Snowshoeing...

...has not only been great; it's been about the only way to get around in these parts recently.

We've had a little more snow than usual for December (it is still technically autumn after all) - a little too much for regular running (even with traction), but it's been awesome for skis and snowshoes!

Check out my recent travels through Bredesen Park:

Nine Mile Creek

Bredesen Park Bench

Wood Duck summer house

I also found my Christmas Tree while tromping through the snow! No, I didn't cut it down and drag it home - I left it where it was so that I (and everyone else) can continue to enjoy it year round - hopefully for many years to come. It's the third one from the left:

Wishing you all a winter full of joy and wonder. Hope to see you on the trails!

Pederson Benefit

Went out to Afton yesterday for the Pederson Benefit Run with lots of old and new trail running friends. Very heartwarming to see so many people come out to support the Pederson family, who have given so much of themselves to the sport and community over the years!

There was an informal fat ass type of race, which Don spent over 6 hours marking by riding his bike up and down steep snow covered hills. The day started out in the single digits, but gradually warmed up to about 20 degrees for perfect, sunny, running weather :) I was glad I wore my gortex trail running shoes with sport tracks for traction since there was an inch or two of snow on the trails.

That was followed by an awesome pot luck lunch and a silent auction with all kinds of cool stuff! At the end of the day we were able to raise over $5000, which sounds like a lot, but probably doesn't even put a dent in the costs incurred by the flood damage.

If you missed out on the fun, you still have a chance to help out by purchasing a cool looking shirt or making a donation.

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!

Pederson Benefit Run

During the recent floods in southeastern Minnesota, Larry & Colleen suffered a tremendous amount of damage to their home.

Who are Larry & Colleen?



They are the race director's for the Zumbro 100, Superior Sawtooth 100, Superior 50 Mile, Moose Mountain Marathon, and In Yan Teopa 10 Mile trail runs. They helped found the Upper Midwest Trail Runners club, the Minnesota Trail Run Race Series, the Fab Five Fifties ultra running series, and the Gnarly Bandit ultra running series just to name a few. Many of the trophies awarded at these events are coveted works of wooden art, hand crafted by Larry in his wood shop. They are tireless volunteers who show up to help at most of the other trail runs in the area when they aren't directing one of their own. In other words, if there is something involving trail running in Minnesota or western Wisconsin, the Pederson's have been there to lend a hand.

Many of the local trail runners turned out to help with the clean up in Zumbro Falls and saw the devastating damage first hand. We wondered, what more could we do to help? That's when the idea of the Pederson Benefit Run was born.

When: November 27, 2010
Run starts at 7 or 9 am - your choice
Potluck and silent auction start at 1 pm

What: Trail run to benefit the Pederson's clean up effort starting at 7 or 9 am depending on how far you want to go. The course will follow the Afton 25K trail race map. Distance is anywhere from Zero K to whatever you want. Potluck and silent auction start at 1 pm in the visitor center.

Where: Afton State Park - the start/finish area is near the visitor center.

Who: You! Whether you're a seasoned trail runner or just want to give it a try, here's a perfect opportunity to share the trail with awesome people and help raise money for a great cause at the same time. You can run as little or as much as you like. You can skip the running and just show up for the potluck. If you can't make it to the event, you still have an opportunity to donate to the cause.

For more info about how to register or make a donation, check out the blog or the Facebook page.

Ben's 120 Pound Journey

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step."
Lao-Tzu

This guy is an Iron Man if ever there was one!

North Country Trail Marathon

I had originally planned on running the 50 mile when I registered for the North Country Trail Run back in early January, figuring it would be a good way to combine an ultra run on a new (for me) trail with a family visit in Michigan. Unfortunately, my winter taper led to a spring taper and a tweaked achilles, which led to a summer long taper while struggling with endless heat and humidity. Before I knew it, we were in the middle of August and I had managed only one 20+ mile run since running the 50 mile at Surf the Murph last October. Not enough for pulling off a 50. I emailed the RD and asked to switch to the marathon, but never heard anything back. As I was packing and getting ready to leave for the 2 day drive to Manistee, a message went up on the North Country facebook page stating that there would be no further changing of races. Crap. Quickly threw my "ultra stuff" into the car just in case and starting driving south east to get to North Country (that's not a typo).

Got to Manistee late Friday afternoon and headed over to the Big M trail head in the Manistee National Forest for packet pick up. Was able to confirm that I could just run the marathon after all (whew!) and picked up lots of swag: coffee mug, race shirt, polar fleece vest. This would also be the start and finish area for the race, so at least now I knew how to get there.

Woke up to an already warm (low 70's) and very humid morning and got to the start area just before sunrise. Trail and ultra runners are typically a pretty tight bunch, so it seemed very odd to be at a race and not know a single person. But, trail and ultra runners are also a very welcoming bunch, so it was no problem finding people to hang out and chat with. Everyone kept mentioning how difficult the hills are on this 25 mile loop course. It is also a popular mountain bike and cross country ski trail, all single track (my favorite).

The 50 milers took off, and we would be right behind them only 30 minutes later. This didn't make much sense to me: sending a herd of turtles down a narrow single track only 30 minutes before unleashing the hares on the same course probably got a little messy once the faster marathoners caught up to the slower ultra runners. Oh well, another good reason to run the marathon instead.

Before long, we were lined up and ready to go. We did a short little lap around the parking area to spread out a little before heading down the trail. My strategy was to treat this race as if it was a 50 miler: walk the ups, jog the flats and downs. Basically, a nice training run with no expectations of time or pace - just a fun day in the woods. With about 200 of us, we were like a freight train rolling through the woods for awhile. No sense trying to pass anyone - just relax until people get more spread out. I kept waiting for the huge, steep hills that people had warned me about, but they weren't showing up. Just a nice, smooth, somewhat twisty trail with gently rolling hills - kind of like Ice Age without the rocks.

Coming in to Aid Station 1

Since I was running with my Nathan, I cruised through the first 3 aid stations without stopping. Shortly after leaving aid station 3, we encountered the only somewhat steep hill that I remember on the entire course. I had to power walk this one, then realized that I had pretty much been running most of the hills rather than sticking to my plan. This is one of those "trail runners dream" type of trails - just flat out fun to run - and I found myself grinning like a village idiot cruising through the woods.

Shortly afterward, I took my first digger when my calf cramped up and I caught my toe on one of the few roots on the trail. I figured that I'd better pay more attention to fluid intake and S caps, even though I thought I was on target in that regard. Cramping after only 10 or so miles isn't a good thing, even in the shorter marathon race. The hills were neither big nor steep, but they were there and they were starting to catch up to me. Kind of like "death by a thousand razor blades" type of hills.

Aid Station 4

Made it to aid station 4 at the 13.4 mile mark when I realized that my Garmin had decided to take the rest of the weekend off. Oh well, I probably rely on it too much anyway. Now I could just forget about time, pace, distance, etc and enjoy my run. This was where I decided to refill my Nathan, and the aid station volunteers had funny looks on their faces as I pulled out a small baggie filled with white powder (Heed) and another small baggie with capsules containing an off white powder (S caps). Thankfully, I didn't have to explain to law enforcement that I was only going for a long run through the woods ;)

Back on down the trail in the beautiful forest, I noticed occasional thumps as acorns were hitting the ground. Started wondering if I was going to need a helmet - I think the squirrels were having a little game of their own to see how many runners they could hit....LOL. Time seemed to pass quickly and soon I was standing in aid station 5. Another runner was there too, warning about the upcoming monster hills. We headed out about the same time and chatted for a bit before she dropped off. I found the entire trail very runnable, but was still getting twinges in both calves and needed to slow down a bit just to prevent full blown cramping. Passed through aid station 6 and shortly afterward came upon more volunteers lugging coolers of food to aid station 7 located more than 3 miles away. That seemed very inefficient since the aid station they would be staffing was only a mile from the start/finish parking area, but that's what they were directed to do. Things that make ya go, "Hmmmm."

Caught up to a pair of women who had gotten off course and done some bonus miles, but they were still enjoying their day in the woods. We started talking about muscle cramping and one recommended trying coconut water as a remedy. Not coconut milk, but coconut water. I've never heard of it, but it might be worth a try.

Got through the last aid station and let the lone volunteer know that his relief was on the way, then headed down the trail for the short run to the finish. There was a nice, long, gentle downhill that seemed to go on forever (probably closer to 0.75 miles), then we eventually ended up on a two track. I took one last hard digger and left some blood in the forest - still not really sure what the heck tripped me up - but both calves locked up and it took a minute or two before I could continue. Was able to walk the cramps off, but decided to hold off on running until I could smell the finish line. I'm really gonna have to check out coconut water ;)

Finally made the trot across the finish line where we were given finishers medals and a bottle of water, then headed over to the barbecue for a freshly grilled burger and potato salad. I skipped the beer and desserts, but hung out for a little bit on what turned out to be a hotter than expected day (mid-80's and very humid). I'm glad I was able to drop down to the marathon because there's no way I would have pulled off a 50 miler on this day.

Thanks to first year RD Chris and his crew for taking over an established classic race so that the rest of us could have some fun in the woods! North Country is a good size race for a trail event (actually, 3 races: a 50 mile, marathon, and half marathon with a total of 600 runners on single track) and I don't think many people realize the time and energy it takes to pull these things off. The race organizers have already sent out a survey seeking feedback so that they can continue to improve the event in future years. The small army of volunteers were AWESOME! If you're looking for a non-technical trail with twists, turns, and roller coaster hills in a beautiful forest that are a pure joy to run, I highly recommend heading to Big M and running one of the North Country Trail races.

Day of Deer

The heat and humidity have really wrecked my running plans this summer - enough that I will most likely be doing only the marathon at North Country at the end of this month. I just haven't been able to log the miles needed to pull off a 50 in three weeks. Seems like any time I went out with the intention of getting 20 or so miles in, I would end up pulling the plug after only 12-13 because I'd be so dehydrated I was cramping. Yesterday finally provided some relief!

I had only one early morning client yesterday, so I did the work thing at the gym and then headed out to Afton with the intention of getting a 20+ mile run in. Success! Two laps of the Africa Loop, Back 40, Northern Hill, and Campground Hill with no other people on the trail and more deer than I could count. Wish I had brought my camera - these photos are from a few years ago.

Saw the first doe and fawn less than a mile into the run while still on the main horse trail just past the ski area. Lots of butterflies in the open prairies up on the Africa Loop and lots of skeeters in the woods, especially the Back 40. Made the mandatory stops at the black berry patches (don't worry, I left some) before heading down to the river and starting the climb up the gravel road. About half way up, a spotted fawn popped out of the woods and stood in the middle of the road just staring my way. After a couple of minutes, there was some commotion in the thick underbrush and at least 3 or 4 other deer started to bolt deeper into the woods. Not the little fawn, he seemed quite content just watching me. A pileated woodpecker briefly joined the party, which seemed to help the fawn decide to go join mom in the woods.

Ran down the Northern Hill (which has become my favorite spot in the park) and then up to the Campground. For some reason, my Garmin went on a lunch break for awhile in this section, so I'm not sure what my actual mileage for the run was - at least 20.88. Refilled the Nathan at the solar powered water pump (which is now working), then visited the black berry patch in the campground before going for another lap.

The second lap was starting to feel hot, especially in the sun up on the Africa Loop. Even so, with the lower humidity I wasn't having any problems with cramping - yay! Paid another visit to the black berry patch and have some scratches to show for it :) Saw some blue birds this time around; they are so striking, just flashes of royal blue when they're flying. Ran back down to the river, back up the gravel road, then past the trail shelter on the way to the Northern Hill. Flushed up a bunch of grouse just past the old homestead, which never seems to happen on a weekend when lots of people are on the trails.

On the way up the Campground Hill, another doe started bounding off the trail and into the woods. A little further up the trail, I looked to the left to see two fawns staring back at me from about 20 feet away. They never did leave, and I just continued on through the campground. Finally got to the bottom of the Campground Hill just as several people were lugging their camping stuff up to the top - I guess the weekend is officially starting! I headed up toward the main horse trail to return to the parking area and just about got run over by three more deer bounding across the trail right in front of me. Pretty cool!

Finally made it back to a still empty parking lot and some how didn't seem to get stuck in too much rush hour traffic. Got home to find a $50 check in the mail from USA Track & Field for the prize money I'd won by finishing second in the old woman division at the Afton Trail Race. Great day for running!

Now I'll have to start pondering the rest of the season after North Country: Moose Mountain? Wild Duluth? Surf the Murph?