The Superior 50

The day after finishing my first 50 mile race I knew that I needed to find my next event. I was happy that I had finished the Zumbro 50 but unsatisfied with my mental and physical performance. Anxious for the opportunity to apply the lessons learned I committed myself to the Superior 50.

 

Preparation

Training for the Superior 50 was grounded in the fact that I needed to prepare for the race without taking away from time from my family. This would mean getting runs started as early as necessary. If the necessary start time was missed because I couldn’t get my butt out of bed it was the preparation that would suffer, not time with my wife and daughter.

Next I knew that running the flat bike paths around Sioux Falls would not be enough for the performance I wanted. After exploring the nearby hills I settled on a loop at the local ski bump that would have what I hoped to be adequate elevation and terrain to prepare me for the SHT. The 4 mile loop came with 850 of elevation gain. I got know this loop well. Every run in Sioux Falls incorporated this loop in some way. I built mileage up similar to the Zumbro 50 and hammered out hill repeat workouts each week.

2 weeks before the race I had the opportunity to join my friend Tyler as he finished the Colorado 14ers. In back to back days I spent 12+ hours on my feet hiking and climbing to the summits of Crestone Peak and Needle. Though the mileage was only around 16 and 13 miles respectively I suspected that the 2 long days in the mountains would be beneficial leading up to the race.

On the summit of East Crestone

Going into the race I was extremely satisfied with what I had done. I had remained disciplined throughout the summer with only one disappointing week of training (preparations and anxiety before departing on a trip to the Chicago Basin) and could not wait to get to Northern Minnesota and set foot on the Superior Hiking Trail for the first time.

Race Travel

My dad and I departed Sioux Falls early the Friday before the race. In addition to the race I was excited to spend the time 1 on 1 with my Dad. He had eagerly agreed to crew me and the chance to spend the time together without other distractions was a rare opportunity.

Arriving in Duluth we grabbed lunch at Toasty's and proceeded north on Highway 61 excited to see the Superior National Forest for the first time. With time to kill before packet pick up we went to cheer on the 100 milers starting their way up to the Bear and Bean Lake lookout and put foot on the SHT for the first time.

After grabbing the race packet we had a great dinner at Northern Lights Cafe where my dad shared some hilarious stories and time earned advice with me.

We spent some time getting organized for the early wake up call following dinner and knocked out early. Thankfully even with all the anticipation of the race I slept great.

Race gear

Race Day

Up early I fueled up on oatmeal, a banana and coffee in addition to downing 32oz of water. We arrived at the Finland Rec Center with 20 minutes to spare before the 5:15am start.

Race time!

I planned to eat one GU gel every 30 minutes and drink at least 30oz of water/nuun every hour. My dad would fully stock me with GU’s (8) at each aid station and drop a nuun tablet into each of my 20oz bottles.

My plan going into the race was to start slow and steady. I would not allow myself to get swept up into excitement of the start that had caused me to implode at Zumbro.

With that in mind I started at the back of the pack and settled into what I felt was a conservative sustainable pace. After two miles of service road we directed our headlamps onto the Superior Hiking Trail. From here it was 50 miles of rugged single track to the finish line in Lutsen.

The trail was as advertised. Rugged and muddy with roots reaching for any opportunity to trip a mis-timed stride.

Arriving at the first aid station with the conservative start philosophy in tact I quickly topped my water bottles off and headed out. Head lamp stashed away I began to soak in the sunrise. Hauntingly foggy in the distant woods and a beautiful sunrise earned up above the trees looking out towards Lake Superior. I couldn’t hold back a smile as I dropped back down into the tunnel of green.

Sunrise

It was not long before I reached the second aid station and my Dad for the first time. 11 miles down and I was eager to keep moving. I think my Dad was a little caught off guard at the speed in which I wanted to get in/out of the aid stations but we fell into a great routine.

Settling back in I focused my legs on the consistent pace desired and performed regular diagnostics on how I was doing physically and mentally.

On pace? Ahead of pace? Yes. Eating? Drinking? Stomach good? Yes. Locked in? Taking in the experience? Yes.

Soaking in the experience

The next 9.4 miles went by like clockwork. I felt confident at this point that my conservative start had been the right move. I began to push on the uphills and with the 50 mile field now spread out started to attack the downhills. When I left the Temperance aid station at mile 33.8 I had been and continued to pass fellow 50 mile runners. This was the feeling I had trained for. 35 miles into the race I was locked in and engaged. Complete 180 from what I had experienced at the Zumbro 50. What a rush.

Grinding

I continued to push the next 10 miles to the tune Master of Puppets which played on repeat in my head.

More is all you need

Pain monopoly

Ritual misery

Hobbled gait but mind locked in I was fully committed to grinding forward. Where was the next 50 mile runner? Could I finish in under 12 hours?

Your life burns faster

Obey your master

Rolling into the Oberg Mountain aid station my tired mind tried to contemplate the pace in which I would need to complete the last 7.1 miles to cross the finish before the 12 hour mark passed. What my brain failed to register was that from here I had significant elevation gain to deal with. It didn’t take long after departing the final aid station the reason my Dad had such a skeptical look on his face when I commented that I wanted to see if I could finish in under 12 hours.

Realizing that a sub 12 hour finish was not going to happen ¾ of the way up Moose Mountain I settled for keeping a solid pace/hobble so no 50 mile runners passed me before the finish line.

I did not encounter any 50 mile runners during this stretch but did come across quite a few 100 mile runners knocking out the tail end their accomplishment. It was awesome trading comments with them as I continued towards the finish. I hope to experience that someday.

The last 4 miles started to become a struggle. In my haste to keep moving at the last aid station I neglected to scarf down any extra calories and could feel a deficit creeping up. Sucking down another 2 gels (ugh) I hoped to avoid a collapse with the finish line so close. That seemed to do the trick and I continued my shuffle forward.

As I approached the finish line I thought about all the early mornings, my doubts if I truly loved ultrarunning and what I had just experienced.

The early mornings? Worth it.

Ultrarunning? Love it - what is next?

The Experience? Priceless.

I crossed the finish line with what I considered to be a very successful performance with answers to questions I had contemplated all summer. I was proud of my time of 12:23:50 which was good enough for 28th place.

2nd 50 mile in the books

Only thing left to do was to hose down my mud covered legs, enjoy a Furious with my Dad as I briefed him on everything in between the aid stations and take in the festivities around the finish line.

"You can't really tell how much you can do until you try do something that's...more."