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? 

2025 Fall Superior 100 Mile (Finish)

Date: Friday-Saturday, September 5th-6th 2025, 8:00am start Friday, 10:00pm cut-off Saturday

Distance: 102.9 miles

Weather: (pre-race): Almost a repeat of last year's weather. Starting in the mid 40's, warming to mid 50's Friday. Low to mid 40's overnight and again into the mid 50's Saturday. More clouds than sun and currently no rain is predicted as of Wednesday!

(post-race): Temps stayed the same, but what I wasn't prepared for was it rained most of the day on Friday! Then again during Sawbill to Oberg where it steadily rained the entire time! On Saturday it would also get hot and humid at the top of mountains and then cold and rainy at the bottoms so I was often under or over dressed and just had to deal. Overall, it was fine.

Runners: Just me!

Crew: Massive crew needed for this one! All hands on deck! There are absolutely no words to explain how critical each and every one of my crew members was and how much I needed them in order to achieve this massive goal. I literally could not have done this without each and every one of them! Mom, Dad, Marcus, Kylah, Jonah, Griffin, Finnley and Juniper are all coming to crew and/or pace. Jax is staying at home with Gnocchi and Damani. Good call here - having Jax would have added a whole new level of difficulty!

Before leaving the airbnb Sunday morning.

Gear: UD hydration pack, Under Armour strappy tank (I have 4 total to swap out throughout the race - love them as I don't need to wear a bra with them). I planned on starting the race with my Free People Carpe Diem shorts (I have multiple pair packed, along with some Oiselle Roga shorts), my Goldy long-sleeve (I might possibly wear my orange vest until Beaver Bay), Dirty Girlz gaitors, darn tough socks, Altra Lone Peak's, iPhone (used for both Strava and podcasts/music plus back-up charger), corded headphones as airpods will need recharging way too often and are difficult for me to manage while running, RSR buff, Superior hat, glasses (optional). UPDATE: I ended up s

Very full wagon w/ not
just my gear but all
the crew's gear too!

tarting the race with a wool long-sleeve instead of my Goldy and I packed my orange vest. I wore a down jacket and gloves at the start, but passed them to Marcus before starting. I ended up not needing to wear my glasses at all, even though I carried them with me the entire time. It helped that it was cloudy.

I also bought a wagon for my crew to use. At first they weren't sure about using it, but turns out it was indispensable. It maybe needed a divider to keep my gear separate from theirs, but it was really useful for hauling everything from the car to the aid stations as some of the parking lots are quite a distance away. 

Rain protection
waiting at Oberg!

Nutrition: (pre-race): I have so much food packed! I need to consume approx. 10,000 calories over 38 hours (approx. 250 per hour). I can't afford to get behind on my calories. I have made or packed the following: grilled cheese, beeler's brats, bacon, cream of wild rice chicken soup, mac & cheese, morning glory muffins, bacon, string cheese, potato chips, pop chips, fritos, pizza, salted nuts, pretzels, cheetos, m&m's (both peanut and peanut butter), dried ginger, reeses cups, twinkies, spanish rice, lunabars, trader joe gummies, honey stinger waffles, coke, gingerale, muir gels, fruit smoothies, scratch (liquid calories, mostly high-carb version), chocolate covered espresso beans, sport beans (regular + caffeinated), stok lightly sweetened coffee, bolthouse coffee/protein smoothie. And this doesn't even count the food Mom is preparing!! Why so much? Because I have absolutely no idea what's going to sound good! I haven't had any GI issues in a couple of years. That hopefully means I've figured out how to prevent it, but it also means I don't have any recent experience dealing with it.  

Guzzling some much needed
caffeine at Finland.

(post-race: Well, glucose water is the bomb! I have to attribute the Scratch to the fact that I had zero stomach issues during the entire race, despite eating fewer calories than I had planned. While I had to frequently pee, it must have kept me in check with my calories and I will most definitely use this in the future! I know the crew had trouble dissolving it, but maybe we can work out the kinks. The ratio I used was 7 scoops high-carb Scratch + 2 scoops regular Scratch for a total of 560 calories per bag. At every aid station that I saw crew, they would fill my water pack with a pre-shaken bottle of Scratch water and then top it off with plain water. Overall, the solution was pretty diluted, but the taste is pleasant and not overwhelming or sweet (I hate sweet drinks). 

For "real food", I found myself gravitating towards lower-calorie foods like watermelon and applesauce (thanks to the aids for watermelon and to Jonah for the applesauce pouches). I had some hot salted potatoes at Sonju and they were incredible. I also loved mom's egg "fritatta's". Meat wasn't high on my priority list so I didn't each much of the brats or bacon. The grilled cheese would have been better if it was fresh. Being a day or two old, it was hard to swallow. I ate some pizza, dad fed me wild rice soup at CR 6 and I downed a coffee protein smoothie. Also had coke at some aid stations. Went through a few muir gu's, waffles, string cheese and nuts. What I didn't eat: mac & cheese, muffins (I didn't see these at aid), potato/pop chips, fritos, pretzels, cheetos, m&m's, reeses, twinkies, spanish rice, lunabars, TJ gummies and beans.

Crew waiting for
Jonah and I at Cramer.

Training and Preparation: I've written about this with more detail in my previous posts. I've been thinking of this race ever since Alex completed it in 2015! It's kind of been a bucket list item for me. Covid got in the way and took a few years off of my goal, but I actually feel that now was the correct time. The kids are older and my "mom" responsibilities are the least they've ever been which has afforded me the ability to spend time on training. Overall picture is I achieved my weekly goals nearly every week over 28 consecutive weeks and ultimately ran 101% of my planned miles (I ran 1102 miles and had planned 1089 miles). Time will tell, but I feel as prepared as I possibly could be. Well, my back and shoulders could feel better - they're pretty much always somewhat achy and I'm fearful that my back will be a problem for me during the race. We packed multiple braces and multiple types of sport tape and blister packs in case I need to care for an injury that doesn't pull me from the race (back brace, wrist braces, knee brace, ankle brace, etc). Better to have and not need than need and not have! UPDATE: of all the medical supplies we packed, we only needed a blister kit to deal with 2 blisters, one on each heel. I'm honestly quite surprised as I often get toe blisters and didn't get any! I finished with some questionable toenails and will likely lose a few in the upcoming months, but no pain!

Crew waiting at Oberg in the rain.

Race Weekend Preparation: I spent about a week preparing to pack and then actually packing. As of Wednesday, I'm still packing and swapping out different clothing and food items. I actually threw in some wool long-sleeve shirts at the last minute and they ended up being all I wore! We met with the kids earlier this week on labor day for a pre-race meeting and face-timed with mom at the cabin so everyone was on the same page. The plan is to get up tomorrow and finish my food (cook brats, bacon, grilled cheese), grab everything else from the fridge/freezer and finish packing the car. In the car will be multiple bins - extra gear bag for crew/pacers (jackets, clothes, etc), food bin for crew/pacers, food bin for me, camping pad/sleeping bag for Marcus to lay down before crewing, collapsible wagon for crew to use getting to/from aid stations, main gear bag, bag for the airbnb, bag for the finish line, bag for race day. So many bags! All labeled, of course. 😉

Waiting with Marcus
at the race start.

We plan on stopping at Chipotle in Forest Lake on the way to the airbnb, possibly stopping for Dunn Bros along the way (I plan to buy 2 coffees, one for Thursday afternoon and one for Friday morning). I haven't been eating before running for over a year now, so I plan on only drinking my coffee and then packing food in my bag (muir gel, lunabar, waffle, sport beans, scratch) for the first stretch. I'll eat real food at aid stations and grab more food to eat along the way. 

Airbnb check-in is at 4pm and since the race check-in doesn't start until 5pm and is an hour south of the airbnb, I don't plan on stopping. I'll pick up my bib at race check-in at Gooseberry on Friday morning. Gooseberry is approx. 45 minutes from the airbnb so we'll leave no later than 6:30 on Friday.

I packed my own bedding - sheets, blanket, pillow, comforter, sound machine, eye mask, in hopes of possibly getting a couple of hours of sleep. Fingers crossed!

Early on.

UPDATE: Thursday went as planned. The airbnb, while not being much to look at from the outside, was pleasantly large, comfortable and quiet. While it was on Cramer Rd, it was far enough away to not hear too much road traffic It was also incredibly conveniently located to many of the aid stations which made it possible for crew to come back to the airbnb once in awhile to rest, shower, eat, heat up food for me, etc. 

Marcus and I sat down to eat our chipotle and watch Big Brother + The Challenge and I tried to get to bed at my normal time. We made up the bed with our own sheets and bedding, but despite this fact, I barely slept. However, I think that was due more to the unfamiliar bed and space than nerves and I honestly didn't feel too nervous for this one. I felt prepared and was really quite ready to get it started! I got out of bed around 5am, drank some coffee and slowly got ready as we didn't need to leave until sometime after 6am. The drive to Gooseberry was uneventful. I ran into Rolf and Reid in the parking lot, chatted a bit and then picked up my bib. We decided to wait inside the visitor center as it was actually kinda chilly out. It's good to start cold, but not shivery. I started the race with a wool long sleeve, shorts and packed a light vest in my pack just in case.

Dad feeding me grilled
cheese at Beaver Bay.

Gooseberry to Split Rock (Miles 1 to 8.5 - 8.5m), section pace ahead by 11m, overall ahead by 7m: The beginning of the race was rerouted due to some trail rehabilitation closures so I didn't know what that would entail. My plan was to just run when I could and walk when I couldn't. I started the race with my poles in my pack, but pulled them out after a couple of miles. This section was fairly run-able and uneventful. There was no crew at Split Rock but I happened to look at my phone and it was 10:02. I was psyched as I knew my predicted ETA was closer to 10:13. At the time, I decided that whatever I was doing must be working so I'd just keep doing it. This was a very small aid station, basically on the side of 61, and had very little food options. I don't remember grabbing anything and immediately headed off towards Beaver Bay.

Split Rock to Beaver Bay (Miles 8.5 to 18.8 - 10.3m), section pace behind by 23m, overall behind by 16m: Marcus, Mom and Dad were waiting for me. I had taken this last section pretty cautiously. I was so afraid of falling and injuring myself and since I was on scheduled pace for the first section, I assumed I could continue with the same pace. I had hoped to get here before 1pm, but it was about 1:11 when I rolled in. I knew I had lost some significant time here, but didn't know until later that while my expected time in this section was 2h42m, it actually took me 3h5m. My fear of falling was causing me to stumble a few times and my poles were saving me so I was going slower than I would have liked. I remember telling Marcus that if I was to not finish the race, I honestly didn't think there was anything I could have done to run this first section faster. Now I recognize that's not the case and that I just needed more confidence to be more gutsy! Were I to do this race again, I would like to train between the Split Rock and CR6 section just to get more used to the terrain. Afton is great, but it's not very technical! I also know that I just need to run and not worry so much about falling. Later in the race I was forced to adopt this strategy in order to make up time so I know I'm capable of getting through these sections faster.

Getting some much needed
 advice and encouragement
from Rolf and Reid.

Setting up a podcast.

Beaver Bay to Silver Bay (Miles 18.8 to 23 - 4.2m), section pace behind by 1m, overall behind by 23m: I lost 7 cumulative minutes in this section which seems like a lot since it's such a short section, but it only took me 1 minute longer than my estimated time which is literally negligible so there's nothing I'd do differently here. Dad gave me my planned grilled cheese. I'd been eating grilled cheese regularly around the 15-20 mile mark on my training runs at Afton and they've tasted amazing. Since I made these the day prior and it'd been sitting out for more than a day, it was kinda difficult to eat. A bit too dry! So while I ate the whole thing, I never wanted the other 3 I had packed. 

Bean and Bear Lake.

Silver Bay to Tettegouche (Miles 23 to 33.3 - 10.3m), section pace behind by 7m, overall behind by 38m: On the one hand, having these long 10+ mile sections in the beginning of the race is nice as you get them out of the way and I know I spent less time at the non-crew aid stations, but on the other hand, it's also hard to not see crew! Before leaving Silver Bay, I had Marcus help me get my headphones set up. I had queued up a bunch of podcasts and I listened to them until I got to CR 6. I'd now lost 38 cumulative minutes up until this point (but only 7 minutes in this section) so maybe try music for the second half instead of just podcasts, especially since it's still light out? I typically run quite a bit faster when listening to music and I ended up not doing this even once during the race. 

Tettegouche to CR 6 (Miles 33.3 to 42.6 - 9.3m), section pace ahead by 6m, overall behind by 36m: I knew I'd be running into darkness during this section after about an hour so I had grabbed my headlamp at Silver Bay. I had really wanted to get to CR 6 by 9pm. Sunset was around 7:40 (which was really beautiful) and I was grateful to have my podcast friends while I was out there alone. Prior to this race, I had very little experience running in the dark. The 50 mile started about an hour before sunrise. My second, biggest and most recent experience was running the St Croix Winter Ultra in January as that was run entirely in the dark. So I knew I was comfortable running in darkness and this didn't bother me at all. As I got closer to CR 6, I was able to catch up to a few runners and stuck behind them as I liked their pace (and company). Next time, listening to music here might help, too, as I was able to gain 6 minutes in this section even though I got into CR 6 around 9:30, about 36 minutes later than I had originally hoped. 

Between Tettegouche and CR 6.

CR6 is where I was picking up Marcus as my first pacer and he was dressed and ready to go! I had planned on having a longer time at this aid since I was going to fully change into dry/warmer clothes, change my socks/shoes and sit down to eat something. Since I was running late, I tried to change as quickly as possible while Mom held up a towel so I had some privacy. While I was swapping out socks and shoes, Dad fed me spoonfuls of wild rice chicken soup. I downed a 330 calorie coffee protein smoothie and then Marcus and I were off! Next time, maybe drinkable broth instead of chunky soup? It seems to me that drinking stuff was easier and faster than chewing. I was also not very good at eating on the run. I practice this a lot at Afton, but I just wasn't very hungry. I was constantly drinking my glucose water, though, and based on the amount I was peeing, I was clearly staying well hydrated and was getting at least some calories. The combo of Scratch that I was having crew put in my bag was 500-600 calories per packet and they were replacing this every few hours. They ended up using all 12 packets I had pre-mixed and ended up making some more. It was tricky to prepare as they learned it needed a couple of hours to fully dissolve. So they would prepare it in a bigger thermos well before the next aid station so that they could just pour it into my pack as soon as I arrived.

Full head to toe change at
CR6 while Dad feeds me soup!

CR 6 to Finland (Miles 42.6 to 50.5 - 7.9m), section pace ahead by 3m, overall behind by 50m:  I lost a lot of time in this section and I was now off my original ETA by almost an hour which was hard to wrap my tired head around and ended up being the largest gap I'd have the entire race.  Prior to the race, I wasn't sure where I wanted my pacers, but I thought I'd be faster if I was in front during the night so I stayed in front of Marcus. Turns out I had estimated it would take us 3h4m to completely this section and it actually only took us 3h1m. This section was fairly uneventful and I don't remember it really having any elevation at all. In the future, I think this would be a good place to perhaps gain some time and run a little. I should have had Marcus in front! My nighttime strategy prior to the race was to fully plan on walking throughout the night to prevent falling or injury, but this was assuming I wasn't off my target by nearly an hour. In hindsight, I needed to make up some time here and I now know I could probably run part of this section as it's not very technical or hilly. Going forward, my pacers should definitely ALWAYS be in front! With fresh legs, they'll be faster than me and I'd rather play catch-up than risk my pace being too slow. 

At this point, I had been doing too much math (against Alex's advice). I ultimately had planned on getting to Oberg at 6:30 which only gave me a 40 minute window before hitting their cut-off so the fact that I was behind by over an hour was killing me as I didn't see how I could possibly be faster during the latter half of the race.

According to Kylah, it
was colder than it looks!

Finland to Sonju Lake (Miles 50.5 to 58.2 - 7.7m), section pace ahead by 13m, overall behind by 44m: I wasn't a huge fan of the "out and back" to the Finland aid station, as it seemed really really long, but it was so great to see not just Mom and Dad, but also Finnley and Kylah waiting! After driving up from the city, they'd dropped everyone else at the airbnb and then headed back to meet Mom and Dad at Finland. I ran into this aid station feeling great! My legs weren't bothering me at all and my feet felt great, too. I remember saying that my legs still felt very fresh. I couldn't believe this was the halfway point. 

The section to Sonju also was fairly uneventful and another place to perhaps gain some time? Marcus and I gained about 10-15 minutes during this section. I was getting increasingly frustrated, though, by my timing. Even though we had gained some time, we still got into Sonju about 44 minutes off my original ETA. The Sonju aid station was great, though! My favorite of the entire race. It had amazing watermelon, amazing hot potatoes, cold Coke and beautiful lights lighting the trail. I got into Sonju a few minutes ahead of Marcus, but I was still eating by the time he caught up to me and we left together. 

Sonju was the
best aid station

Sonju Lake to Crosby-Manitou (Miles 58.2 to 62.4 - 4.2m), section pace ahead by 6m, overall behind by 43m:  I remember this section being incredibly rooty and any hopes I had on making up some time were dashed as there was no way to run through all of the roots. The amount of roots actually became quite comical as they were absolutely never-ending and just looked like alien tentacles covering the entire trail floor in every direction and they were never-ending. Jonah was taking over pacing me at Crosby and we got in about 43 minutes past my ETA but we were faster than my estimate by 6 minutes! 

Jonah, Dad and Finnley had been waiting there for a couple of hours. It sounds as if Jonah was caffeinated and ready to go too soon so he ended up trying to nap on a tarp. Because there's no way for crew to track us through the night, they only had my time at Finland to go off of when calculating what time they should be ready at Crosby.  

Leaving Sugarloaf with Jonah!

Crosby-Manitou to Sugarloaf (Miles 62.4 to 72 - 9.6m), section pace ahead by 18m, overall behind by 32m: Jonah had been able to get a couple of hours of sleep at the airbnb, he caffeinated himself (again) and was ready to go! It was dark for about and hour and then the sun came up which was spectacular! Because I had been in front during the night with Marcus behind me, we just left in this same position. This was a MISTAKE and one I won't make again. If my pacer is faster than me, then that pacer has to be IN FRONT of me. We figured this out after about 6 miles and then switched to have Jonah in front for the rest of his portion of the race. Not only was I able to follow in his footsteps, but he could navigate the course so that I didn't have to. I had taken a wrong turn early on in the race and if it wasn't for another runner yelling after me, I could've gotten myself off course by a few miles! He could also notify me of any upcoming obstacles (mud, slippery boardwalks, severe drops, etc). Best of all, he could run and set a faster pace. I am usually capable of keeping pace when I'm behind and I will push myself more in this position than I'm able to when I'm in front. Crosby was NO FUN! I've done this section once before, in daylight, and it wasn't too bad. This time, it felt longer. It just kept going up and up and up some more. Lots of climbing and scrambling. Incredibly, this section only took us 3h42m when my estimate had been 4h so now we were off by only 32 minutes overall! That 40-minute window was starting to close!

Finnley expertly helping
with my pack.

Sugarloaf to Cramer Rd (Miles 72 to 77.6 - 5.6m), section pace ahead by 19 min, overall behind by 20m: We had crushed the previous section, but I still knew I was cutting it WAY to close. Somewhere during this section, I fell on a slippery boardwalk. I fell flat on my back, mostly hitting my left side. It didn't bother me much at the time, but it caught up with me after Oberg. I don't know how, but this section was supposed to take us 2h27m and it only took us 2h8m and we were now off by only 20 minutes overall! I was so bloody tired, though!

Blister work at Cramer.

Cramer Rd to Temperance (Miles 77.6 to 84.5 - 6.9m), section pace behind by 7 min, overall behind by 38m:  I was absolutely exhausted coming into Cramer. Not only had I actually been nodding off a bit during the last section, but what WAS one blister on my right heel was now two, one on each heel. I also had tweaked my right knee and that was making it challenging to bend (climbing was fine, running hurt). I had been taking some advil here and there and that helped with the knee pain a lot. After going to the bathroom at Cramer, I saw Reid and asked him to help me with the math. I was feeling pretty down about the Oberg cut-off and had to decide if I wanted to take my race into my own hands or risk being pulled from the race because I missed a cut off. I didn't think there was possibly any way I would be able to get to Oberg before 7:10. Reid was waiting for his own runner, who was just behind me, and didn't hesitate to tell me that I could definitely still finish this. I really needed to hear this. But I had to look at my feet. I decided to take a precious 11 minutes to sit and eat while capable Marcus and Finnley dealt with my blisters. They cut them, bandaged them and got new socks/gaiters (and dry, but old shoes) on.  

Before leaving Cramer, I drank some coffee and took some chocolate covered espresso beans with. So I don't know if I was still just really tired or if the race was just catching up with me, but in the section leading up to Temperance, we lost some of the time we'd previously gained - this section took 7m longer than expected and we were now back to being off 36 minutes overall (ugh). Griffin had his work cut out for us!

Leaving Temperance with
new pacer Griffin!

Temperance to Sawbill (Miles 84.5 to 89.9 - 5.4m), section pace ahead by 11 minutes, overall behind by 33m:  I had no time to waste at aid stations anymore. Dad told me they had done some math and I had 4 hours to do the next 2 sections. While I had been spending 5-6 minutes at most aid stations, for the rest of the race, we only spent 3 minutes at each and really only dealt with the necessities! So much for the plan to brush my teeth and they really needed it as they were so fuzzy and covered in glucose water! 

Jonah was tapping out and Griffin was tapping in at Temperance. Before getting to Temperance, I made sure Jonah knew what to tell Griffin as far as what his pacing strategy should be and we took off quickly. We had zero time to waste. After getting down to the Cross River (which is amazing and Griffin loved it), there's a climb out of the gorge and from there, it just keeps going up until you get to the top of Carlton. From there, it's mostly downhill so we could finally run some. We shaved off 11 minutes from my estimated time in this section and Griffin had me back to being off by only 33 minutes overall. I don't know how this kid does it, but he seems to float above the trail. His running is so light and effortless!

Somewhere before Sawbill.

Sawbill to Oberg (Miles 89.9 to 95.4 - 5.5 m), section pace ahead by 13 min, overall behind by 23m:  It took me almost exactly 2 hours to get through the last section and I knew that the next section usually takes less than that as there's very little elevation or tricky terrain so Dad's estimate of 4 hours should be okay?? I was still terrified of getting cut at Oberg, but I could actually see the possibilities of getting there before cut-off. Up until now I had been so devastated by losing so much time early on and it was really fucking with me during most of the race. It really preoccupied my mind. It doesn't help that I really hate this section so much. I've never liked it, but after getting cut at Oberg in 2023 during the 50k (my first DNF), I've really grown to not be fond of this section. It's roller-coaster-y and never-ending. Just when you think this must be it, it's not. And that happens about 4-5 times! 

Running into Oberg.

Up until this point, the kids had been using their phones/strava to track mileage and the GPS was never adding up as it always suggested we were way closer to the aid station than we were, often off by a mile or two! I'll have to have a better GPS device for my pacers in the future. Griffin thought Oberg was just around the corner, but when he saw a sign on a tree that said "Oberg 1.5 miles", he freaked out a bit and really picked up the pace! Thankfully I didn't see this sign (I was actively avoiding looking) and I didn't want to know what time it was. I just wanted to run. And not miss the 7:10 cut-off. We ran the entire second half of this section. I honestly don't know how I ran 3 miles this late in the race, but I was desperate to get there before the cut-off. Oh, did I mention it decided to start pouring rain during this section too? We literally got rained on the entire two hours! Griffin was only wearing a tee and shorts. I at least had on a wool shirt which kept me somewhat warm. 

Oberg to FINISH (Miles 95.4 to 102.9 - 7.5m), section pace behind by 1 minute: Apparently when Griffin and I ran into Oberg, Finnley let out a huge scream! But I was so focused on what we needed to do that I didn't even hear. I immediately asked Marcus what time it was (6:53)!!!! That was insane. Somehow we gained 13 minutes in this last section and was now only off my original ETA by 23 minutes!!! Even with my tired brain, that's way less than 40 minutes! Griffin helped me gain back so many precious minutes! 

My new pacers trying to
change me into dry clothes
at the start of the last section.

THANK EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD FOR MY AMAZING INCREDIBLE PACERS! Words aren't enough. I literally could not have gotten this far without any of them but I wasn't done yet. Kylah and Juniper were geared up and ready to go. Because of the rain during the last section, the fact that it was still sprinkling and would be getting dark soon, I knew I needed dry and warmer clothes. But everyone said I didn't have time to change at the aid station so while they re-filled my water, I told them what clothes I needed so they could grab them from the wagon and I could change in the woods. The aid people said I had to get past the checkpoint so I headed past that while my crew grabbed what I needed and caught up with me. Once past the checkpoint, I stopped while Kylah put my pants on and Juniper helped me change into a dry shirt and jacket. She helped put my re-filled pack on and we were off. Kylah took up the lead while Juniper stayed just behind me in case I fell (this was a joke, but I actually did at one point climbing a steep slippery rock and she capably caught me). Kylah had the pacing down. She had done the math and knew we could get there in under 3 hours, before the 10pm cut-off, but we had to keep an aggressive hiking pace. I was fairly confident this section would take me less than 3 hours because even when Alex and I ran this during the 50 mile, it took us less than 2 1/2 hours. Typically, on fresher legs, it only takes me 2 hours. So 3 should be plenty, right? Kylah was exceptional. She kept a great pace and chatter and good spirits. We had a few runners behind us who must have enjoyed our company as they chose to stay behind until we got to the paved road. 

Unfortunately, I think the fall I took before Cramer really took its toll on my back. The left side of my lower back was killing me and no amount of advil or tylenol was helping. We first dumped half of my water to make my backpack less heavy, but since I knew I didn't have the time to waste peeing during this section, I ultimately made the decision to give my backpack to Juniper and go without water for the rest of the night. I ate 2 applesauce pouches and had some gum instead, but taking that weight off of my back really helped a lot. I felt so much lighter!

So happy.
And so glad to be done!

I don't know if it was the recent rain or all of the marathoners, but this section was nasty muddy! The worst I've ever experienced in this section. We were sinking deep in mud pretty much constantly. There were also at least 5-6 trees down that required climbing over. On one, I just sat for a minute, it felt so good! But good pacer Kylah made me get up again while Juniper helped get me over. The girls had heard us talk about Moose Mountain over the years, but this was their first time experiencing it. Kylah and Juniper crushed it with their fresh legs! I was happy enough to just make it up without stopping! While I'd never run this section in the dark, it was a section I was the most familiar with so when we got to the top of Mystery, I knew we had less than an hour to go and it was mostly downhill. But like Sawbill, this last hour seemed to take forever. Kylah was telling me we had to pick up speed and I just didn't know if I could. She asked me how I was doing at one point and I thought I'd be emotional, but I said "just get it done". I wanted to finish so badly. Hearing the Poplar River took forever! When we finally came out of the woods, I knew we were so close, but I couldn't hear anything. No music, no cheering. I walked down the road and headed into the "new" finish. I wasn't at all sure where the route was taking me, but I knew I was close. I was convinced it was past 10pm, though, as Juniper was refusing to tell me what time it was. Turns out it was about 9:51. Had I known this, I would have known I was fine! It also probably would've motivated me to run. But the girls had no idea how close we were and didn't want to get my expectations up. I walked as fast as I could and started running once I could see the resort. Running into the finish was incredible, I actually didn't even see the clock and didn't know until later that I had more than 5 minutes to spare! I was so proud and didn't give a fuck that I was second to last (the last runner finished about a minute behind me, with the sweepers not far behind). I collapsed onto Marcus and then gladly took a seat and leaned my head against him as I was too tired to hold it up any longer. 

I hesitated including this photo (I honestly had no idea there was a photographer at the finish and thank you to Scott Rokis for waiting for every last runner to finish), but I'm leaving it in because I want to make it clear that two things were going on here - not only was I exhausted and falling asleep while running, but I was completely locked in and focused on finishing this race. In no way does this photo reflect the incredible joy I was feeling at completing this journey (and the huge smile I had inside)! Were I to run again, you'll for sure see the smile on the outside, too.

Final Time: 37:54:46 (22:22 pace), 35/35 women, 4/4 age group 50+, 175/176 overall. Finished second to last, with the sweepers not far behind. Talk about cutting it close!

Dad patiently waiting.
Looking comfy and warm!

Recovery: The first 36 hours were the hardest with Saturday night being the toughest! After the race, I sat for a few minutes before shuffling to the car for the drive back to the airbnb. The hardest part was picking up my feet! So I put on my Oofos shoes and shuffled instead. Finnley helped me up the stairs into the airbnb where I pretty much crashed, fully clothed, and slept until morning (I had to pee once in the middle of the night and that was rough). Shuffled again most of Sunday, before and after the 4-hour drive home. I struggled rolling over in bed Sunday night, but by Monday morning, I was walking pretty normally and was able to unpack and put everything away. I have typical sore muscles, but nothing too bad. Walking up and down stairs is totally fine - quads aren't sore at all. The main thing that's sticking around (I'm writing this on Tuesday) is some feet swelling. They don't hurt, but they're slightly swollen. Both of my heel blisters haven't given me any problems and are pretty much "glued" down again. I also have 1 fully black large right toenail and at least 2 smaller toenails on each foot that I might lose, too (update: the black toenail was more of a blood blister and a geyser of blood shot out from under it one day). I started taking my salt pills on Tuesday (2 2x/day) and Wednesday night I peed a ton and by Thursday morning my feet were WAY less swollen (Marcus called it fluid transferring, pretty common in his profession). Went for a slow 2-mile run on Wednesday and everything worked as it should, although my legs (especially my hips) were tired. Ran 5 miles Saturday and that felt like enough for now.

Notes for Next Time:

Pick up the pace for the first half. Fast walking isn't enough as I don't walk fast enough. I have to run, even if it's a slow trot. Use music and trust your poles. But don't fall and don't get injured.

Some much needed downtime!

Spend as little time at aids as possible. Try to limit to 3-4 minutes and maybe skip the non-crew aid stations completely. Don't wait to pee in a porta potty if there's a line. Just pee in the woods. Overall, I spent 88 minutes at aid stations. My average was 5-6 minutes but I had some longer stretches at CR6 (17 minutes) and Cramer (11 minutes). Both were necessary, though, and I'd rather try to pick up my pace than sacrifice time at the aid stations.

More caffeine - I only had one drinkable caffeine smoothie that I drank at CR6 and I should have had at least 3 (the best places for them would be CR6, Cramer and Oberg). 

Always have pacers in front! 

Scratch seemed to be absolutely what I needed for hydration and calories, but it does come with an unanticipated side effect (having soft stool every couple of hours) so be sure to pack kleenex! It also took its toll on my teeth. After the race, my teeth were very sensitive to anything with sugar in it for more than a week. So much so that I actually couldn't eat anything with sugar in it without pain.

More drinkable calories - soup? Fruit smoothies? Definitely need to bring more applesauce pouches.

More hot food - this could have been because of the cool temps, but I was drawn towards hot food! Hot salty sliced potatoes and Mom's egg bites were great! 

Fruit - I had originally not planned on fruit because it's low in calories, but watermelon tasted amazing. What about cantaloupe?  

Buy a GPS tracker - mostly for pacers, but is there something on the market that I could wear and crew could track me and have a better idea when to get to aids so they're guessing less and waiting around less? I don't want to wear a watch, but if a watch is my only option, it's easy to pass off to pacers to wear or attach to their pack. 

I handled my clothing perfectly - no notes. Even with the unpredictable weather, I'd trained enough in all types of conditions to know exactly what I needed and when. I was never cold and anytime I was too warm, I had a layer I could take off. Ended up using 2 of my 3 shoes, but always bring 3 as my shoes (with the exception of the last section) didn't get very wet (even with the rain). 

Mom organizing food
at nighttime aids.

My training worked! Based on how I felt after finishing my 50 mile 8 years ago, I expected to be in quite a bit of pain and discomfort for a couple of weeks. The fact that I was mostly back to normal within a couple of days was shocking to me! I noticed during and after the race, my hips/glutes were the most "tired" - not particularly sore, but tired and I could feel them while running during the latter half of the race. So figure out some sort of exercise to help mitigate this! Upper arms could also use some strengthening to help absorb all of the impact from using poles for 38 hours.

Shockingly, at least to me, I recovered from this race very quickly overall. I was also seriously thinking about the possibility of doing it again pretty much immediately after. Mom has helped me a lot on writing up notes just in case there is a next time. We've got the timing better figured out, I have experience with each section, my pacers know exactly what to do, I've ironed out some food strategy and, most importantly, having completed it the first time, I feel as if the pressure to complete it a second time would be way less. However, when I mentioned to Marcus and the kids that they might be asked to crew/pace again, I received lukewarm responses! I think they just need more time to come around on wanting to experience it a second time, haha!