Superior 100 Race Report

Superior 100 Race Report

The north shore of Minnesota is spectacular in its beauty and has a special place in my heart so it’s no surprise that I jump at any excuse to get up there.  What better excuse than to run 103 miles on the rock and root infested Superior Hiking Trail from Gooseberry Falls State Park to Lutsen.  Many people ask me why I love the 100 mile distance over other ultra-distances.  I absolutely love 100 milers; I love the preparation, the time alone or with friends on the trail, and most importantly the huge challenge of completing the distance.  I also love that the 100 mile distance really evens out the playing field. There are so many more factors that play into a good race than just pure speed.  One of the most important factors is mental toughness. A very fast runner that is not mentally strong is going be exposed and crumble at this distance especially this particular race.   I am still new to the sport of running and very new to the ultra-distances and am still working on my mental toughness as it’s nowhere near where it needs to be to achieve my true potential at this distance.  This is theme of my 2015 Superior 100.
My wife and I arrived at Gooseberry Falls State Park midafternoon on Thursday.  We love camping so we decided the easiest place to stay the night before would be right where the race started.  We set up our camping gear, walked along the shore of Lake Superior for a bit and then were off to grab a bite to eat in Two Harbors before the pre-race meeting. I decided to go for gluten-free pasta with shrimp and scallops. The Pre-race meeting lasted about 1 hour and then we were back at our campsite to watch the sun go down.  My brother who was going to pace me overnight arrived to the campsite as well.  I slept about as well as I anticipated leading up to a big race.  I was up around 5:30am and ate my breakfast consisting of bulletproof coffee as well as bacon and sweet potato eggs.  I got my race gear on and I was off to the starting line at the visitor center.  My brother in law met us there as he would be helping my wife crew throughout the race.

3, 2, 1 and we were off.  The first 4.5 miles were on the Githchi Gami paved trail as the SHT is temporarily rerouted by accessing this trail.  I knew that I had to watch my pace on the pavement as to not get caught up with the people going out a bit hot, racing for that Peets coffee.. ha!  My strategy leading up to the race was run well below my ability early on so towards the end I could be in a position to catch struggling runners... but more on that later.  I ran with two of my Rochester friends Annie and Mike. This paved section went quickly as we were just chatting about the task ahead of us.  When we went through the culvert that went under hwy 61 we were now on the SHT and would not get off until we made it to Lutsen.  When we hit the trail I lost Mike and Annie as the trail was a mess of people, and I wouldn’t see them again all race.  In the beginning miles I focused on taking it easy and not over exerting myself this early in the race.  For those who have not been on the superior hiking trail, the trail is infested with rocks and roots and has constant short steep climbs.  The most challenging trail I have ever been on.
 I knew I wouldn’t see my crew until mile 20 at Beaver Bay and kept telling myself that I wanted to see them for the first time in great spirits and feeling great.  This is exactly what happened. I came into Beaver Bay feeling really good and just topped off my bottles and headed towards Silver Bay.  The section to Silver Bay is short compared to other sections of the course which boosted my spirits knowing I will see my crew again soon.  On my way to Silver Bay I kept on thinking about my DNF in 2013 and how I arrived to Silver Bay feeling so awful, but this year I felt great and was  pleased with my race thus far.

My crew got me refueled and I was on my way to Tettegouche, the section during my 2013 race was the worst racing experience of my life.  2013 was an incredibly hot and humid year and I was so dehydrated that both quads and calves cramped up during this entire section.  I believe this 10 mile section took me 5 hours that day before I would eventually drop at Tettegouche.  This DNF has stuck with me ever since and I use it as a reminder during my races to race smart especially in the heat.  Needless to say, I was in a much better condition this year and was pumped to run this section feeling good.  This section had some pretty challenging climbs but yielding very awesome views overlooking Bean and Bear Lake and was the first time all race I stopped for a minute to take in the great scenery around me.  I took note during this section that my legs were feeling more tired than I thought they should at this point.  I was still moving well but was just a bit concerned as there was over 2/3 of the course still to cover.  Oh well, just continue and deal with it.  Before I knew it I was descending down into the Tettegouche aid stations.  I changed my socks and shoes at this aid station. This takes so much time to do and I need to eliminate this going forward.  I think I am a bit hypersensitive to any little rubbing I feel while wearing a shoe, and running on blisters sucks so I always change them proactively.  I need to find a shoe that will work for me for the entire race and pre-tape vulnerable blister areas. No more wasted aid station time.  After my shoe change I was on my way.

Photos by Alicia Hudelson

Heading towards county road 6 I knew this entire trail would be new for me; I had no clue what lay ahead.  This section for me was one of the harder ones of the race, there are some pretty long sustained climbs which giving the point in the race probably felt more tough than they actually are on fresh legs.  I was still moving so just got into a rhythm and ran. I was alone for most of this section which felt fantastic.  When I start to get a bit fatigued I would rather run alone and not have to talk or think about anything else but myself and my current condition.  I remember being able to see the aid station about a mile away while up on a ridge and then descended down to the road and ran in the ditch before arriving at the aid station.  I refueled and was on my way to Finland, the half way point.  To my surprise this section was flat and runnable which was a good break and lifted my spirits. Before I knew it I was taking a spur trail to the Finland aid station.
A mile or two before the Finland aid station I had to turn on my headlamp and the temps were beginning to drop a bit.  When I arrived and met up with my crew we immediately got me out of my wet top and put on new shoes wasting time but necessary in the grand scheme of things to keep me warm.  Putting on dry clothes onto wet skin sucks and takes time, so again I blew a ton of time at the aid station.  I have to rectify this for futures races.  I picked up my brother to pace me and we were on our way to Sonju Lake and then Crosby Manitou.  The two sections leading up to Crosby Manitou were runnable and having my brother with was a good pick me up.  I felt like I was still running relatively well even though it was dark making this technical trail even harder.  We arrived to Crosby Manitou in good spirits and I felt pretty decent given it was mile 63.  I grabbed some hot foot and dealt with some chaffage and we were on our way to Sugarloaf. 

Wow! To my surprise this section was terribly difficult with some steep and long climbs however I was able to get up them fairly efficiently.  I remember being in a good mood at this point, yes the climbs kind of sucked, but I love climbing so I was actually having a good time.  I also remember laughing to myself when my headlamp would spot another steep climb ahead, “Of course there’s another climb, why wouldn’t there be.”  This section leading to Sugarload is 9.4 miles and challenging so it took me awhile but finally made it to Sugarloaf in one piece. I think that section killed my brother so I grabbed some hot food and continued to Cramer road solo.   I remember getting a bit cold at Sugarloaf while I was refueling. I knew I just needed to start running again and I would be just fine.
Honestly I cannot remember anything about this section besides my headlamp began to dim and I knew I needed to change the batteries.  A runner passing by provided light while I swapped out my batteries.  I remember thinking I had a torch on my head with those new batteries; I should have changed them earlier.  I tumbled rolled and yard saled (for those who run with me know this is no surprise, hence my blog title) during an earlier section which had turned on my headlamp burning the batteries prematurely as they have always lasted an entire night in previous races.  Not sure what happened at the Cramer road aid station, but I remember running towards the next aid station at Temperance River thinking where the hell is the descent down to the aid station at the river.  It was during this section I began to become a baby and felt a bit sorry for myself with the finish seeming so far away.  I am not sure why. I think it was a combination of low on calories and I was becoming mentally weak.  I made it to Temperance and ate some pancakes and bacon and tried to collect myself.
Leaving Temperance I was told there would be quite a bit of flat running until I reached Carlton Peak and this was absolutely true.  I was still hurting pretty bad but was able to get into a “decent” running rhythm leading to the climb up and over Carlton.  Surprisingly the climb was not that bad and before I knew it I was on the other side running on the boardwalks leading to Sawbill aid station.  I arrived to Sawbill at mile 90 feeling drained and mentally crushed.  I just wanted this race to end.  Before leaving the aid station my then 15 week pregnant wife asked if I wanted her to run the section to Oberg with me.  I jumped at the opportunity because there is nothing I like better than sharing time on the trail with her.  She did not have running clothes on so she sprinted to my crew and tossed on a pair of my extra shorts and tied up her shoes and we were off.  These shorts looked like JNCO's on her.  All she needed was a wallet chain and she would have been all set. I would post of pic but I am assuming she would not be impressed! This was a great section to share with her as it’s relatively easy without any significant ups and downs.  I didn’t want my pregnant wife out there death marching over some hard gnarly climbs.  We did a combination of running and power hiking during this section and just talked about the earlier miles of the race and also how great it was going to be to see our wonderful daughter Louise after the race.  Honestly this section will be something I remember forever. Her selflessness is truly amazing.  The next time I toe the line at Superior, she will definitely be pacing me for more sections.

At Oberg I told her I would do this section alone because I remembered from a previous spring 50k race that this section was way more challenging and I didn’t want her to be out there for another 2+ hours without any of her desired gear. Although I think she was finally get used to the baggy running capri look.  I managed to get myself back on the trail and was off to the finish.  From Oberg it is “only” 7 miles to the finish but with the climbs up and over Moose and Mystery Mountains it makes for a challenging and slow section.  This section was a lot of power hiking and slow running on the flat sections.  Again I became a big baby on this section and again began to feel sorry for myself. It was during this section that I told myself I would never do this race ever again!  This is for sure something I need to work on since my legs were working just fine. It was my head that was screwing with me.  However I was impressed with the way I continued to make forward progress even though mentally I was crushed.  I remember descending down Mystery Mountain and hearing the poplar river. My previous experience on this section told me that the end was very near and I would be on the pavement leading to Lutsen in no time.  I crossed the rushing Poplar River,  just a fantastic way to end a race, and I stopped on the bridge as tears began to roll down my face as I watched the gushing river flow towards Lake Superior.  It finally hit me that I would be finishing the Superior 100 this year.  I got out to the road and it’s about 0.5 mile to the finish behind Caribou Highlands.  Running down the road I was fighting back tears thinking about the crazy adventure I was just on. I managed to pull myself together leading up to the finish line and saw my crew and wife cheering for me.  It was the hardest race I have ever done and the finish I am most proud of so far in my short career. Receiving my belt buckle from John was a wonderful topping of such sweet accomplishment.  I ended up finishing in 30:24:14.

I will be back to Superior 100! My “I will never do this race again” lasted all of 24 hours.  I know I can go so much faster on this course.  I learned so much about logistics, fueling, pacing, and most importantly the mental endurance it takes to run fast on this course.  I have gotten so much better at dealing with pain during long races however in order to reach my true potential this area really needs to improve.  It was clear to me that experience on this rugged and relentless trail is one of the main ingredients to a fast time.  Seeing how veterans performed out there was truly amazing, and I certainly learned a lot from them. Thanks to everyone that makes the Superior 100 race possible and to my crew and wonderful wife!  Until next time…….

Gear

Shoes: Pearl Izumi Trail N2, Topo Runventure, Altra Paradigm

Shorts: Pearl Izumi ultra short

Shirt: Salomon Exo Motion

Socks: Injinji normal weight and mid weight

Headlamp: Petzl Myo

Vest: Salomon S-lab Sense Ultra kit w/ soft flasks

Fuel

Water

Heed (at aid stations)

Lara Bars

Justin's Nut butter

Cliff Organic Energy Food

Salt Stick

Random aid station hot food and fruit