Surf the Murph 25K 2010

Hard to believe that it's the end of October already, but that just means it's time to run Surf the Murph! This is a fun, low key event where the only awards given are for those who run their given race in costume.

Karen and Wayne ran the full 50 miles in costume.

Since I'd only run about 10 miles total since North Country in August (boring story), I decided that I would just be hiking the 25K this year. Actually, I reasoned that I would do the course at a 100 mile pace, but stop after finishing only 17 :)

Got to the park late enough that I missed all my buddies who were running the 50K or 50 mile since their races had already started, but had a chance to chat with a few folks before we lined up to start our own race shortly after dawn. I quickly realized that I had overdressed - it was already in the low 40's and shaping up to be a beautiful day. Found Mike near the back of the pack - he had a conservative plan too since his ankle is still tweaked - so we both were planning on taking it easy. About 3 minutes in to the race, my Garmin started wigging out. Again. This is something that I've been battling all year, but each time I think I've got it fixed it starts acting up again. I'm trying one final effort of a hard reset before throwing it in the garbage.

Anyhoo, back to the race. Ran with Mike for the first 20 minutes or so before I needed to get my jacket off and fix a shoe lace, so I let Mike go ahead as he blasted down a long steep hill. Soon I was at the North AS and headed south towards some of the steeper hills. This is a fun roller coaster section, wooded and a little rocky, with several short steep hills one right after the other.

By now I had the trail mostly to myself, though Duke came flying past me on his second of 3 loops shortly before I got to the Horse Camp AS. He would go on to repeat his 50 mile win! Shortly after leaving the Horse AS, I started having cramps in my left peroneus muscles and the arch of my foot. WTF? This early cramping non-sense has got to stop. I took an S-Cap and kept hiking on the flatter, open sections that are typical of the south end of the park.

Beautiful day to be out in the woods - I kept stopping just to look around and enjoy the scenery. Soon I was at the festive Natchez AS and lingered a bit to chat with Helen and Lisa. After a very short single track, we were back on the wider trails. The course had been tweaked a little bit this year to add some distance so that the 50 milers would only have to do 3 full loops (last year we had 3 loops plus an additional short loop). One of the new additions was a fairly long section of walking through grass that was taller than I am. Glad I got there after the 50 milers and 50K runners had beaten it down enough so that I could see where to go ;)

More meandering through the open prairies before arriving back at the Horse AS - last stop before the finish. My stomach was feeling "sloshy" so I took another S-Cap in preparation for the fun stuff to come. These last 4+ miles might be my favorite of the whole course since there are gnarly little single track sections to liven things up.

This is where you get to find the blown down trees, get caught up in some prickly ash, and climb a ridiculously steep hill - thankfully it wasn't muddy like last year - before arriving at the top of a hill with a clearing that allows a view of the Minneapolis skyline in the distance.

Nice view of the Minneapolis skyline.

Probably only about a mile to the finish now, but I managed to miss a turn and did a little bonus before figuring it out. Fortunately, I am a little bit familiar with the park and last year's course, so I noticed pretty quickly that I was off track and didn't waste too much time. Before I knew it, I was crossing the finish line in my slowest ever but possibly most fun 25K (which was actually 16.8 miles). The 100 mile pace thing probably wouldn't be too far off (except that I currently have no plans to do a 100 miler). Famous last words.

Fin. Photo courtesy of Jen Pierce.

Hung out for awhile and tried to see as many of my buddies come through the start/finish as possible. It was nice to catch up with folks since I haven't been running much this year and haven't seen many of them all summer. One of the best things about ultra and trail running is the people :)

Many thanks to RD Les & Cindy (who are relocating to Hawaii), Molly the Trail Boss and Future RD, and all of the volunteers who did an incredible job taking care of the runners!

Hope to see you all soon on the trails!

Surf the Murph 50 Mile

Short Version:

I did it!

Long Version:

Got up at 4 am to head out to Murphy Hanrehan park with hopes of finishing my first 50 miler and getting rid of the pet monkey that I picked up in the Black Hills back in August. It had been a stressful couple of weeks with work stuff and my head really wasn't in the game all week. Even driving down to the park, I still wasn't all that excited to start the race.

Arrived in time to pick up my pre race packet, get my number pinned on, get my drop bags to where they needed to be, one last pit stop, a chance to say a few "hellos" and it was time to toe the line. Kinda like sleep walking. We were to run three 15.7 mile loops after completing a short 3+ mile loop, and RD Les was telling us that there would be a volunteer out on the course to make sure we all made the turn for the short loop. Alrighty then! I was lined up near Wayne, Karen, and Rick who all had Halloween costumes on, and off we went into the dark.

My strategy for this race was just to finish, and I'd planned a pace that would take most of the 14 hours allowed. Still, it's tough to figure out how much time you'll need for AS breaks, bio breaks, unanticipated issues like foot care, etc. I ended up just settling in to a slow and easy pace at the back of the pack with Mike and Wayne. We got to the wooden bridge that spans a marsh at about the 1 mile mark, and it was so slippery with frost that everyone was having a difficult time getting up the little incline. Those who made it up the little ramp would turn around and offer a hand to help the person behind get up onto the bridge. Yep, ultra runners help each other - at least near the back of the pack ;)

Soon we came upon some course markers near a trail junction and wondered if this was the spot where we were supposed to make the turn for the short loop. Nobody was there to direct us as we'd been told, and there were other race distances being held on the course that day too - perhaps this was the turn around for the marathon? We decided to keep moving forward along with the other runners in front of us. After a little while, we were starting to have doubts about the turn... finally got to the first aid station and asked if we'd missed it. He said no. We went a little further and realized that we were indeed on the big loop and had missed the turn for the short loop. We also encountered another 6-8 runners who had stopped on the course and were realizing the same thing. Oh well - too late now, especially since it was a loop course and we'd just ask Les if we could make it up later (the answer was yes).

Made it to Londell's aid station at the horse camp just before sunrise. I dropped my headlamp, wool hat, and gloves and picked up a baseball cap and handheld with Perpetuem. My plan was to use the handheld with Perpetuem on each of the 6 mile south loops and just drink Heed from my Nathan for the rest of the course. That would help fend off flavor fatigue as well as allow me to get more protein and a little fat for energy intake. By now the runners were starting to spread out and I was running alone but could see Wayne just ahead of me. We were treated to a very pretty sunrise, lots of mud, and a stiff breeze as we started out on the south loop. While the northern part of the park is hilly and wooded, the south end is flatter and open prairie, making the wind very noticeable. Finally caught up to Wayne just about the time we made it to Helen's aid station. Helen had gone the extra mile and even asked for food requests from the runners a few days prior to the race - I would end up spending way too much time here munching on banana bread during my 3 trips through :)

Finished up the south loop, but had to make a short side trip to get back to the horse camp AS 2 to drop my handheld and take another bio break. From here on, I would end up running the rest of the race by myself. The next section is a fun little mile of single track until you get to a road crossing, then it's back into the wooded hills and the north section of the park. The actual race course had been changed a bit from when we did our training runs with Les - gone was the nasty little hill past the patio furniture near AS 1, but a new section of single track was added. This section had a nasty little hill too, and we would come out of the woods at the top of a hill where you could see the Minneapolis skyline. Then it was just a short jaunt to the start/finish area where Molly and Bonnie were helping out. My Garmin measured the big loop at 16 miles and it took a little under 4 hours. Time to reload the Nathan with Heed, restock a few gels, and off I went for lap #2.

The day was shaping up to be perfect for running - cool temps, no precipitation, and the sun would peek in and out of the clouds. Time seemed to be passing quickly and without my noticing - a good sign. Made it to AS 1 where Steve was working, but just passed through on this lap. Got through the next section of hills and before I knew it, I was back at the horse camp and Londell's AS. I decided to skip the handheld on this lap because I was feeling good and didn't want to take the extra time/distance getting back to horse #2 to drop it.

Coming in to horse camp #1 on lap 2 - photo courtesy of Londell

Meandered through the south loop back to Helen's AS with her awesome banana bread where Bonnie and Donny were also visiting. Duke soon showed up covered in mud - turns out that he really did surf the Murph and took a header in the mud after catching his foot on a stick. He would go on to win the 50 mile! Finished up the south loop again, then back into the woods for about 4 miles of hilly trails and single track. Lap 2 was soon in the books and I was feeling great! Another reload of the Nathan with Heed and I was on my way to start the final big loop. Since my furthest run prior to this race was 50K, anything that I did now was a personal record for distance. I knew at this point that the day would be epic!

Made it to AS 1 and visited with Steve a little bit while sipping Coke and eating a few pretzels. I still had a lot of energy and was holding a decent pace. Once again pulled in to Londell's AS at the horse camp, grabbed the handheld with Perpetuem and my headlamp, and went off for the south loop one more time. The windy conditions were helping to firm things up a little bit, but there was still plenty of mud. I could smell a campfire as I was coming in to Helen's aid station - got the last of the banana bread and continued on. I was still in good spirits, and I never did feel the mental letdown that many ultra runners experience.

Got to the trail junction where I could choose to go back to horse AS 2 or continue on the course - Londell, Mary, Lisa, and Leslie were there to cheer and take my handheld for me. Thanks! Having friends at each and every aid station on the course is just as good as having someone crew :) Everything seemed to be clicking: no cramping, my stomach felt good, no hot spots or chafing, no bonking, still peeing, no bloating... Just some hand swelling and sore knees.

By now it was getting close to sunset and I wanted to get as many miles in as I could before dark. Londell let me know that Wayne and Mike were only about 10 minutes ahead of me, and I saw Guy a little bit behind as I left the south loop. I got as far as the single track on the hilly north end before needing my lights, which was better than I expected. I don't have much experience running in the dark, and I found that I really needed to slow down because my depth perception was a little wonky. Got through the tough climb on the single track and got to see the Minneapolis skyline all lit up in the night. Guy caught up to me just as we were coming in to the start/finish area - he was able to run it in to the finish and was done. I was done with my 3 big loops, but still had to make up the short loop.

Molly let me know that we were just going to run an out and back to a set of cones that were placed about 1.5 miles out to make up the short loop. I was still feeling good except for my knees - they were incredibly sore, especially on downhills. Got to the bridge - 1 mile down. Saw 2 headlamps coming towards me - it was Mike and Wayne, with Wayne still in his costume. Finally, there are the cones and the turn around. I'm noticing now that I'm really hungry! Oh, and it's a near full moon! See 2 more headlamps - don't know either runner. Hit the bridge again - 1 mile left to go! Soon another headlamp - it's Molly sweeping the course. Finally, there are the bright lights of the finish area! Found enough energy to do a minor jog to the finish line - I DID IT!! Made it under the 14 hour cut off too :)

Headed in to the warming hut for some pizza and post run chatter, then headed home for a shower before crashing. What perfect timing to go off of daylight savings time and gain an extra hour of sleep ;) I still have a lot to process about lessons learned, but everything seemed to go right except for 1 missed right turn.

Special thanks to Les and Cindy for putting on an awesome event and to all of the volunteers who helped make the day epic! It was a blast! And the pet monkey has been set free in the forest :)

Long Run at Murphy-Hanrehan

Went out for a nice long run at Murphy-Hanrehan park yesterday morning with RD Les and a host of other people. My intention was to get to the park early enough that I could park at the horse camp, do a complete loop of the south end in the dark to test out my lights, then run the Surf the Murph course up to the main lot and meet everyone who would be starting their training run at 8 am. Goal was to do 2 complete laps of the race course for about 31 miles total without worrying about pace.

As it turned out, the roads were absolutely treacherous after the first snow of the year and it took me longer than anticipated to get there. Coming down Hwy 169, the bridges and overpasses were glare ice, especially near the Bloomington Ferry Bridge and the ramp leading off to Hwy 13. Saw more cars in the ditch than on the road in that area.

Finally got to the horse camp about 6:20 am and headed out in the dark with temps in the upper 20's and windchill in the teens. The south end of the park is flatter and more open than the hilly, wooded, north end, so the wind was very noticeable. I don't have much experience with night running, and it was a little tough to see with the snow flurries reflecting light right back into my eyes. I was using my Nathan to carry Heed and soon after starting out I realized that my drink tube had frozen solid. Took a few minutes to get that undone - then I remembered Carl telling me long ago about blowing back into the tube in cold weather to prevent that from happening.

Because of the difficulty with visibility, I ended up walking more than running, but was keeping about a 15 min/mile pace which felt very easy. There was a fair amount of mud, and the horses had really chewed up the trail making it very "lumpy" in places. Had to skip a loop at the southeast corner of the park because of my late start, and made it back to the horse camp just before dawn.

Stopped at my car to drop my lights, exchanged the wool hat for a baseball cap, and headed back out to the single track trail towards the north end of the park. Again, I had to take a short cut in order to make it to the main lot by 8 am, but it was nice to see a different trail rather than getting so caught up in running the actual course.

Arrived at the main lot at about 8:04 on my watch, just as everyone was gathering and getting ready to head down the trail. Had to make a quick pit stop, then run to catch up with everybody. Chris came back to meet me and we finally caught up with Les, Carl, and Wayne. By now the sun was up and it was looking like it would be a great day! The snow was on top of near-peak-fall-colors, kind of cool.

The trails in this part of the park are really fun to run - a few rocks and holes (which will all be hidden under leaf litter by race day), ups and downs, twists and turns - gorgeous! While the hills are not very big, they are steep and plentiful. We met Maria, Doug, and one of their sons running in the opposite direction - I don't think I've ever seen so many people out on the trails in this park as I did this day.

We soon arrived at the first of the "bonus loops" - one that I had remembered as having a very steep climb. There is a turn onto some narrow single track past a collection of patio furniture that the local teenagers have assembled in the woods, then a short jaunt through an open area, past a small pile of junk, then a short, very steep climb up a dirt hill. I'm short enough and the step up to the next foothold is long enough that I sometimes need to use my hands to keep my balance, especially since the gravelly dirt is a little slippery on the steep grade. If it's muddy, this climb will be a real adventure ;)

Les, Carl, Wayne, and Chris heading up toward AS 1

We came back out onto the main trail and got to the horse camp in no time. Since my car was there, we were able to use it as an aid station and fill up on banana bread and Coke. I refilled my Nathan, restocked my gels, and then forgot to pick up my handheld filled with Perpetuem (I'm still experimenting with nutrition strategies for all. day. long races). Carl was not going to run the south loop, so he left on his own. Les was getting cold, so he went on ahead and we planned on catching up to him but never did.

South loop

With my first lap (although shortened) done, the three of us (Wayne, Chris, me) headed out for the south loop. Although it was mostly sunny, the wind was still noticeable on the exposed parts of the trail. Les had drawn arrows in the dirt for us to follow, though I've run this loop enough to know the race course except for the "extras". We did hit a little snag on the bonus loop at the southwest end of the park, but quickly figured it out since Wayne and I had run it one other time with Les about a month ago. We made it back to my car at the horse camp for more banana bread and Coke, then headed back to the single track for the 3.5 miles back to the main lot.

By now I was feeling tired, especially my hamstrings. This was making me nervous since I was not even at the 25 mile mark yet - how in the world will I pull off 50 miles in 3 weeks if I'm ready to be done after 20? We finally reached the main lot where Chris and Wayne were done for the day. Les was there in his car and let me know that I would have "extra hours" if needed to finish the 50 miles. In other words - don't worry about cut offs. That may or may not be a good thing ;)

Everyone left and I headed back down the trail on my own to finish the 5.75 miles back to the horse camp. This leg is probably the most difficult, especially between miles 3 and 4 (which includes the wicked little climb up to AS 1). My pace was dropping noticeably, probably because I was running alone and didn't have anyone pulling me along. I had also been out there running for several hours and was mentally fatigued and getting easily distracted. I was starting to get a headache, but didn't seem dehydrated so I tried another S cap. I was starting to negotiate with myself: "you can skip the short steep climb to AS 1, it won't subtract much as far as miles are concerned" vs "it will psych you out if you don't do that short little climb just because you're tired, and you're going to have to do it 3 times 3 weeks from now when you'll be much more tired!" I did the little AS 1 loop and practically crawled up that dirt hill. But, I did it and I'm glad I did.

Finally made it back to the horse camp with no headache - done running for the day! Garmin said 27.33 miles, Sport Tracks said 27.54. Took 7.5 hours, with 41 minutes of that being time I spent milling around in "aid stations". I felt encouraged that the pace I ran would be good enough to finish under the cut off times, even though the cut offs are soft. On the other hand, I only ran a little more than half the race distance and I know I'll be slowing down considerably later in the race, especially when it's dark and harder to see again. Since this run was more about miles than paying attention to pace, I also wasn't worrying about how much time I spent stopping to refuel, take bio breaks, etc. That wasted time was also factored into my pace since the clock doesn't stop running just because you do.

Things I learned:

*For once, I dressed appropriately for the weather.
*Drink tubes freeze. So do gels.
*My hydration and electrolytes seemed to be pretty well balanced - no hand swelling, no cramping. In 7.5 hours, I drank 3.5 liters of Heed, 1 can of Coke, and took 4 S caps.
*I need to get more calories in if I expect to keep going much longer. I did OK for 27+ miles, but was falling a little behind and would have bonked big time if that were only the half way point. In addition to the Heed and Coke, I had 2 or 3 slices of banana bread, 5 gels, 8 or 9 grams of BCAA, and 1 vitamin B complex tablet. More gels or Perpetuem would make the most sense (I had planned on 8 gels + 1 bottle of Perpetuem), but the yuck factor is no small thing. Solid food takes several hours to digest and absorb, which is great for recovery but doesn't fuel one's race. Unless I'm out there for a day and a half, which is not out of the question ;)
*I move slower in the dark, but that may not be a bad thing. Brisk walking is much easier than slow running, and I can maintain that much longer.

Today I'm a little stiff - the arthritis in my feet and knees are speaking to me. Will probably do some cross training today rather than more running. See you on the trails soon!

Running Plans This Weekend

I noticed on the Surf the Murph web site that RD Les is having another training run at Murphy-Hanrehan park this Saturday. I will probably join him with the intention of running 2 loops in weather that is currently being predicted as snow showers with temps starting in the 30's and warming to the mid-40's by afternoon. You know, a real scorcher. I'll be wearing running tights for this one, so hopefully I can avoid another prickly ash bite like I got a few days ago:


My current plan is to park at the horse camp, run the 3.5 ish miles from there to the main lot, and go with whoever shows up from there. I'd like to review the "bonus loops" that aren't on the map but ARE part of the course. There is a "fun little hill" (as Les puts it) up to the first aid station that had me using my hands the one time I did it - and that was with a dry trail. In wet weather we may need screw shoes to get up that thing!

Anyhoo, my car at the horse camp can serve as another aid station that I/we can hit twice on each loop for whoever cares to join me.

For future runs I'd like to run a few miles in the dark to get used to the trail with my headlamp and handheld flashlight to try different options. Trails have a way of looking completely different in the dark, and this one's got enough rocks and holes to make things interesting, especially when they're hidden in leaf litter. Just thought I'd put that out there for another near future training run idea ;)

Harvesting Hay

Time to put some hay in the barn!

Last weekend I ran the In Yan Teopa 10 mile trail race on Saturday (thanks Larry and crew!) and a single loop at Murphy-Hanrehan on Sunday. Not enough miles to prepare for a hilly 50 miler coming up in 4 weeks.

I'd toyed with the idea of doing a second lap at Frontenac to get 20 miles in on Saturday, but knew I'd end up socializing after the race and bag it in the end. (I was going to post a race report, but realized that it was basically sounding like a cut and paste job from last year. If you're wondering how it went, here's the 2008 version - the only differences this year were that I knew more people, skipped the electrolytes and gel (mistake), felt hotter, and ran my slowest time ever). I also figured that I would benefit more by doing a longer run at Murphy the next day on the actual race course - hoped to get at least 20 miles in but was absolutely starving to the point that it was distracting after only 1 loop. So, I pulled the plug and got home just in time to watch an awesome finish to the Vikings game!

Well, now it's time to put some big miles in over the next 2 weekends before tapering. I'm thinking a shorter run (maybe 10-ish miles, not sure where yet) this Saturday and 2 laps at Murphy-Hanrehan (about 28.5-29 miles) on Sunday. I'll probably park at the horse camp so that I have access to my car (aid station) twice each loop. If anyone wants to join me, we could leave a car at the main lot and have 3 aid stations/loop. I'm a slow runner and won't be worrying about pace this trip - just getting the miles in. Probably end up between 15 - 16 min/mile average at best. I know that it's the same day as TCM - good luck to those of you running!

So, who's in for a lap or two at Murphy-Hanrehan this Sunday?

Fall Running Season

I've been having a difficult time trying to decide which races to do the remainder of this season. The biggest obstacle was figuring out whether or not to take another crack at 50 miles this year, or put it on the back burner for awhile. I really want to bag a 50 miler, especially since I couldn't pull it off at Lean Horse last month (say "hello" to my new pet monkey).

Last Saturday I went out to Murphy-Hanrehan for a loop of the north and south ends of the park (most, but not all of the 15.6 mile loop that will be part of the race course). My pace ended up being about 14:45, which was slower (and felt harder) than I wanted it to for only doing a single loop. The 50 mile race has 3 of these loops plus some bonus miles in the hilly north end. This run didn't do a heck of a lot for my confidence as far as finishing 50 miles on this course goes.

The other thing tugging at me is that I really want to do the inaugural Wild Duluth 50K, but it's just 2 weeks before Surf the Murph. Three or four weeks would have been perfect as a last long training run, but 2 weeks is cramping my style a bit.

One potential solution would be to run just the 50K at both events, but that would mean I'd have to put up with the monkey living with me in cramped conditions all winter long.

It finally came down to a coin toss: heads would be the 2 50K's, tails would be the 50 miles. First toss was tails. I still stewed about it for another 2 days and realized that I've already got my spreadsheet set up for Surf the Murph (right down to how many gels, how many ounces of sports drink between aid stations, when to drop and pick up my lights, etc). Got out the coin again: this time heads. Crap. I was hoping for a slam dunk to make this decision easier.

Today the coin came out one last time: tails. My Surf the Murph 50 mile registration is in the mail. I still haven't decided what to do about Wild Duluth - perhaps a course sweep, aid station volunteer, or 50K hike?

What the hell am I getting myself in to?

Hope to see you in Frontenac for the In Yan Teopa 10 mile this Saturday!

Some Runs in the Park

Murphy-Hanrehan Park

I've been getting some fun runs in ever since returning from South Dakota a couple weeks ago!

Last Saturday a bunch of local runners showed up at Afton to help Karen celebrate a big birthday. I did a 7 mile hill loop which included zipping up to the top of the Africa Loop, but skipped running around Africa and the Back 40 and just came back down to the river, then did Nigel's Hill and Campground Hill before heading to the visitor center for our vegetarian picnic. Lots of fun hanging out with the gang! Felt good to get some hills in after running flatter stuff in preparation for Lean Horse and Grand Island.

Sunday I headed out to Murphy-Hanrehan to check out the south end of the park. I'd only ever run the hillier north end in the past, and thought it would be fun to see other parts of this gorgeous park that sits only 20 minutes from my house. Got about 6.5 miles in on the sandy trails that are a little more rolling hills on open prairie compared to the steep, hilly, wooded north end. Saw more horses than people on the trails. The 2009 Surf the Murph course includes all of last year's trail plus these southern trails, so this run really got me thinking about doing this race again.

This past Saturday, I headed back out to Murphy-Hanrehan to meet up with Les (Surf the Murph RD) and Wayne for a tour of this year's Surf the Murph course. Wendy and Steve were also doing the training run, but they were running well ahead of the three of us most of the time. We had originally planned on doing the full 15.6 mile loop, but ended up cutting it a little short and just did 13+ miles since some folks have a rather longish race looming large this weekend ;)
I didn't remember so many steep hills on the course last year - I think some new ones have been planted! There are a few extra loops that are not on the trail map that provide some little surprises too! The prairie grasses are really pretty this time of year, and some trees are already starting to show fall colors. Running with the RD has got me seriously considering taking another crack at 50 miles this October!

So Sunday, back out to Murphy-Hanrehan I went. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite running spots and I can get there in half the time that it takes to get to Afton. I still get a little turned around on some of the trails and need to take a map with me. Ended up doing just 6.5 miles in the northern hilly section and only met one other person on the trail. I'd say that in general, the hills at M-H are shorter, steeper, and more plentiful compared to the longer hills at Afton.

This weekend I'll be working the aid station at Oberg on Saturday, giving all of the runners at the Superior races one last gentle shove towards the finish line. Hope to get some hikes/runs in on the Superior Hiking Trail Sunday - perhaps the Bean and Bear Lake loop near Silver Bay.

Great stuff!

Surf the Murph 25K

What a perfect morning for a trail run! Crystal clear skies with stars twinkling, no wind, temps in the mid-30's, frost on the grass. Got up at 5 am to make it to the trailhead for the start - about 60+ people showed up for the first "official" Surf the Murph 25/50K races (there was a fat ass last year). Bonnie and Donny wheel measured and marked the course, and Donny mentioned that he planted some animals in the woods. We lined up in the dark with head lamps and flashlights for the 7 am start, then off we went into the woods for either 2 or 4 laps of the 8-ish mile course.

It was pitch black at the start of the race, so everyone was pretty laid back with their pace. The wide trails made it easy to pass or run side by side with another runner. The first 4 miles were pretty hilly - some were steep and had loose gravel, kinda like Afton. Then we got to the previously locked gates and finally got to sample the south end of the park. [As it turns out, hikers are apparently welcome on all of the trails and the closure signs are primarily to keep horses and 4 wheelers out of certain areas of the park. They still don't want folks trespassing during nesting season for the rare bird species....it seems like the park staff could do a much better job of marking/explaining the trail closures, especially if they apply only to certain modes of travel (ie horse, bike, ATV, or feet)]. The south end was much gentler, although there were some sandy and/or rocky bits. Nice little piece of single track shortly after the 5.5 mile aid station - I think that was probably my favorite part of the course.

I ended up running a liesurely pace with Wayne for the entire 25K distance, then he continued on for another 2 laps. It's nice to have company during longish runs - makes the hours and miles fly by! We saw 2 white tail deer bound across the trail directly in front of us, then a pair of wild turkeys later in the day. Thanks for the animals Donny ;)

My finish time for the 25K was one of my slowest, but I really didn't care. I wasn't pushing at all - just enjoying a great morning in the woods. I'm glad I didn't continue with the 50K as my left heel was getting pretty sore. Not sure what that's about - perhaps it's time for some new shoes.

Thanks to RD Les & Cindy and all of the volunteers for a great event in a beautiful park! I hope to be back with my snow shoes in a couple of months!

Surf the Murph and Other Stuff

As if running all 12 races in the 2008 Minnesota Trail Run Series wasn't enough, I decided to tug on the Big Girl Panties and ante up for my first ultra - Surf the Murph 50K at Murphy Hanrehan park on Nov 1. It will be 4 loops of the following:

Surf the Murph Course Map

I'll need to do a somewhat respectable time in order to finish the race, go home, shower, grab whatever potluck thingy I need to bring to the first annual Upper Midwest Trail Runners awards fest, and drive to Hastings for the party. November 1 will be a busy day!

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Also in November - the release of the Cities 97 Sampler! This year will be a double disc and I got the set list yesterday.

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Good luck to all who are running in the Twin Cities Marathon this weekend! After you've pounded yourselves into oblivion on the pavement, come and join us in the dirt for some real fun ;)