April 9, 2016 Zumbro 50 Mile Endurance Trail Race

I debated many months before finally registering for this race. I started training in January even though I had not made the official commitment. Should I register for an early 50 mile race and train throughout the coldest months? I was concerned that all the training and the race itself would burn me out before the season even began. I now no longer have to be concerned about that. My training went well and the race went even better!

It is finished! And has left me with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment.

In a way this race was easier for me than Surf the Murph was last October which was my first 5O mile finish. This race allows no pacers but I knew that there would be others that I could run with during the race. I found myself on the trail alone at times but this did not bother me in the least.

The race begins at 12:01 am on Saturday. You have 18 hours to run 3 loops about 16.8 miles each with a total elevation climb of roughly 9,000 feet. This is a new race start time for me and I was looking forward to the night running. I have limited vacation at work so worked Friday until 3 and headed out to Zumbro after figuring I would have a better chance of sleeping at the start/finish area of the race than trying to sleep at home. I arrived around 4 pm after first picking up a Dominoes pizza for dinner and a pre-race snack.


The plan was to hang out for a bit, check on fellow runners in the 100 mile race and then head into the minivan for as much sleep as I could manage. Six hours would have been great but I knew nearly impossible as who goes to bed at 6 pm listening to cow bells and commotion happening just outside the van doors. I must have fallen asleep at some point as I woke up several times over the next several hours. My plan was to sleep until 11 and then get ready but I finally got up at 10:30 and started getting dressed early.


I had thrown all seasons of race clothing in the van. Temps were predicted to get down to 18 degrees that night and I was still trying to figure out what clothing would be best. One of my biggest fears is being too cold so I do have the tendency to overdress. This time, however, I made very good choices in clothing. I chose to wear the winter tights, winter running shirt and winter running jacket with winter mittens, winter hat and of course a buff for my face and chin. This clothing choice worked well for two full laps. It was cold!!

Stephanie, Angela and myself waiting for the start

I started the race out with Jamison and Angela. I could not find Sally at the start line so our plan to run together did not happen. While waiting for the race to start my feet got very cold and it took several miles for them to finally thaw out. The first mile requires some major power hiking up that first big climb and that helped get the blood flowing again. After cresting the hill we came to just about everyone's favorite spot that I have heard referred to as hobbit woods. The trail conditions were dry and it made the running easier than in past years when they were muddy and slick.

That first aid station comes quickly. Jamison is familiar with my getting out of aid stations quick and after attempting to quickly drink a coke slushy and getting a brain freeze we were out. (That was the last coke I attempted to drink during this race.) I lost Angela and she must have gotten out ahead of us.

I felt really good on loop one. We hit each aid station and I mostly drank coffee or chicken soup for liquids. I noticed I was not drinking much of my water which I tried to change by making myself drink more between aid stations. It is harder to drink water on cold runs for me. I finished up the first loop about 15 minutes ahead of my projected pace at around 5 am. I was ready to head out on loop 2 and I could not find Jamison so made the decision to head out. It was still very cold so I did not shed or change any of my clothes. My hands got very cold at the aid station attempting to eat so a  volunteer offered me her heat packs to put in my gloves and it felt great.

LOOP 2

I hit that that first climb and came upon another runner whom i did not recognize in the dark. She had been running with a friend who had dropped after the first loop. We ran together and were talking and whatever she was talking about made me turn to her and ask who are you? We had a good laugh when we realized that we knew each other already. It was Victoria. We reminisced about how she ran with me when I completed what I refer to as my accidental 50k. I was running Chester Woods at a fall 50k or whatever fatass intending to run long for my marathon training and ended up running the full 50k instead. I reminded her that she was a major factor in me running the full distance. We ended up running most of this second loop together or leap frogging each other as we made our way through the loop. We witnessed the sunrise and celebrated when we were finally able to take off our headlamps. Over 6 hours with a headlamp and running by artificial light gets irritating after awhile.

 

I finished up loop 2 in a total of 10:16 hours on the trail for 34 miles. I came into the aid station and was happy to see some familiar faces in Dave Shannon and Rob Henderson, who had already finished his 100 mile race. I also saw Mike which was a nice boost. They helped me get food and water in my pack and I went to change out of my winter running top as it was now starting to warm up some. Not a lot but enough to require a change. I debated changing out some socks as my toe on my left foot was starting to hurt but decided against it in the end. I had started to experience some chaffing so grabbed the body glide to fix that problem before it got any worse.

Friends Rob, Dave and Mike helping me at Aid Station 5

Heading out on loop 3, still not warm enough to take off the jacket, gloves or hat.

LOOP 3

My third and final loop was definitely starting to get slower. I was not hurting specifically but was feeling fairly fatigued. I started to experience a hot spot on my left foot and my shoes were feeling really tight. By the time I hit aid station 2 I figured it was time to see what the damage might be. I taped up my toe and the socks went back on. It was rough running for that next small loop as I had irritated the spot by messing with it. I got somewhat discouraged as this is a very runnable loop and I was moving way too slow. Then the pain started to recede and I was excited to hit aid station 3 knowing there was only one aid station left before the finish.

This was short lived, however, as the climb out of this aid station is tough. I hit my low point between miles 40 to about 45 as I had slowed down considerably. I started seeing my goal of a sub 16 hour race slip away. I ran much of this section alone. The climbs were difficult but running down Ant Hill was no treat either. I got my biggest surprise when almost at the bottom of Ant Hill I turned around and saw Jamison behind me. I was glad to see him and we started to run together yet again. We hit the gravel road and I was actually excited to be on flat ground again. From here on in there are only small hills and I was grateful for this. I slowly ran the entire road and decided that I would not stop at the final aid station. My watch had died but according to Jamison's watch we could still achieve a sub 16 hour finish. So we relentlessly ran/power hiked our way forward. Jamison was instrumental in keeping me moving forward at a fast clip. The last 4 or so miles I ran with negative splits. I was determined to stick with Jamison and knowing he would sprint across the campground had me groaning but my competitive side knew that I would also be sprinting to the best of my abilities to try to keep up with him.

The Pine Tree section; one of my favorites to run

I finished the race in 15:47:39! Success and overall a very good race. There were many familiar faces at the finish line which is always fun.

Photo Credit: David Shannon

 

Very happy with my finish and the race!

Jamison and I at the finish line!

Picture at the finish with the Race Director, John Storkamp

The spoils of the race

Next up is Spring Superior 50K!

October 24, 2015 Surf The Murph

I decided to run the 50 mile race at Surf the Murph after missing my 24 hour race in September to go on a Boundary Waters canoe trip with 5 other ladies. I had set out to finish a 50 mile race this year and felt the need to get it completed this year rather than waiting until next race season.

My training up to this race was not as mileage heavy as my training leading up to Black Hills. I was running 30ish miles (or less) each week due to my busy schedule. I managed a few long runs but really the longest would be the two marathon races I ran. Moose Mountain Marathon in September in Lutsen and the 6 hour Shuffle in Lake Elmo in mid October.

I have had a good year for races so really was not nervous about this race and figured I would be able to complete it in the 14 hours with maybe even some time (only about an hour) to spare. I was wrong about having that extra time!

The race started at 6 am and being 1 1/2 hours away I was not looking forward to getting up at 3:30 am to get myself to the start line. I decided to car/van camp at Horse Camp out at Murphy. They opened up free camping for those racers coming from out of town so I took advantage of that. My thought was that I could do the driving Friday night and be able to sleep in longer the morning of the race and also not waste any energy driving that far. I think this was a good decision.

I went to dinner after work with my husband and then took off for Murphy. I pulled in around 8 pm and there were only two other tents set up. I pulled my minivan through the locked gate near the others rather than parking in the empty parking lot by myself. One of the last things my husband told me was to make sure I locked the van doors before going to sleep so figured I would be safer being near the other campers.

I slept fairly well and was able to set the alarm for a 4:30 wake up. I made myself an oatmeal breakfast with some coffee and made the final preparations for my drop bag and start/finish line bag. The start/finish area was only about a mile away and I arrived to pick up my packet at around 5:30 am.  I saw several of my friends as we were waiting to begin. It had rained most of the night on Friday and was misting and wet as we got ready to begin the race.

Early Morning start

Loop 1

After the traditional pre-race announcements (namely it is really wet, muddy and slippery on the trail so be careful!) we were off. With it being 6 am we started the run with headlamps. It was slow going with the rain currently coming down and the wet and muddy trail covered in leaves. The mud was quite slippery and there were several times that I almost fell sliding in the mud. Going downhill was more difficult than going up the hills on this first loop in the dark. The first five miles of the course is where the majority of the elevation gain takes place. There are lots of both small and medium size hills. The first aid station is at mile 2.90 and the next one (Horse Camp) is around mile 5.50. The hills between these two aid stations are the worst of the hills. This was definitely my least favorite section.

By the time I ran into Horse Camp AS the sky was brightening and I was able to remove the headlamp. The sun was not shining but rather overcast. It was no longer raining though and this was good. Once through Horse Camp aid station the course levels out and traverses horse trails, goes around a lake and some prairie sections before heading back into the woods just before Natchez Aid station at mile 9.90.

Horse Camp Aid Station at mile 5.50 miles into the loop.

One of my favorite sections of single track running into Natchez. See how flat this is?

After leaving Natchez we had to run the road for about a mile before heading back onto the trail. I was able to make up some time in these flat sections and my pace was right on track with where I thought I would be. After Natchez AS you run through the prairie and back into Horse Camp AS at mile 13. From Horse Camp AS the next leg is back to the start/finish line and the completion of the loop.

There are some more hills on this final section but what is most memorable is the beaver dam crossing. Up until the Beaver Dam crossing I was feeling great! I was not prepared for this. It was muddy and very wet and when I came upon it the first time I was contemplating the best way to cross with the least amount of mud and water when another runner comes up behind me and says "you just have to run through it". So that is what I attempted. Epic failure! Rather than trying to balance across some very narrow and unstable looking logs I opted for the mud. A few steps in it sucked my shoe in and I was stuck. I fell forward and put out my right hand, which was wrapped in a cotton bandanna for some extra warmth, straight into the mud up to my wrist! I was able to save my left hand by using a nearby log instead of falling into that shoe sucking mud. What happened to the runner that told me I just needed to run through it? He looked like he sailed right across the top without getting either muddy or getting his shoes sucked into the mud!

Beaver Dam. I tried crossing in the left side of this picture. Photo credit: Selena

I was not happy at all. I was cold and now had a hand covered in mud with a bandanna that was useless as it was also full of mud. I ran the last few miles covered in mud carrying a wet, cold and muddy bandanna in my wet, cold and muddy hand! Oh and my shoes? They were covered in mud up to my ankles and I spent those last couple of miles trying to lose said mud.

I got into the start/finish line AS in 4:15 which was right on target, however I was rattled, full of mud and generally cranky as a result. When asked what they could get for me I said please get this mud off my hand! I was complaining about having to cross the beaver dam on the next two loops and Rob Henderson told me the trick to a dry crossing was to go to the left of this mess and cross there (outside of the picture to the left).

While I was still in the aid station finding something to eat Janet Hausken caught up with me and told me she would run her final loop and my Loop 2 with me. I thought this sounded great!

Loop 2

Janet and I headed out to start Loop 2. Oh great, five more miles of those darn hills! At least this time it was in the light and I was able to see better. Although it was still muddy and slippery the trails were starting to dry out a little but.

This time I stopped at the North AS and while there grabbing food I overhead a young man say that his longest run to date had been 4 1/2 miles. And he was running the 50k! He headed out of the aid station with us and decided to get behind us to try to keep up. He was feeling pretty bad and said he felt he could only mostly walk. We encouraged him and told him that he could even just walk the rest of the loop and he would finish as he had a total of 13 hours to get it done. We had some good conversation on the trail working our way to the the Horse Camp AS. Remember this was the really hard and hilly miles section! We told our new friend Jimmy that it was perfectly normal for an ultra trail runner to walk during the race and definitely walk up the hills. It was actually nice to try to encourage someone else in their race as it took my focus off my race.

Running into Horse Camp AS with Janet H and Jimmy

I was starting to slow down on this loop and I could tell that Janet had it in her to run faster than I seemed to be able to but she stayed with me and, in her own way, tried to push me to keep moving forward. There was a 3pm deadline to get this loop finished and at the speed I was moving I was going to need all of that time to get in by the cutoff. Only a few miles from the completion of loop 2 Julio came running toward us to run me into the aid station by the cutoff and then get me ready to head out on loop 3. He kept telling me to run faster and then I could spend more time in the aid station before heading out on Loop 3.

I got in with just 7 minutes to spare, which I was told by the race director when she asked me if I was planning on going back out for the final loop. Of course my answer was YES as I was definitely going to get this thing done! After being waited on by several of my friends all asking me what I needed and me not having a clue, I moved out of the aid station, ahead of the sweepers, to start my third and final loop!

Loop 3

I was blessed to have company yet again on this loop. I was accompanied by Robyn Reed who was going to run only some of the loop and Julio Salazar for the entire loop. For the first 5.5 miles of this loop (remember this is the hilliest section of the course?) I listened to Robyn and Julio chatter back and forth. I actually enjoyed this as I could suffer in silence and not be required to engage in the conversation. As I huffed and puffed up the hills those two talked and I just listened. It was nice. I had brought my trekking poles for this loop and I was glad to have them along as they helped me climb the many hills in this section. They were helpful both uphill and downhill as the downhills were also hurting. My right hip had been hurting for most of the second loop and the trekking poles helped to aleviate some of that pain.  In fact my hip no longer hurt on this loop.

I started to experience some burning pain on my left foot and knew that when we got into Horse Camp AS I better take off my shoe to assess the damage happening and wrap my toes to complete the race. This was a very smart idea. I was able to wrap my pinkie toe and change into a clean sock and this helped tremendously.  Robyn said goodbye at this point, told me she knew I would finish the race, and ran back down the trail to her waiting family. I grabbed my jacket and was told I better grab my headlamp as it would be getting dark soon and Julio and I headed back out to finish the last 11 or so miles of the loop.

I was definitely moving slower and had lost track of my average pace and what I needed to be running in order to finish by 8 pm. Julio kept pushing me knowing that I would need to move quickly in order to stay ahead of the sweeps. There were one or two runners behind me, also in front of the sweeps, so I figured I would be cutting it close to finishing by 8 pm.

Prairie section as the moon was rising although my camera did not capture it.

We got into Horse Camp AS the second time at 7 and I did not stop but kept going. I knew trying to get those last 3.8 miles in one hour was going to be tough and could not afford to stop. I had water and food in my vest so really had no reason to stop. At this point food was unappealing anyway. My stomach did not feel the best. It was not necessarily nauesous but just uncomfortable.

These last 3.8 miles were in the dark yet again. Started the day in the dark and it seemed I was going to finish the day in the dark. Julio pushed me, as much as I would let him, to get moving and all I could think about was how I was not going to make it by 8:00 pm. Julio told me to stop worrying about it and just keep moving forward as fast as I could. At one point he said something about seeing if I could sprint for a bit and I told him that I was sprinting!

With three minutes to 8 I looked at my watch and I tried to pick up the pace, and could have done a good job of it had there not been those final hills! But with the finish line in sight, finally, I managed a sprint up the hill to cross the line at 8:03:39. (Ok, no laughing here! My sprint may have looked like a crawl to those around me but my body was screaming this hurts so it must be a sprint!) There were a few folks still at the finish line, well the volunteers anyway, and Dawn Klaes was one of them. It was nice to see a friendly face at the finish! I was tired, sore and overall not feeling well but oh so glad to finally be finished!

Julio with his volunteer medal and me with my first 50 mile finishers medal!

This was a tough race for me. Mostly physically tough, though, as I don't recall experiencing any lows on the run. Just pain and being tired and wanting to be done running. 14 hours is a new PR for time on my feet and 50 miles is my new PR for longest distance.

Witnesses will tell you that I was spewing "never again" with vigor but I am claiming temporary insanity and can't be held accountable for what I may have said immediately following my first 50 mile finish. I just may be looking forward to tackling the challenge again with the goal of running it stronger, not necessarily faster.

My Spoils from the race

Forgot to get the required muddy shoes picture.This was the mess after taking the shoes off

September 12, 2015 Moose Mountain Marathon

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! 

Temperance River

Jamison and Adam, my running partners for first half of race

Jamison Swift and I climbing Carlton Peak

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. 

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. 

Along the ridge of Moose Mountain

Ridge on Moose Mountain

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.

August 15, 2015 Marquette 50k Trail Race

Marquette 50k Trail Race

 

I went into this race with a goal to enjoy the day on the trail. I had no specific goal for time but did have an idea that it would take me about 9 hours to finish when I looked at last years finishers.

I decided to run this race based on conversations with runners that ran last years race and a video posted to the race website of someone running the race. After seeing the climb up and down Hogback  Mountain I knew this was a race I wanted to run.

The 50k course is one southern loop of 10.6 miles and a northern loop of 20 miles. We started the race at 5:30 am so it begins in the dark using headlamps.

Doug and I at the start line.

 LOOP 1: 10.6 miles

The first mile or so is run on the road (some gravel, some paved) to help spread out the runners before getting to the single track trail. This helps with the bottleneck situation once on the single track trail. It would be nice to run the front part of this section in the daylight as it was very nice trail even in the dark.

First Leg of the 10 mile loop still in the dark

I was able to turn off the headlamp by the time we hit the first aid station at five miles. I dropped my headlamp as they offered to take back to the start/finish line so we did not have to carry them. I was headed back to the start/finish line as this was our second aid station anyway but it is always nice to take it off when not needed.

To Aid Station 2 - start/finish (mile 10.6)
That next section of trail was very technical. I found myself in a congo line of runners and ended up falling down twice. After the second time I let the runners pass so that I could give myself more room on the trail. I have found that I fall the most when I am running too close to other runners on the trail. When 'trail gating' there is not enough reaction time available to make those evasive manueveurs to avoid tripping. Luckily these falls resulted in zero injuries.

Crossing the power lines to get to more single track trail

(Photo credit: Mike Madden)

I arrived at the second aid station which was the start/finish line in 2:32. About the last 2 to 3 miles were not very runnable due to the roots on the trail.

I had a drop bag at the start line and was glad I did as my braid had come undone and I was glad I did not have to run the entire race without fixing that situation. Nothing like dealing with long hair when the day is hot and humid. Oh did I mention that it was really humid during the race? Even at 8 am I was already sweating profusely. It was promising to be a very hot day.

LOOP 2: 20 miles

To Aid Station 3 (14.6 miles):
This next section included some nice rolling trails in the woods. Somehow I ended up missing a turn near Wetmore Pond and I found myself on a trail with no markers. A runner came up behind me and we commented on not seeing a trail marker for awhile. We kept running thinking a marker would show up soon. This was not to be as we hit a trail head and parking lot. We knew the aid station was on the road and we walked up to the road to see if we could see the aid station but the road curved. After wasting time trying to decide what to do and looking for some trail markers we decided we were going to have to backtrack to see where we went wrong. I was not too concerned as I had no goal time for finishing. So back we went and sure enough we saw the markers where we were suppose to turn right and had kept running straight instead. I still cannot figure out how I missed this turn as it was very clearly marked. After we found the trail again I determined that I had run an extra mile and probably added an extra 15 to 20 minutes of time. Oh well. Not much to do about it but keep moving forward. At some point on this section just prior to running into aid station 3 (which was suppose to be mile 14.6 but was 15.6 for me) I was stepping over a log and banged my left knee on a broken off branch on the log. It hurt. Like alot! I only barely scratched my skin but after saying a few choice words and rubbing my knee I made sure it still worked and continued on.

Great single track trail!

I arrived into aid station 3 and looked down and my knee was swelling. There was not any pain other than when I touched the area so I hoped nothing would develop as I still had over 17 miles before the day would be done. I took extra time in this aid station as the next section coming up would be 7 miles and was suppose to be mostly runnable after getting off Sugarloaf Mountain. And it was starting to get hot. I wanted to make sure I had enough water and added ice to my bladder to have cold water which always feels good during a hot and sunny race. The predicted high for the day was 84 degrees.

To Aid Station 4: (21.7 miles)
This section included the climb up Sugarloaf Mountain. I actually enjoyed this section and climb as it included stairs to the top. I don't mind stairs and powered my way to the top. At this point I started seeing more hikers on the trail and we were told that this might be the case as these trails were very popular in Marquette.

Wooden stairs to get to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Top of Sugarloaf Mountain looking over Superior

Top of Sugarloaf Mountain overlooking Superior

Top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Really bad selfie at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain

Talked to some hikers and we each took pictures of each other atop Sugarloaf Mountain

I spent entirely too much time at the top of Sugarloaf Mountain but my goal was to enjoy my time out on the trail so I took as much time as I needed to enjoy the view.

Getting down off Sugarloaf Mountain was interesting and I almost lost the trail down as it was hidden between some very large rocks. But I was smarter about it this time and did not go far without first looking for the markers down the trail. Going down there are many large rocks and sometimes the markers would be in rock cairns as there was no dirt to put the markers into. The trail was very well marked and as long as you were very conscious of where they were in front of you it was hard to get lost.

After getting off Sugarloaf Mountain the trail became mostly flat and ran along the shoreline of the Superior. This was a very nice section with lots of pines. It was somewhat rolling and there were rocks and roots to navigate but it was a very runnable section. I was pretty much by myself on the trail and had been for a long time. I was enjoying being out on the trail by myself. It was a confidence booster for me to be out there running alone.

Running along Lake Superior

To Aid Station 5 (26.2 miles)
This next section included the climb up Bareback Mountain and ran by Harlow lake. This section was not very memorable for me but included rocks, rocks and more rocks. This trail reminded me of running in Duluth on the Superior Hiking trail and in some sections reminded me specifically of the trail in Jay Cooke State Park with its rocks and roots and also parts of Wild Duluth with the running over the large rocks in the trail.

I am happy to say that I did not hit any lows during this run at all. In hindsight this is very surprising as I almost always seem to hit those low spots. I think I was enjoying being out on the trail so much with no pressure for a finishing time that I was living in the moment and enjoying myself immensely.

To the Finish (31 miles)
The last section included the climb to the Top of the World and the famous Hogback Mountain.

When I arrived at the top of the Top of the World there were some tents set up. Apparently some hikers had decided that it was a good camping spot. They must have been hiking as no one was around while I was there.

Top of the World

Top of the World

Top of the World

Top of the World

Next up was the climb to Hogback. I started to see or catch up with other runners at this point. I actually ran across some 100k runners on their backwards loops. I saw Rob Henderson, Travis Theide and Anjannette Arnold while still several miles out from Hogback Mountain. They all looked great and had been out on the trail for many more hours than I had been at that point.

Mild section of the Hogback climb

So how do you describe climbing up Hogback Mountain. Not sure there are really words for it. It is a very steep climb that continues for what feels like several miles but in reality is only about 1/2 mile. I was warned that there was a false summit and indeed there was. This climb was one where I actually had to stop to catch my breathe a few times. I found myself climbing this with four other ladies from a running group called Coyotes out of Illinois. I know one of their members(not present), Karol, and she had mentioned to me they would be there.  I also caught up with Rick Bothwell on this climb which I had not expected. As we were climbing there were others coming down on their backward loop.

Mild section of the Hogback Mountain climb

After hitting the top of Hogback the next challenge was climbing back down! This was not a runnable descent but rather a hike back down figuring out your best foot placings so that you would not end up tumbling down the large rocks.

By the time I was done ascending and descending Hogback I was ready to be done with hills but this was not to be the case as there were many small climbs on that last two miles. About the time I just wanted to run to the finish I found myself needing to walk. I was happy to be done at 32 miles (remember that bonus mile as a result of getting off trail?).

This race was very warm and humid similar to Black Hills in late June but I did much better overall during this race.  I did not experience any lows and had a really great time out on the trail.

Results:
9/21 Age group (40+)
18/36 Overall Female
Time 9:23:54 with an average of 18:11(my average pace was 17:37 min/mile for the 32 miles)