So this last weekend I went up north to Lutsen for the Superior 50k trail race. It was going to be my first trail ultra for the year as I get ready for the Leadville 100 mile in mid August. I was luck to have along my lovely wife Sonya and our little guy Evan. Our good friend Paul also came along to run as well !!!
We drove up on Friday afternoon and stoped at the Coho cafe just outside of town. We love there food there. The pizza was first class. Paul and I had a beer with diner and all was good with the world. It was great to be back up north and great to see so many people I knew at the pre race meeting. I for one am not big on the pre race meeting as I feel lot's of dumb question get asked, but it is nice to see everyone so I guess it is a wash. After the meeting it was back to the hotel and off to bed at a way earlier time than my normal bed time. I guess when you normally go to bed at 12 to 1 am everything seems early.
On race morning it was so beautiful out !! Sun, clear sky and the great views of the area. We went to the start line and it was off to the races. I felt pretty good overall but knew that I was not in top shape so I needed to be ready for a longer than normal day. I found this easier said than done. The trail was rocky and rooty like the SHT is known for. I for one have a love/hate relationship with this trail. I love in but at the same time hate the fact that I feel like I can not run wide open on it. With the added tree's down this just made it slower, but in a way more fun, could this be ? Paul caught up to me like 10 miles into the run and we had a great time running together up till like 17 or 18 miles. At that point he was feeling good and I was just along for the ride. Paul is much better on this type of rocks and roots than I am. As the rest of the race went on I was happy to be out there but also feeling like man I better get to work or I am screwed in a few months. I guess I will be better for running this race, but after I had a hard time believing it.
Thanks to all the runners on the trail, you keep me going. Thanks to everyone who helped put this race on. And special thanks to Sonya and Evan for spending the day helping me out !!!
5 comments:
wow, from what i've seen of that course, "rocky" is a bit of an understatement. it almost seems like you're "traverssing" or "bouldering" more than "running."
Great job!
Kurt,
Good to see you at Superior! Getting this race under your belt is going to be so positive for Leadville. Some of my best races have come after races that I've felt I struggled in, dropped out of because I felt like crap or just didn't run like I'd hoped. It seems like I always have at least one really bad race or training run before I have a good race. I've had good 100 mile races after I've dropped out of a previous race and thought, "uh-oh!" That struggle is what will make you stronger for Leadville. No matter how you felt at Superior, that race was hugely beneficial, and you'll have a great time at Leadville! If you can get in at l least 1 to 1.5 weeks of acclimation time for Leadville, that will be great too. Hope to see you out on the trails again and have a great time at Leadville!
Andy H.
You forgot to mention you finished 9th in 5:08:33. Sounds like a fun race. I'm headed up to the SHT this weekend for 4 days/3 nights of backpacking and hiking.
We'll have to get together for a run sometime.
I don't think the SHT is great preparation for Leadville, so don't sweat the rocks and roots being a problem. You'll do great in the 100 as long as you're getting in the miles and hills.
Great day for a run, wasn't it? Even though Superior is a tough run, it's my favorite trail in MN.
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