2026 Fall Superior 100 Mile (Finish)

Date: Friday-Saturday, September 11th-12th 2026, 8:00am start Friday, 10:00pm cut-off Saturday

Distance: 101 miles

Weather: (pre-race): I've been tracking the weather for a few days and on Monday prior to the race, Friday is looking iffy! Race start in the low 60's, highs in the mid 70's, likely rain after sunset throughout Friday night. Saturday looks a bit cooler, but highs still in the mid 60's. Looks as if it's going to be a good 15-20 degrees warmer throughout than last year! Good thing I've trained all summer in intense heat and humidity, but I'm not happy about this. I packed a cooler with ice sponges for use at Silver and Beaver Bay. Nothing I can do about Tettegouche and by the time I get to CR6, it should be better. UPDATE: It's now Wednesday and I'm tracking the potential of not just rain, but now also thunderstorms for most of Friday evening and into early Saturday morning (particularly between 7pm and midnight which would affect Tette, CR6 and Finland). In addition, the highs on Friday look to be mid to upper 70's which is NOT GOOD.

(post-race): Weather started out in the low 60's on Friday. A couple of hours in, thunder started and a quick rainstorm came through. Didn't last long, but long enough to cover the ground making every rock and every root even slippier. Then, of course, came the humidity. None of this was bothering me, though. I trained for it all!

Runners: Rolf and Reid are running this year, too. 

Stats: Registered 100M: 302, Male: 229 (76%), Female: 73 (24%) - 17 of which are in my age group of 50-59, States: 30, Countries: 3, Minnesota Cities: 91, Youngest: 19, Oldest: 72, Average Age: 45, Zero finishes or first attempt: 150 (50%), Previous finishers 152 (50%), One to four finishes: 115, Five or more finishes: 37

Oberg after crewing
for Rolf and Alex.

Crew: Mom, Dad, Alex, Marcus, Jonah, Griffin, Finnley and Juniper are all coming to crew and/or pace. Originally we thought Jax would be coming this year, too, but he ended up staying home with Kylah. 

What I'm wearing: UD hydration pack, Under Armour strappy tank, Free People Carpe Diem shorts,  Goldy long-sleeve (or lightweight Smartwool) packed in my bag, Dirty Girlz gaiters, Darn Tough socks, Altra Lone Peak's, iPhone (only being used for podcasts/music and I'll have it on airplane mode so I don't plan on it needing to be charged), AeroClip headphones, RSR buff, Superior or RSR hat. With the warming temps this week, I bought a 3L water reservoir. I had a different one, but it was too stiff and tall to fit in my pack so I bought one that is wider, more flexible and lighter that seems as if it'll work. I'm not adjusting my Skratch, but I think I'll need the extra water on Friday during the day. The plan is to swap the 3L for my 2L at CR6 (likely in a thunderstorm).

What's in the wagon:  My main teal Patagonia bag full of extra clothes, shoes and outerwear, first aid box, extra food and nutrition, cooler with ice water and sponges, etc.

Nutrition: (pre-race): I'm not bringing nearly as much food this year as last year as I found I wasn't super hungry or able to chew most foods later on in the race. I really gravitated towards soft foods and liquids. I will again be using Skratch throughout the entire race - I've figured out a way to have it available at every aid station by bringing collapsible bottles filled with concentrated Skratch to the non-crew aids. I also discovered they have a caffeine version that adds 80mg of caffeine to my pack - I'll be starting this at CR6 and will use it for the remainder of the race. All in all, it'll add up to 7,280 calories which is really all I'll need in addition to a few snacks here and there. 

I'll be bringing the usual snacks that I train with all year - muir gu's, waffles, gummies, potato chips, peanut m&m's and some recent discoveries - puff bars and smash bites. For the remainder of my calories I'll be relying on a grilled cheese sandwich early on, applesauce and smoothie pouches (easy to get down quickly), naked smoothie drinks, bolthouse mocha protein drinks (planning these at CR6, Cramer and Oberg) and Stok lightly sweetened cold brew coffee. Last year, I tried to eat some hot food at CR6 while I was changing (I'd made creamy chicken and wild rice soup), but it was too hard to chew and eat quickly. Mom had suggested thin mashed potatoes and gravy so she's going to make this. I'm also going to make some plain chicken broth - on its own, chicken broth doesn't have much in the way of calories, though, so I decided to make it "creamy" with my method of adding cashew cream which is basically a cup of cashews pureed with a cup of broth and mixed back into the soup (adds 758 calories). 

UPDATE: On Wednesday, I made my soup and Skratch. For the soup, I just boiled 2 qts of water and added 3T of bouillon. I also pureed a cup of raw cashews with some of the broth and mixed it all together. At first, the cashews left a bit of a sediment so I blended it a second time and then filtered it through a sieve into the thermos. It tastes great! For the Skratch, I made individual ones for the first few aid stations. For the caffeinated stuff, I put it all in a pot and added a gallon of water. It didn't dissolve as well as I liked so I heated it up on the stove slightly and that worked great. Put it in the orange cooler and filled it with about 18L of water. 

(post-race:) I never really got to test anything out, including my caffeinated Skratch. However, I might half the caffeine in the future, just in case it makes me pee too much! Made chicken soup for the family after we got home with my broth, too, so it didn't go to waste (I think it would have tasted amazing in the middle of the cold wet night). Alex and Rolf, on the other hand, really took to the Skratch. I made Alex start with it at Cramer and by Sugarloaf, both he and Rolf wanted refills! After we got home, I froze what remained in gallon jugs and large ice cubes for future use (the stuff is pricey, haha).

Training and Preparation: I've pretty much already gone over this in my earlier post. I didn't follow my "what I'd do next time" from last year's race so I'll just leave that at that - yes, I know I need to cross train more, strength train more and do more hillwork! I also really, really want to make the effort to get to the SHT to do my 30+20 b2b if there's a next time (silver bay to finland = 26m, hotel overnight and then crosby to cramer = 15m or crosby to temperance = 22m). My biggest concern is water, but maybe Marcus can leave water jugs at the parking lots? He can bike the gitchi gami while I'm on the trail. We can pick up the empty jugs on our return trip home?   

Race Week Preparation: I've run very little this week. A 4-mile run on Monday, followed by a 2-mile walk on Wednesday. Of course, I'm feeling pain everywhere. On my left side, I've had an ache on the left side of my foot, a pain in the center of my butt and an ache in my left pelvis (which doesn't feel like it did when I had a pelvic stress fracture and it's something I've noticed for awhile, so I'm trying to ignore it). On my right, I've struggled with my right knee on stairs (but not on the trail). Last year, the inner side of my right knee gave me problems for the last third of the race, but I was able to push through and took some meds. Hoping that's all I'll need this year, too! Doing a lot of resting and a lot of stretching. Trying to stay active, but not get hurt. 

Marcus and I chilled most of Thursday. I was trying to ignore my aches (the one in the middle of my butt is better), but now I have what feels like a "bruise" on my left hip. This only started a couple of days ago and I tried to roll it out with the foam roller, but I think that only made it worse. Since I wasn't running much, I really didn't know what this was. As I told Rolf at packet pickup, it was either nothing or it would be something. Famous last words.

We left for the airbnb around 2pm and stopped at packet pick-up this year to get my bib (and have my photo taken, which I was completely unprepared for). The airbnb was right across from Bluefin and was easy to get to. I immediately heated up my mac & cheese as it was already past 6pm. We had Big Brother to watch while having dinner. I really hoped I'd sleep this year! I had Marcus sleep in a different room and the bed wasn't too bad, but I could not fall asleep for anything. I know I slept once for a short time because I had a dream, but for the most part I just laid there until it was time to get up at 5:30. I had my coffee, got dressed and we left around 6:30.

Race Start: I remembered thinking while sitting in my sled before the start of the Croix Ultra earlier this year that a year goes by really, really fast and the same was true for this year's race. Hard to believe a year had gone by and I was at Gooseberry again! I felt good. I felt strong. I was actually feeling quite confident, albeit a bit wary of the overnight storms. I really thought I'd nail this again. Kylah said I got lucky last year - I wanted to prove her wrong. 

Gooseberry to Split Rock (Miles 0 to 8.5 - 8.5m): Leaving Gooseberry is fairly uneventful. Not much elevation and mostly grassy snowmobile trails (although they're tricky as there are a lot of rocks and roots poking out of the grass that can be hidden). This year I started with my poles and was grateful to have them. I knew this section would go by fairly smoothly. Most of the aches I had over the last week weren't causing me problems, but I was starting to feel whatever was going on with this most recent ache in my hip and I was trying really hard to ignore it. 

About an hour in.

Split Rock to Beaver Bay (Miles 8.5 to 18.8 - 10.3m):

Drinking Coke at the
Beaver Bay aid station.

 I made it into the first aid station at 9:57 which was a few minutes ahead of schedule. I was stoked! I didn't stop for much at the first aid station. I had them refill my water, but I hadn't drank too much so I didn't add a bottle of my Skratch concentrate. This section is long and has a lot of elevation - both ups and downs. My hip was really starting to hurt now. It just felt like a big bruise. I was able to run, but never without pain. I was able to hike up and down, but also only with pain. I made a plan to get to Beaver Bay, take some pain meds and continue on. About halfway through this section I started to hear thunder. I'd been tracking the weather very carefully over the past week and the rain wasn't supposed to start until evening, so what the heck? Sure enough, it decided to rain for awhile. Not a ton, but enough to cover all of the rocks and roots and make everything really slippery. At one point, I had a group of runners behind me and I was tired of letting people pass so I took a decline on some slippery rocks much too fast and tumbled down, crashing my right calf into a rock. I sat for a second while the runners offered to help, but I just let them pass. I had a huge lump on my calf, but weirdly it didn't hurt (but my hip was still killing me). 

Beaver Bay to Silver Bay (Miles 18.8 to 23 - 4.2m): When I got to Beaver Bay (only a few minutes off schedule which is crazy considering how much pain I was in), I was pretty emotional and Marcus could tell (I didn't even take the time to mention the awesome shirt, although I did notice it immediately). I asked Marcus for Advil and Coke while Alex refilled my water. I quickly told everyone what was going on, but I left quickly and really hoped the Advil would kick in and take this pain away. 

This is a short section and it should have only taken me an hour and a half to complete. At 2:43, ironically at the exact time I expected to be at the next aid station, I called Marcus. The Advil hadn't helped at all and I knew I couldn't continue to Tettegouche. I hoped I was more than halfway to the aid station and there was a point where I wondered if it would be quicker to turn around and go back to Beaver Bay. I talked everything through with Marcus. At this point, I couldn't run at all and I could barely haul myself up the hills. My poles were doing most of the work as my left leg was almost useless. We determined I was more than halfway and should have less than a mile or so to go. More than 40 minutes later, after having been passed by at least a dozen runners, I finally made it to Silver Bay. Alex had his chair ready for me. At rest, I wasn't in any pain at all. My hip only hurt when I lifted it towards my chest. It felt like the minor bruising I'd been feeling for a few days was now just a massive bruise all over my hip. I couldn't believe when I looked that there was nothing visible. Was I imagining all of this? I had no swelling and all I could think is that it was a stress fracture and I knew I didn't want to make it worse so I knew I had to stop. We told the aid people I was going to DNF and I sat waiting for Marcus to get the car. 

Love the Team Tanya shirts!

DNF at Silver Bay

Post Race: We all went back to the airbnb to decompress and eat. I changed while Mom heated up food for Dad and Marcus. I had my Chipotle from the previous day that I heated up and had that along with a much needed glass of wine. It was starting to thunder along with plenty of lightning and rain. Alex was toying with the idea of surprising Rolf and going back out to pace him overnight, but the weather was looking rough! Ultimately, he decided to sleep and meet him at Cramer on Saturday morning. 

In the morning, we all went to drop Alex off at Cramer. Rolf seemed quite happy to have the company as the night had been very, very tough. He said it stormed at least 8 different times. Marcus and I crewed for the two of them for the rest of the day. Mom and Dad came down from the cabin to join us at Sawbill and Oberg but headed back to the cabin before the finish. Marcus and I waited at the finish for the two of them and they got in sometime after 8pm. We left Rolf with his wife and Reid while we headed back to the cabin where we had one pizza left to make for Alex. Thankfully, I remembered I had my mac & cheese, too! 

Alex and I at the finish.

Recovery: The bruise that I thought I was feeling turned into an actual bruise sometime on Saturday or Sunday. I had two distinct bruises on my left hip. After Marcus and I did some research, I'm pretty sure I have a hip flexor strain (possibly level 2 since I have visible bruising). It's basically a result of overuse and is triggered by elevation (go figure). I knew my hips and glutes are two of the weakest parts of my body and I again regretted not doing any strength training. I immediately reached out to Reid on Monday to talk with him about his last year of training (he was shooting for a sub-30 race and ended up finishing just minutes after 28 hours!). He gave me a couple of resources and I followed up that same day. The main regret I've had for the past two years, with regards to my training, is needing to do strengthening. But I've had no idea where to start and the internet is so overwhelming so I just didn't follow up. Again, I figured I finished the race the first time so whatever I did worked, right? Well, I guess not. I went to Discover Strength for a 30 minute session earlier this week and will be going there weekly as working with a personal trainer 1 on 1 is exactly what I need. I need to be told what to do and how to do it. I want efficiency and don't want to mess around with machines and weights and, most importantly, I don't want to get hurt. Discover Strength has quite a few trainers and encourage rotating through them and I was able to meet with Owen who has worked with both Reid and Kelly for awhile - it was nice to not have to explain the whole 100 of it all and he knew exactly what exercises I needed to do to start this new journey. 

In addition, I met with a running coach (Michael Borst from Climb Above Coaching). I'm still undecided if I'll hire him - if I do, it would mostly be to get his advice on strengthening activities I can add to my personal training and do at home. 

Notes for Next Time: I waited a week to write up my post-race notes as I've had a lot of emotions this week and a lot of thoughts. I was shocked at how emotional I was on Saturday and Sunday. It just kept coming in waves and I realized I was grieving not being able to finish the race and having to DNF so early on for a reason I didn't completely understand. In the past week I've given this a lot of thought and the fact that I was so emotional really shows me that this is something I want. And I don't mean just finishing the race (although that's a serious plus), but mostly the lifestyle it's brought me. I actually really enjoy running and achieving weekly goals. This is such a hard race that it really forces me to work every day towards getting to the starting line, especially getting there uninjured. I can't easily just take a week or two off. Whether or not I'm able to finish the race really needs to be second to the ultimate goal of the journey I took getting there. 

I absolutely will be signing up for this race again in January. Whether or not I get in, we'll have to wait and see. Fingers crossed as I really don't want to wait two years for a re-do! I'm going to be stronger than ever next time.

I'll be back.

2026 Fall Superior 100 (Pre-Race)

Saturday August 8, 2026

Less than 5 weeks to go! Training over the last 23 weeks has gone pretty well again! After finishing the St Croix Winter Ultra in January, I maintained running throughout the winter averaging approx. 30 miles/week and even getting in a day at Afton mid-February. Started my 100 mile training plan in early March. Discovered a new place to do hills this year in St. Paul, called the Brickyard. All the kids joined me on Mother's Day while we did 10 miles of hills! 

When writing this, I had just finished my 30+20 B2B earlier this week and, I'll admit, it felt rough. Unlike last year, this summer has been very, very hot and humid. There's been very little relief and I'm really looking forward to a cool morning! Both days at Afton were in the 80's, sunny and hot. Day one went okay, but day two started with some diaphragm/side ache cramping that only got worse with a few stumbles and an almost fall in the campground. I decided to practice fast hiking and walked the entire river road at about mile 17 and that helped to get me through. Used scratch both days and also ate quite a bit so I don't know why I struggled so much?

Last year, I was only using Strava to gauge mileage and I now have a Suunto watch. The difference is shocking. I calculated the distance for what I thought was 50 combined miles last year and it was only 44.4! So, while I'm running nearly the same plan this year as last year, my actual mileage is likely 10% more. 

Race day strategy is going to be about the same as last year, but with a few noticeable differences. Alex will be pacing me at night and this will free up Marcus to crew which will free up Mom and Dad to not have to crew overnight. Finnley is on board again to crew as much as is needed starting Friday night. Jonah, Griffin, Juniper and (hopefully) Kylah will also be pacing again. I don't expect to be any faster than last year, but I would like to shave off a minute or two during each section if possible, which would get me to Oberg closer to 9:30 instead of 9:53. I spent nearly an hour and a half at aid stations and, honestly, I don't think I can cut time there, so I'm really hoping to run a bit more (or hike faster) early on and especially at night between CR6 and Sonju (last year, we only hiked these sections). After Sonju, it's only possible to hike since the roots are so terrible. I also hope to have my pacers use a gps watch this year to track mileage instead of Strava which was so unreliable! 

Now, I'm just thinking about weather. This heat has been horrible and I've forgotten what it's like to run in any temp below 65 degrees. I just hate it so much! 

My clothing choices last year were perfect, though, so I'll stick with them this year. Lots of Rungoo for the feet and I have to remember to reapply if I ever change socks. What I'm unsure about is if I should do some blister prevention? Last year, I had zero blisters in training (same as this year), but in the second half of the race I started getting two big blisters, one on each outer heel. At Cramer, Marcus and Finnley repaired them and left big bandaids on and I had no more problems. What I'm wondering is should I preventatively put bandaids on? Or might that just cause unexpected chafing? I think I'm going to hold off and rather recognize a blister forming sooner than I did last year and treat it right away at the next aid station. 

I also have been working more on liquid calories. I know I can eat solid foods at the first couple of aid stations, but after that, it took too much time and effort to chew real food and I found liquid foods much easier. The only exception was some wonderful watermelon I had on Saturday! This year, I've bought applesauce pouches, Naked fruit smoothies, protein mochas and am thinking of bringing up some hot soup broth for CR6 and Finland. Combined with all of the Skratch I'm preparing, I think this will get me through. I discovered that Skratch has a caffeinated version and after getting so so tired last year, I've decided to start drinking this version starting at CR6. Speaking of Skratch, last year crew had a hard time dissolving it quickly so this year, I'll be pre-dissolving all that I'll need in big water jugs a few days before the race. These jugs will stay in the car and they can just pour out 2L (enough for my hydration bladder) into a smaller container to carry to each aid station. 

I've also changed my headphones over the last year. I've always used airpods, even though they only last me about a year or so. They have so many negatives! Their battery life is only 3ish hours so they need to be recharged often. I have a hard time getting them in and out of the case when I have wet hands. For whatever reason, the volume output is different for my left vs my right ear so I have to adjust for this which is annoying. They also fall out of my ears easily, especially if I need to change a top or buff. All that said, I found some new headphones which I adore! Soundcore Aero Clips that clip over my ear (and never fall out), battery life has lasted through every long 7-8 hour run so far so I think if I bring the case, I won't need to recharge at all. They have the same tap settings as my airpods which I love. The only downside is they don't "read" my texts or announce who's calling if I get a phone call. However, my watch does do all of this so if I quickly look at my watch face, I can see who the text is from or who is calling. I'm sold. 

Tuesday September 1, 2026

Suddenly down to 10 days! Starting to track the weather. Compared to last year, it looks as if it could be at least 10 degrees warmer both at night and during the day. I'm not sure how I feel about this. This has been a really, really rough summer. So hot and humid and just absolutely no relief days at all! I read a news article yesterday that Minnesota is experiencing its 6th hottest summer in 153 years!! That's crazy but nice to know it's just not in my head. So the optimist in me is telling myself that I'm well prepared for a race in the mid to upper 60's, especially if I get lucky and there's low humidity!

Last year, I ran 1100 miles over 28 weeks, average approx. 41 miles/week (however, since I was relying on strava and not an accurate gps watch, I'm guessing this is likely more like 1000 miles. This year, I ran about 20 miles more (mostly due to the fact that I didn't get ill this year - I had the flu early on during last year's training - and was able to run every single week). Last year, I went to Afton 24 times with 5 b2b runs. This year, I went 27 times also with 5 b2b runs. 

What I didn't do enough of were hills. Even with discovering The Brickyard, I didn't go as often as I should have. While the distance at The Brickyard is twice as much as Hyland, the grade isn't as steep and there's a lot of gravel which ultimately made it a bit "easier" so I really tried to stick to Hyland for most of my training. I missed nearly a month of hill work for most of July. Partly due to a vacation to the cabin (where there are shockingly no good hills for repeats) and also some serious heat and smoke advisories. If I were to do this race again, I really can't miss hill work. Once I got back into it in August, I was quite sore. A 30+20 mile run at Afton didn't make me sore, but 6 miles at Hyland the next week did! This is a problem so make sure I don't let this happen again. Finally after getting back to Hyland several weeks in a row, any post-hill soreness went away (just wish this wasn't only 2 weeks before race day). 

Smoothies, apple juice, pop, coffee, etc.

Storkamp sent some pretty good news in his pre-race e-mail. The high bridge around Tettegouche has been under constructions for years. Unbeknownst to me, this required a detour to get around and through the Tettegouche aid station. The reduction in mileage here along with some other minor deductions is deleting 1.9 miles from this year's race! While this number might seem insignificant for a 100+ mile race, at 15-22 minutes/mile, this can add up to 30-45 minutes! I had felt so slow during the Beaver Bay - Silver Baby - Tettegouche sections and I now know that's because there were extra miles in here that I wasn't accounting for. Fingers crossed that I can get through these sections a bit faster this year and hopefully achieve my goal of getting to Oberg before 6:30. 

I started packing yesterday. Marcus' black and white headlamp has gone mysteriously missing again after we finally got it back in June (it had previously been missing since the race last year, only for Kylah to discover it in her key bowl on her dining room table). Several months ago, I had bought myself a new headlamp that's lighter so hopefully we'll still be covered. 

I'm trying to pack a bit "lighter" this year. Even with all the rain last year, I only changed my main layer (tank and shorts) one time. I needed pants and various jackets/vests throughout the race due to the rain and cold, but that may not be as needed this year. Rather, I'm packing a few long-sleeve smartwools to swap out instead. 

Snacks

I'm also not packing nearly as many snacks. Mostly just soft food and liquids. I'm only bringing one grilled cheese that I'll eat after Beaver Bay (and will grill Friday morning instead of Thursday morning so it's fresher). Jonah's applesauce pouches were great late in the race so I bought a bunch of those. I'll be bringing some gummies, waffles and muir brownie batter, along with some puff bars - all of which may work early in the race. I also bought apple juice, a bunch of smoothies (chocolate protein, mocha, naked fruit, etc) in addition to cold brew, coke and ginger ale. Hot food is tough to keep warm, but I might try prepping some plain chicken broth and soft mashed potatoes with gravy for CR6 and Finland. 

Thursday September 3, 2026

I'm down to only 3 runs, having finished my 10m and 8m this week so far. As of today, weather should be low 50's to start with clouds (possibly with some lingering rain). On Friday, it should warm up to the mid 60's. Overnight, lows will mid 50's, but with a 30-35% chance of rain. On Saturday, highs will again be in the mid to upper 60's with a 30-35% chance of rain at sunset, also cooling to upper 50's/low 60's at the end of the race. The good news is dew points should hold in the low to mid 50's which is great so at least it won't be super humid!

2026 St Croix 40 Winter Ultra

Date: Saturday-Sunday, January 10th-11th 2026, 6:00pm start Saturday, 10:00am cut-off Sunday

Distance: 40 miles (two 20 mile loops instead of the original single loop figure-8)

Weather: Unlike last year, we actually have snow this year! It's pretty much steadily snowed regularly since Thanksgiving which has been very nice as it's allowed me to get many chances to sled without having to go to the cabin. I even brought the sled to Afton in early December and sledded 15+ miles! Heading into race weekend, temps have been holding pretty strong. Race start in the low 20's, checkpoint in the mid teens, lows down to the tweens. Minimal wind? Fingers crossed!

Runners: Just me!

Crew: Marcus is coming again, but this year we rented a room for him at Grand Casino so he has a warm place to stay instead of trying to stay warm in a very cold car. This also removes the option of him being so close by which may have contributed to me leaving the race at the checkpoint last year. 

What's going in the sled! Well, only some of the food.
(not shown: what I'm wearing to start the race)

Gear: Last year was mostly about gathering gear, whether it was borrowing or buying. Since this year I had most of the gear needed, I focused more on what clothing I'd need for cooler temps. Last year I was worried so much about sweating. I knew being wet, if I got cold, I wouldn't get warm again. I thought it was possible to go slow enough that I wouldn't sweat. Wrong. I sweat no matter how little effort I'm putting in and hauling a sled takes effort, even at a slow pace! If I'm continually moving, it's not so much of an issue. The issue comes when I need to stop. Something as simple as stopping to pee or to grab a snack can be just long enough for me to get chilled. So this year I focused much more on how to stay warm while wet. This essentially came down to ditching anything synthetic and replacing it with wool. Wool is the only fiber I've found that insulates while wet. As much as the synthetics like to claim they do the same, they do not, at least not after you've been out for a few hours. I also realized that I'm simply going to have to change, at least once, into fully dry clothes. The race was pretty warm last year, also in the low 20's, but it never got colder than this (although it did snow the entire time). This year, I don't think we'll have any snow, but we've had a lot of melting this past week and I'm concerned about ice. It's also going to drop about 10 degrees overnight (UPDATE: it didn't, it stayed remarkably the same temp throughout the race). While I'm still layering up with lots of wool, I decided I really like the added warmth of a wool sweater. You'd think with all the knitting I'd do that I'd have something appropriate, right? Well, nope. So I got to knitting. I knit myself a half-zip sweater and a full-zip vest with a chest pocket. Kinda wish I had a chest pocket on the sweater, might have to add one later!

The new vest I knit
just days before. 

The Plan: The first half of the race will be approx. 20-->17 degrees. I'll start somewhat cold with a wool bra, SmartWool l/s, SmartWool zip jacket, handknit vest and black TNF Casaval. For bottoms, I currently plan on Icebreaker boyshorts, SmartWool leggings and my Free People fleece-lined neon orange snowpants (NOTE: while very visible and warm, snow attached itself to the cuffs and they really stretched out and the extra weight caused them to fall off my hips - I wouldn't wear them again for long races) along with Darn Tough socks, gaiters and waterproof Altra Lone Peaks (the waterproof shoes are new - I wasn't at all sure how well they'd keep out moisture, but I've been really pleased with them). I had been wearing tall waterproof gaiters while training, but for the most part, they just trapped snow between my socks and the inside of the gaiters as I could never get them tight enough to keep snow out. So I'm going back to my warm weather Dirty Girlz gaiters which will provide somewhat of a barrier between the snow and my socks. Accessories include a SmartWool buff, black balaclava and several different weights of mittens that will be swapped out as needed. Once I get to the checkpoint, I'll get my water set up and while I'm waiting for it to boil, I'll change as temps are going to fall from 17-->12. This year, I've practiced changing in the cold, both at Afton and at Iron Lake Campground #4. It'll be an in the moment decision if I'll do a full change or if I'll just change the top half (and maybe dry socks if my feet are wet). At a minimum I'll change into a new wool bra, SmartWool l/s, handknit sweater, SmartWool vest and Salmon TNF Casaval. I've found that if I'm dry on top, it doesn't really matter what I'm wearing elsewhere. However, I am bringing a dry pair of boyshorts, SW leggings, polartec pants and my favorite rain/waterproof pants along with several pairs of socks and a second pair of shoes. Half of the weight in my sled comes from clothing!

Nutrition: Last year I didn't eat enough. I was starving by the time I got to the checkpoint. Probably because I didn't really know what was going to work and because it was snowing so much, I didn't want to take the time to open my big duffle as I had it covered with my bivy and it was a pain to get into. This year, I have a pouch that I added to my waist belt to keep a bunch of easily accessible snacks. I'm going very simple this year, bringing only snacks that I'm familiar with and know will do fine in cold weather - lemon luna bar, brownie "gu's", waffles, peanut m&m's, chocolate covered espresso beans, potato chips and apple chips. I thought of putting scratch in my water, but I'm afraid of it making me have to pee too often so I'm just going with water. The one piece of gear I did end up buying was a hydration bladder that's just that, just a sleeve for my water. Nothing extra on my front, no extra pockets that I won't use. I bought a 1.5L one and am squeezing my 2L bladder inside. It works great and has only one chest strap - with as many layers as I'm wearing, it's nice to have something to small and simple. 

Final packing of the sled
before race start.

I'm bringing two small cans of triple espresso to drink at the checkpoint. I also plan to buy a bottle of coke and throw that in the sled (nestled among my clothes so hopefully it doesn't freeze - sealed in a plastic bag in case it does so it doesn't burst and leak all over my dry clothes). FYI instead of a jar of peanut butter this year, my "emergency 3,000 calories" is a bag of peanut m&m's! 

Training and Preparation: Because of all of the local snow, I was able to get out in town quite a few times this year. Most of the time there was enough snow on the ground to be able to leave directly from home and not have to drive somewhere. After Christmas, I did bring the sled to the cabin and did a sled trip to Iron Lake once, too. Overall, I got out sledding 89m (16m at the cabin) this year as compared to 80m (54m at the cabin) last year. I was shocked by this as it really felt as if I had trained more this year than last year!

After the race last year, I bought myself a sled, bungee rope and harness after returning Rolf's. For most of this year, I trained with a full shoulder harness. However, I didn't feel that it was helping distribute the weight on my back/hips much, if at all, and it was very cumbersome to get on as it was often twisted. I'm also already wearing a hydration sleeve on my back and just didn't need the extra weight from the harness. Waist belts all have a tendency to ride up on my hips, too. With the shoulder harness, it was almost impossible to keep it on my hips. With just the waist belt that Mom & Dad bought me for Christmas, it's much easier to keep it in place, low on my hips. UPDATE: Loved the waist belt! Had little to no back pain, although I did take a dose of advil and later tylenol throughout the night. It was easy to keep the belt in position and it wasn't too difficult to remove when needed. 

Final rest before race.

After talking with Alex a few days before the race about our plans for the Spring and Fall races, I ended up impulsively buying a Suunto watch (9 Peak Pro) as I thought it might be nice to be able to easily check my mileage during the race. Not only is Strava notoriously unreliable with regards to mileage, but my phone is tucked away under several layers in order to keep it warm so it's a pain to get to. I didn't realize until after I got home, however, that the Suunto watch I bought was in an opened box and had previously been paired with someone else. Took me forever to figure that out and unpair it so I could pair it with my phone. It's also been pretty glitchy, but I don't know if that's just me getting used to it? They don't have anymore in stock so I'll use this one for the race and then will decide if I'm keeping it. UPDATE: I did like being able to look at the watch and calculate mileage and elapsed time. Once I was able to chart the course during the first loop, it made the second loop much more manageable. I don't find myself using the watch for regular road runs at home, but I do think I'll keep it for now and will use it at Afton in the spring/summer and will definitely need it for the fall race again!

Race Preparation: I was explaining to Kylah that while this race has a lot of similarities to the Fall Superior 100, the main difference is that it's quite monotonous. It's dark for the entirety of the race, the terrain doesn't change much (there's really only one hill per loop), and the crowd spreads out so much that I found myself basically alone for most of the race last year. So it comes down to self-entertainment. I have a bunch of podcasts saved up and two audiobooks that I've been waiting to listen to for months (Taran's new book "Behind the Mirror" and Parvati's book "Nice Girls Don't Win). This year, I am going to bring both my Airpods and Earpods as the wired headphones drive me crazy and I don't want them to be a barrier for me. My plan is to use my Airpods (and hopefully not drop them in the snow where they'd disappear forever) and while they're charging, use the Earpods. UPDATE: Using just the Airpods went great! When one died, I charged it while using the other one and really only had to do this a couple of times throughout the race and it worked. Much better than corded headphones! I'll try this again in the fall.

Race: Earlier in the week, Josh, Marcus's friend from high school, passed away. The memorial was on Saturday so after picking me up coffee and chipotle and getting my car washed, he headed to that in the early afternoon while I finished packing and loading the car. Had thought to leave around 3:30 so we didn't get there too early, but we ended up leaving around 3 anyhow. The drive to the race was uneventful, but better than last year as we weren't driving in a snowstorm! Made it through bag check pretty quickly and then had some downtime in the car. I had tried to eat some of my chipotle on the drive up, but I think I was nervous and just not very hungry. UPDATE: I should have eaten it when he first got it around lunchtime as opposed to the salad I opted for instead. I had thought I'd have the salad for "lunch" and the chipotle for "dinner", but I really should have banked the higher calories earlier in the day. My stomach wasn't great for the majority of the race, but it was due more to being hungry and not having what I wanted more than nausea. 

We headed to the race start around 5:40pm. Weather was nice. I think it was in the low 20's and while there was some wind, the gusts were minimal. I believe the low overnight actually increased a degree or two and I don't think it was ever below 20 degrees. I snuggled into my sleeping bag, turned my blinkies on and when the race started, I quickly packed everything away and headed off. I was wearing some new mittens (some beautiful wool Icebreaker mitts that I had high hopes for). But, what's the rule? Don't try anything for the first time on race day! Turns out they don't fit in my pole straps!! While walking, I tried so many times to get my hands through the loops, but it was just not happening. So I had to stop and take the time to get out my trusted Saucony mitts that have never let me down and I can't ever lose them as they don't make them anymore! Guess I'm returning the other mitts to REI!

I had a plan this time and I pretty much executed it exactly. I listened to Taran's book for the first loop and when I got to the aid station at 11:44pm (about 25 minutes earlier than last year), I started my water boil (NOTE: started with 2 tablets just to ensure a quick boil that I didn't have to tend to) and then took the time to change my top half. My lower half was warm and my feet weren't cold or seemingly wet at all. I'm so glad I bought and brought a second jacket. This way, I could completely swap out my top layers with dry layers. Well worth carrying the extra weight. Putting on my new warm wool sweater felt so good! What a treat! By the time I was done, my water was almost boiled. All in all, I was at the aid station for about 15 minutes which at the time felt less than 15 minutes! Up until now, I hadn't eaten much, although I had drank 70oz of water. My stomach hadn't been great so I'd stopped to drink some coke a few times, but all the food I'd brought was too sweet. The peanut m&m's that usually work for me were just too much. I could barely swallow the dried coconut too! So before leaving the aid station, I grabbed the bag of potato chips I'd brought and ate those throughout the second loop, along with making myself eat both of my brownie "gu's". I also drank a bunch of the coffee I'd packed as I knew I was going to get tired during this second loop. I started with podcasts for the second loop and eventually turned to music for the last hour or so when I was running more than walking.

Race start.

The nice thing about two loops? Never thought I'd say this, but once you start the second loop, the only way forward is to finish. I also knew exactly what to expect and had figured out that the course was basically 4m+6m+4m+6m with some obvious landmarks separating the distances into segments. This helped to break up the mostly monotonous course. Not long into this loop the bikers started to pass me so I had quite a bit of "company" for at least the first half of the second loop. Last year, I felt as if I was pretty alone for most of the race and also felt as if there was nobody behind me which partly led me to quit half-way through. This year, I knew there were people behind me. I had been leap-frogging with a team of two women who were racing together for most of the race. They got to the aid just before me, but I left just before they did. They passed me at one point, but then I caught up to them when they stopped to get some snacks out of their sleds. I didn't see them again until about an hour before the end when they suddenly came up behind me! In the end, they finished just 2 minutes ahead of me. Had I known we were all in the same age category, I might've used this as an opportunity to get a little competitive as we ended up being the top 3 in our age group! Two minutes was all that was between me and being first. 

About an hour before the finish, my headlamp finally died (NOTE: it lasted about 11.5 hours at a low beam). As it only has a rechargeable battery, I had to use my backup headlamp. Usually I bring two rechargeable headlamps as I borrow Marcus's, too, but he couldn't find his after having last used it at the Fall race so I had to take an unknown headlamp with me instead. While it technically worked, the light was very, very minimal. But at this point in the course, I knew where I was and knew the end was near so sight didn't matter too much. In fact, I picked up my pace quite a bit and actually ran most of the last 3 miles. The trail conditions were damn near perfect. Solid base with no ice and no slush. Easy to run and there were definitely people who ran the entire race (albeit with much lighter loads in their sleds, others with just a backpack and no sled). The top runner and the top two skiers finished in about 6 hours which is half the time it took me! 

At the finish, I had to show them my 3,000 calories (no one believed me that a quart size bag of peanut m&m's is 3,000 calories, but trust me, it is) and my sleeping bag. I asked "do people ditch their sleeping bag??" They said "not yet this year", haha!

Race finish.

I felt good at the end. Tired, but good. I wasn't cold, but I was hungry and really thirsty for something cold! We went to the shelter where they had food and made two cups of powdered apple cider. Found some bacon and pretty much left to go home, changing into dry clothes before heading out. Marcus got the honor of pulling the sled to the car! 

We got home around 8-8:30am and I tried so hard to go to sleep. Attempted for a couple of hours, but ultimately gave up. Took a shower and dealt with my wet clothes. Chilled out in bed most of the day. My eyes were tired so watching TV was difficult, but that was all I was in the mood for! The kids came over for the Golden Globes that night. Marcus ordered Indian which tasted incredible and I passed out around 8pm. 

Final Time: 12:09:00 (22:22 pace), 8/15 women, 3/6 age group 50+, 44/61 overall. Took me 5:44 for the first loop and 6:10 for the second loop with 15 minutes spent at the checkpoint.

Powdered apple cider
never tasted so good.

Recovery: I felt pretty good on Sunday. The soreness set in Sunday night so my first night of sleep was pretty rough as rolling over in bed was painful. Took it easy on Monday and by Tuesday I was mostly normal. Didn't run again until Thursday as the weather hasn't been great. Cold and very, very icy. 

Notes for Next Time: Immediately after the race was over, I was not at all sure I'd do this race again as the stress leading up to the race is a lot. The unpredictability with the weather really affects me. I have a plan for most situations, but I still second guess myself constantly. Ultimately, this year I nailed the gear and was wearing the perfect layers of clothing. But it was also quite mild out! I loved the waterproof Altras, but I'd wear my black nylon rainshell pants instead of the orange snowpants. Love the wool sweater and vest I knit! I really, really need to focus more on liquid calories and salty over sweet snacks. I had opted not to use Scratch for this race as I didn't want to have to pee every couple of hours as it's a PITA to do with all the gear on, but it might have been a good thing to have winter trained with it anyhow just to see what effects it has on me. I only peed once during this race, shortly after leaving the aid station and had been drinking water/liquids consistently.

I thought the two loops would really bother me, but I had a plan and it worked. I overheard Jamison mention how much nicer the two loop course is for them and their volunteers so I anticipate them using this course going forward. And writing this more than a week after the race, I actually can see signing up for it again! I know Marcus would like to possibly bike the race. Is there a way for us to both participate next year?