![]() ![]() Work did not want to let me go on Friday afternoon, and my wife and I ended up leaving the Twin Cities about half an hour later than I would have liked. September is always a busy time at work for me, and this week was no exception. The lead up to this race, at least for me, was a little difficult. So a huge thank you goes out to John and his wife Cheri for always putting so much of themselves into these races. John worked tirelessly to make sure the race could happen in a safe way, and only cleared us to run when the agencies involved were not only ok with the race happening, but encouraged him to put it on. I had all but given up on the race happening at all when, with the help of some well-timed rain, the firefighter succeeded in building containment lines around the fire. It looked like, despite John’s efforts, the race would be cancelled a second year in a row. The forest-service appropriated the start line area of the 50 mile race as their headquarters and campground. The air quality bounced from ok to “Unhealthy for Everybody,” sometimes several times a day. For several weeks leading up to the race on September 11, all the campsites on the Superior Hiking Trail were closed. That the race happened at all was not a given: just when John, the race director, was relatively assured that the race would happen despite the pandemic, a large wildfire sparked near the start line of the 50 mile race. In all honesty, that cancellation was probably the best thing that could have happened to me: it allowed me another full year of focused, uninterrupted training. Then, of course, the 2020 race did not happen due to the pandemic. I ran a few short races in 2019, but nothing that I would call a “focus” race. The 2020 Superior 50 miler, had it happened, would have been my first goal race since 2018. I succeeded beyond anything I expected.Īs I write this introduction four weeks after the race, my legs are still a little flat, but I am, perhaps inevitably, already plotting my next few long efforts. This time, my goals were different: I just wanted to finish, and feel good doing so. I had tried the distance twice before, in a race and on my own, but both times pulled out after 34 miles (about the longest I’ve ever run). ![]() Four weeks ago today, I successfully completed my first 50(+) mile race at the 2021 fall Superior trail races. ![]()
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