Subject: Superior Trail 100 Report (kinda long) From: "Andrew Holak" Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2001 14:57:56 -0500 On Sunday September 9, I finished the Superior Trail 100 ... my first 100 mile finish. I felt great finally having finished the race and accomplishing a couple of my goals. I was looking forward to writing a race report and telling you all how good it felt to finally finish a 100 miler, and then the events of September 11, 2001 unfolded, and pretty much everything that usually seems pretty important seemed meaningless. Work, play, sports, and finishing a 100 mile race. My thoughts turned to all of those families who would no longer be greeting someone they loved at the end of the day. Writing a race report about my first 100 miler was the furthest thing from my mind. While the sadness remains in my heart for those families who lost a loved one, I will do my best to write a report about my Superior Trail 100 mile finish. Race day started with much anticipation. I had been battling a cold for a couple of weeks, and felt like I was finally over it. I was feeling great other than the aches and pains associated with tapering and not running much the week before the race. My lovely and wonderful wife would be crewing me through the day with our 10 month old son James. My parents, who were watching our other 2 children would pick up James in the evening and take him back to our hotel where the kids swam, watched some cartoons, ate pizza, and generally had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa. My wife was chomping at the bit to pace me during the evening hours. The race began, and we were off and up the new section of trail to Finland. I chatted with Terry Pann, a great runner and person from Wisconsin who I see at every ultra I run in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Terry's Dad, crew supreme with an ever-present smile and good cheer would keep me informed on the score of the Badger game (I'm a Badger fan, growing up in Wisconsin about 30 minutes from Camp Randall Stadium, though no where near as big a Badger fan as Terry's Dad). My strategy was to run comfortably for the first 50 miles and then try to push a little bit after 50. I feel like I'm pretty good at listening to how my body feels and running accordingly, no heart rate monitors or high tech gadgets, just "feeling" how everything "feels" if that makes any sense at all. Having run the new stretch of trail during a training run, I knew to take it very easy once we reached Crosby-Manitou State Park, where the most difficult 5 miles of trail on the entire 200 mile length of the Superior Hiking Trail lurked. I felt very comfortable and was running well through the early morning darkness to Finland. After Finland (7.8 miles in), the stretch to Egge Lake and Sonju Lake was not nearly as rooty and slow as I had remembered from my training run. I was feeling very good at this point. Running what felt to be somewhat effortless. I was having a lot of fun! I hadn't run the loop around Benson Lake in training and didn't know what to expect. By the time I reached the Crosby-Manitou aid station at mile 20, it had been raining steady for a couple of hours. After embarking on the loop around Benson Lake I found the trail to be more difficult than I had anticipated, and it began to rain very hard. Fortunately, I enjoy running in the rain, as long as it is relatively warm (55 degrees or warmer) and the end of the loop included a couple of miles of dirt road. Back at the Crosby- Manitou aid station I was prepared to embark on the toughest stretch of the course - 8 miles down and up the Manitou River Gorge and several other steep climbs and descents. Thinking I was smart, I decided to fill up my 70 oz. hydration pack, which I found very comfortable to run with to ensure that I had enough water to drink through this long stretch. However, my first swig of the water almost made me empty the contents of my stomach. I spit the water out immediately as it had the strongest iodine taste I have ever experienced. It almost tasted like poison. I had never put iodine in the bladder before, but had filled the bladder the night before in the hotel. Perhaps there was some sort of chemical reaction. Suffice it to say, I didn't have a sip of water the entire 8 miles to the Caribou Wayside. It never occurred to me to turn around when I tasted the bad water and go back to the aid station to pick my bottle pack back up. I just kept running. Maybe it was because to do so, would have required going back up hill. While this may have been the toughest stretch of the new 100% trail course, it was also very beautiful. The raging Manitou River, great views of Lake Superior and other lovely valleys and rock points. At Caribou Wayside, after traversing along the rim of the Caribou River with its own gigantic waterfalls and deep gorge, I was worried that I may have totally screwed my race up by dehydrating myself on the previous stretch. I drank about 5-6 glasses of water here and was given a full water bottle for the next ~3.5 mile stretch to the Sugarloaf aid station. I was still feeling good and was told I was stretching my lead on the following runners. I was also beginning to catch 50 mile runners who started 1/2 hour after the 100 mile runners, but 7.8 miles further up the trail and without an additional ~6 miles of extra trail that the 100 milers had to run. It was nice to see some other runners to talk to. I continued to feel comfortable and enjoyed passing and greeting many 50 mile runners, some of which I knew and chatted with for awhile (Jeff Wold, Chris Markham and others). We traversed along the lovely Cross River with the trail full of rocks and roots (the river really is lovely), then over a ridge and back down to the Temperance River where we began our climb to the top of Carleton Peak. All the while enjoying every aid station where I was able to greet Kim (my wife) and James. Temperance River was about 50 miles in for the 100 milers and I was still feeling good. Taking my time up Carleton Peak I enjoyed the granite dome and cliffs of the peak (you don't quite go all the way to the summit) and pushed it down the other side and into the Britton Peak aid station. Fortunately, I had recovered from my brush with dehydration and didn't feel any effects of not drinking a sip of water for 8 miles from mile 25 to mile 33. Up and over Leveux Mountain and into the Oberg Mountain aid station where you can pick up a pacer. I didn't have a pacer, and didn't need one, here as I had quite a bit of daylight left. I was met by Kim and James, of course, and good friends Steve Schuder and his family. Steve had just finished second in the 50 miler, over a half hour ahead of Scott Jurek who is preparing for AC100. Steve was happy, and I thought any time you can finish ahead of Scott Jurek, you've had a great day! I was still feeling pretty strong here (~67 miles) and ready to see some more trail and views from cliffs and high points over Lake Superior. Oberg was where I had dropped 2 years earlier in my very first attempt at 100 miles. So I was very happy to be feeling good here. Arriving at the Poplar River aid station at Lutsen Ski Resort, I was absolutely delighted to see my parents and Abby and Bryce my two older children. What an absolutely great surprise, as I wasn't expecting to see them here! Lutsen is where the 50 mile finish was, and provided a spectacular location for an ultra finish. 50 mile runners raved about the finish. Sadly, I wouldn't have any more runners to greet (I had passed a lot of 50 milers to this point). I ran the next 6.4 mile section hard hoping to beat the darkness to the next aid station and buoyed by seeing my family at the previous aid station. I was somewhat amazed at how well I was able to run to Caribou Trail aid station at 73.5 miles, as I had never run that far before in my life! Running along Lake Agnes was beautiful as well. The sunset was spectacular, and all of the college kids camping at the backcountry campsites cheered me on as I went. Nice. Leaving Caribou in the dark, things got much more difficult. The next stretch was over 9 miles with Midway having only water and no aid personnel about 6.5 miles in. For some reason I thought the trail from Caribou to Midway looked relatively flat. Boy was I wrong! The trail constantly went up or down, sometimes rather steeply. For the most part, the entire Superior Trail 100 goes up or down - over 14,000 feet of climb and descent in all. Needless to say, it took me longer than I thought to get here. I finally reached Cascade River State Park aid station where my wife waited anxiously to run with me. She had arranged for someone to drive our van (crew vehicle) to the finish. This meant that we would have to carry everything we needed for the rest of the way. Fortunately it had stopped raining during the evening with only a few spells of heavy mist. We grabbed all of the batteries we thought we would need a couple packs of Clip2(more on that later) and our flashlights. I was very happy to have Kim run with me, but I was somewhat concerned that I would no longer have a crew vehicle to rely on. And, what lay ahead was more difficult than anything I had ever experienced running. I was able to run about half the way from Caribou to Cascade River, but from here on in to the finish running was near impossible. Cascade River at night must be run to be believed. It is steep ups and downs on wet, slippery steps and lots of roots and rocks. Lots of it virtually unrunnable at night. I slipped several times on wet steps or boards. Scary. I cursed those who built such a poor trail in Cascade River State Park. My wife thought this was very funny. After this difficult 3.9 miles to the next aid station I was getting pretty cooked. I struggled to run where I could during the next section, but my run would usually end with a heavy thud as I planted my face into the ground time and again. My lights just weren't working (more on this later). I found that I could only run when the trail was going slightly uphill at this point. On the flats and downhills I didn't have enough control and would go too fast which would lead to an inevitable digger. It seemed like up until about 90 miles I could have run more than I did if the trail had been better. All the way to the finish the trail is unbelievably rocky and rooty. I cannot imagine a more difficult, rocky, rooty stretch of trail to finish a 100 mile race. I would have preferred 5 mile climbs and descents on somewhat decent trail to the small climbs and descents on the unbelievably rooty and wet trail at Superior. Honestly, if you are looking for a challenging 100 miler, look no further than Superior. Come next year and try it out if you don't believe me, you will be in for a surprise. The last miles also included crossing a couple of beaver dams on narrow, wet boards. The crossings were at least 100 yards long, involved overhanging bushes and grass and all of my concentration to keep from falling into the beaver pond. Finally we reached an overlook over the town of Grand Marais, the light of the football field and the finish line. It looked so close. But ... We went back uphill! By this time, everything my lovely wife said annoyed me, especially her humming (like "this is so easy for me, la, la, la ... what's wrong with you....which is how I interpreted it anyway). She understood what I was going through, laughed it off, and I loved her even more once we reached the finish line! Finally we get to the top of the hill and cross the paved Gunflint Trail. Now, I think we're getting real close. We head downhill towards the football field and the finish. Yes! Then ... we go back uphill and directly away from the football field! Kim runs ahead to check and make sure that there is flagging ahead and that the glow sticks weren't moved (sure glad she was there to do that!) Sure enough, we're on the right trail. It's taking too long. I want to finish. NOW! My hopes of finishing under 23 hours are now gone. But I will still accomplish my 2 primary goals - finish and finish under 24 hours. We finally come out of the woods and I begin working on my running form in preparation for my dash across the football field to the finish line. I'm shot, but I'm shuffling, and I can't help but smile. I cross the finish line and I'm still smiling. I'm happy. I've finished my first 100 miler in under 24 hours! I'm psyched. The 5 people at the finish line cheer! It's 4:30 in the morning in Grand Marais, MN. All is good! I hug my wife. James, the ever present and awesome Montrail rep. takes my picture, Race Director Darlene Poeppel takes my picture. I thought I would head directly for the hotel and bed, but I stay for awhile and reminisce. I'm happy. I dread taking a shower as my butt crack and crotch are chafed badly. I'm worried about the burn and the ensuing scream that will wake up my sleeping children. I decide to put Vaseline on before the shower, which is what I should have done before the race. I shower and hit the sack. I'm happy. Some things I learned and the Superior Trail 100: 1. The race was well organized and the markings were great! Darlene did a great job considering the race was canceled last spring and reinstated due to runner demand. 65 runners were entered, about 20 more than last year. Hopefully next year there will be 85 or 95 or 105. This really is a great race folks, come to Minnesota and support it. The sun set this year shining on the bright green and yellow hillsides was spectacular after a cloudy, rainy day. Also, there were lots of college kids camping along the trail, and it was great to hear them cheer you on. This is a tough course, but a more than worthy challenge. The aid stations were well stocked and attended by helpful volunteers. I loved the soup especially. The potatoes were good as well. 2. Thank you, thank you, thank you Karl King! Your Clip2 is the bomb! I absolutely loved the stuff. The taste is acquired, but much appreciated after 90 miles. I could hardly drink water after 90, but I could easily drink the Clip. Whenever I felt hunger, the Clip2 would quench it. I also never felt drowsy, I felt alert the entire way. I think the Clip2 helped with this also. I drank one bottle of Clip2 every other aid station starting at the 3rd aid station. I also tried to eat some solid food at each aid station. Clip2 is great, great stuff! 3. I found out how difficult it is to run at night on rough trail with tired legs. And, how important it is to have a good light. I didn't have a very good light. I will invest in one for my next 100 miler. Bison lights? Others? I want to be able to run at night without falling on my face. 4. My North Face Kuna Trail shoes worked pretty well, but I got blisters and they were hard on my feet. I think I'll go back to the Montrail Leona Divide. I didn't change my socks and they were wet the whole way. Changed my shoes once, should have changed my socks here also. My feet got a little blistered but not too bad. Just run through it. 5. My Achilles tendons are still swollen and my left one is very sore. I pulled my right calf muscle pretty bad. It's also still swollen and a little bruised. I remember after my first 50 miler (Superior Trail 50) both of my Achilles were very swollen and sore for a couple of days and then felt better. This time my left Achilles is worse. It didn't seem to hurt too bad during the race, but sure did afterwards. Any ideas why my Achilles get sore upon moving up to a new distance? My Achilles don't do this anymore after 50 milers. Perhaps this is my weak link. Weak calf muscles? I ran the last 20 miles with what felt like a cramp in my right calf. 6. Starting out at a comfortable pace was a good idea. I felt I could still run after 83 miles, but the trail and darkness just wouldn't let me for too long. 7. Those who have run the race felt the new course was harder than the old one with the new trail section. I'm not sure since I hadn't finished it before. But having run the 50 three times, I think it is a bit harder. The last 20 miles were the hardest for me, and they weren't new. I believe there were 63 starters and 37 finishers, so that's not a bad finishing rate for the conditions (rain and new trail section). Gene Curnow finished his 10th ST100. Only person ever to do so. Way to go Gene!!! The first and second place women ran a close race. Interestingly, Monica had no idea she was so close to Karen until the finish. What a race! I'm very happy with my first 100 mile finish and looking for more. I have to admit I went into the race with a healthy fear, but all in all I had a lot of fun. The first 73 miles went great and I felt really good. Once it got dark, it did become more difficult. My legs felt strong the entire way. I could still power walk the uphills until the end, and I kept moving the entire race. My feeling is that I could handle more uphills, not sure about the downhills, but my quads aren't sore. The hardest part was the ROUGH trail at night. I've seen what people call technical trail on western trails, and this is more than technical. I think my aid station time was pretty good as well. I don't think I spent more than 5 minutes in too many, if any aid stations. I'm looking forward to the next 100 miler once my Achilles heal. Here are the top 5 men and women: Men: 1. Andy Holak, MN 23:27:06 2. Doug Hansel, OH 25:35:04 3. Curtis Ringstad, WA 25:55:55 4. Terry Pann, WI 26:39 5. Jim Benike, MN 27:07:38 Women: 1. Karen Libsch, MN 28:52:16 2. Monica Scholz, ONT 28:53:28 3. Susan Donnelly, TN 32:34:20 4. Cathy Drexler, WI 33:48:02 5. Amy Pease, MN 35:32:23 Andy Holak Duluth, MN