonderful! After the traditional prerace instructions
from John standing atop his ladder we were off. We run some gravel road in the
beginning of the race to get the runners spread out according to their
approximate paces and then get on the single track. Despite the gravel road
start there is still a bottle neck onto the trail. I must have put myself in a
good position in the race as I was not walking for long. I got in behind Adam
and Jamison from UMTR and we started chatting. We had to walk for a short bit
but it was not long before we were off and running. Being cold at the start
line it took awhile to warm up. I started asking Adam what his goal time for
finishing the race was. I figured if I could find others looking to finish
around the same time as myself I could hang with them and they could either
push me faster or just keep me company on the trail. I found that it worked
perfect for Curnow marathon so thought I would try to repeat that for this
race.
Both Adam and Jamison thought they would finish sometime
between 6:30 and 7:30 hours so I told them my goal was 7:19 according to my
plan and that I was going to stick with them. My goal was to pr last years race and this
time would achieve that by about 10 minutes. I did not dare get too aggressive
because if I would be unable to maintain a more aggressive pace I might get
discouraged. I could also run faster
than the written plan and come in earlier if things were going well. Our average
pace was 15:50 during this first 7.9 miles. I was well under my goal of 16:30 so went out
of the aid station feeling good about the pace. I did take some time to put on
some KT tape on my ankle as I was starting to feel a sore spot. These newest
version of Hoka’s are cut higher than my first pair and I have gotten a blister
on my ankle on past races so was not taking any chances of that happening
again. I try to spend as little time as possible in the aid stations to make up
for my slower pace and typically hate to take my shoes off during the race but
I am very glad I did this early on in the race as it prevented any blisters
from developing that I would have regretted later in the day.
Temperance Aid
Station to Sawbill Aid Station (5.70 miles)
One of my favorite parts of this race is the descent down to
the Temperance Aid Station and leaving the aid station to continue the descent
to the bridge that crosses over the river. Of course after crossing the river
we then make a sharp left and run right back up. When we got to the bridge
there were two boys sitting there and they cheered for us. They then said
something like “It is about time. The last runner’s we saw was about 10 minutes ago.” I got a
chuckle out of that. It is first a gradual ascent up the river. This gentle
ascent soon turns into the climb up to Carlton Peak. Just when you think you
are at the top you continue climbing an even steeper ascent. We don’t actually
go all the way to the top of Carlton Peak but once you reach the top it is a
great feeling when you start the descent.
We were cheered on by Dawn Marie and she took
pictures of us as we ran past. She was waiting to see us come through that
section. She spent many hours volunteering overnight at the Sawbill aid station
and then after her job was complete there she spent many more hours working at
the finish line. Thank you to all the amazing volunteers that make this race
possible!
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| Temperance River |
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| Jamison and Adam, my running partners for first half of race |
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| Jamison Swift and I climbing Carlton Peak |
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| Carlton Peak. Photo by: Dawn Marie |
This leg average pace was 16:20. This was much closer to my
goal of 16:30 overall average pace but with the climb up Carlton Peak it felt
good to know I was still under my planned goal time. I had run the first half
of the race in 3:35:49 including the time spent in aid stations.
Sawbill Aid Station
to Oberg Aid Station (5.5 miles)
Going into Sawbill Aid station I knew I did not need much. I
took advantage of the restroom facilities, grabbed some real food off the table
and was ready to head back out. I noticed that Adam and Jamison were not ready
to head out yet so I told them I was heading out and they could catch up with
me. I totally expected them to catch me so was surprised when it did not happen.
I wanted to keep moving though to stay ahead of my planned time with the
thought that I would need that banked time to allow me some wiggle room for the
big climbs that would be coming. This section of the trail is mostly runnable.
There are not any major climbs and just rolling hills and of course the roots,
rocks and general superior technical trail. My average moving pace here was
16:32. Other than continuing to feel good throughout this leg I don’t remember a
lot other than continuing to pass 100 milers and offering encouragement where I
could.
Oberg Aid Station to
Finish line (7.10 miles)
Running down into the
Oberg Aid Station I knew that I would need to put more water in my bladder in
preparation for the climb out of Oberg and then up Moose and Mystery Mountain. I
was able to fill the bladder with the help of the wonderful volunteers at the
aid station, pull out some more cliff blocks to put in my front pocket and grab
some cheese quesadillas off the table and hustle out of the aid station. Cumulative
time upon leaving this aid station put me at 5:08:34. Just 7.10 miles left even though these are
some of the hardest miles in the race. Despite this difficulty I was able to
run this leg with an average moving pace of 16:29. The climb out of Oberg is
short but wakes you up after leaving the aid station. I mostly use this
opportunity to eat as I climb. The climb up Moose Mountain is a tough one in my
opinion. You start out with a gradual climb knowing that the steep incline must
be just around the corner. And then all of a sudden there it is. Those stairs!
This is a tough climb but I was able to climb it with only a very brief pause
somewhere along the way. This one really gets your heart rate up. And just when
you think it is done and start to descend you have more to climb! But once you get
to the top you are afforded an excellent view of Lake Superior.
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| View at the top of Moose Mountain |
There is some
great running along the ridge with some pine bed trails and rolling hills. This
section is runnable with just a few short walks on those rolling hills.
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| Along the ridge of Moose Mountain |
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| Ridge on Moose Mountain |
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| Ridge on Moose Mountain |
I enjoyed the descent of Moose Mountain making the effort to to
live in the moment and not think about the next climb up Mystery Mountain. I
don’t mind the Mystery Mountain climb as the more gradual switch back climbs
are not as heart pounding as the straight up the mountain climbs like Moose
Mountain. Plus once you hit the peak of Mystery Mountain you know that the race
is all downhill from there! Coming down Mystery Mountain is the best feeling
knowing that you only have about 3 miles left in the race and it is downhill
except for a few minor bumps along the way. I continued to pass some 100 milers
and even managed to pass some marathoners as well. It was about a mile out of Oberg when the first place 50 mile runner passed me. I also ended up having the
second place 50 miler pass me but was able to finish ahead of the third place 50 mile finisher.
About 2 miles out from the finish and during the last climb
before the major descent down Mystery Mountain I came upon Janet Hausken and
her daughter Kelsey. She was looking strong and I chatted with her for a short
time. Kelsey managed to take a few pictures and then I passed them up and told
them I would be waiting for her at the finish line.
Coming down Mystery Mountain I was able to feel the river
before I heard it. There was a nice cool breeze coming up the trail and I knew
the river was close. As anyone that has run this section will tell you when you
hear the roar of the Poplar River it is a joyous sound as you know you are close to the finish line. I crossed the bridge and was prepared for the short
hill which I always have to walk. Then all of a sudden you pop out onto the
road and can see the resorts and the ski hill. The gondolas were running. This
street section is a tough one. It is about ¾ of a mile to the finish line. I don’t
allow myself to walk any portion of this so it is hard to keep moving. There
are slight inclines in the road and my mind is screaming for me to walk. But I preservere
and although I have to slow down slightly as I can’t sprint the entire distance
I continue running. As I started up the gravel road to the back of Caribou
Highlands Mike Hausken called my name. I am not quite sure where he was
standing, although I think he may have been on the bridge, I called to him
telling him that Janet was somewhere behind me.
Once behind the pool I was actually able to sprint my way to
the finish. My official finishing time was 7:08:59 with an average pace of 16:23.
This was a PR of 22:33 over last year’s finishing time of 7:31:26 for an
average pace of 17:14. Although there were times early in the race when I thought maybe I could pull off a sub 7 hour race I am very pleased with this finish.
This was an excellent race for me and the Superior races are definitely my
favorite races of all that I have run so far.
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