Wild Duluth 100k

On October 15 Duluth Played host the 3rd annual Wild Duluth races. This year's edition included a half marathon, 50k, and 100k. I raced in the 100k, and was primed for a great race - my last one of the 2011 season. Coming into the race I felt like I was in good shape and healthy, well recovered from the rest of the season.

The Wild Duluth 100k course runs along the Superior Hiking Trail

The race started and ended at Bayfront Park in Downtown Duluth and ran along the Superior Hiking trail to Jay Cooke State Park and back - slightly longer than 100k i'm told. With a race start of 6AM, we were running in the dark for about an hour and were treated to a beautiful sunrise above my neighborhood of Spirit Valley. The weather stayed pleasant for the duration of that day with little to no wind, temps in the mid 40's and blue sky.

Running towards the Jay Cooke State Park turn around

As the race stated I ran with a small group at the front of the line of 100k'ers. We climbed to Enger tower, due to be rededicated by the King of Norway in a few days. At the top of the climb to enger tower I moved to the front of the group to better see the trail for the upcoming technical sections and only one other racer moved up with me. Together we towards Spirit Mt., and before entering the aid station there I moved into the lead, which I would keep for the remainder of the race.

Grand Portage aid station with one of my great crew members

As the race progressed I was able to get into a great rhythm and maintained good pace. I race with my Nathon hydration pack and really like the results. It allowed me keep my arms and hands free and loose as well as reduce the amount of time I had to stop at aid stations along the way. I think that using my hydration pack in similar trail ultras is something I will do more of in the future.

Going into the turnaround I was about 15 minutes ahead of the second place runner, and still feeling very comfortable. As I made my way back to Bayfront Park in Duluth I continued to expand my lead. My over distance runs and long threshold workouts allowed me to gain a lot of time on the challenging climbs near Jay Cooke and the tough section over Ely's Peak the second time. Coming into the Spirit Mt. aid station with the majority of the challenging climbing done I started pushing a bit harder to get the finish line.

I meet my crew for the last time at the 24th ave west aid station just 5k from the finish and knew if I kept up a strong last few miles I could break the course record too. (The current course was first used in the race's second year) I flew through the closing miles with little trouble descending the hill I had climbed a few minutes after 6 that morning and crossed the road into Bayfront Park.

I took the win by about 40 minutes and broke the 1 year old course record. It was a great race, and I could not have asked for a better close to my 2011 race season. Now I will be racing the last few NMTC fall trail series races, then reducing my training volume for a few weeks before increasing my volume again in late November for the snowshoe season. A big thanks to my crew as well as the volunteers who were out there helping make the race possible. Also thanks to my coach Jason Kask of Superior Performance for another ultra racing season with great results, and thanks to the Andy and Kim Holak for organizing the Wild Duluth races.

I will be posting less over the next 3 to 4 weeks of lower volume training, but will try to keep the blog updated with what is going on and my tentative race plans for the coming year are. Enjoy the end of fall!

First place at the Wild Duluth 100k

Interview With Down the Backstretch

Last week I had the pleasure of joining about several hundred runners at the 3rd annual Wild Duluth races. I ran the 100k distance, and placed first in a new course record on the 2 year old course. I have a race report in the works and hope to post that soon. But until then, I was interviewed by Alex Kurt of Down the Backstretch. Here is a link the interview for you to check out:

http://downthebackstretch.blogspot.com/2011/10/qa-chris-rubesch-wild-duluth-100k-champ.html


Have an adventurous weekend!

Wild Duluth 100K Race Preview From Down The Backstretch

The Minnesota running blog Down The Backstretch posted a nice piece this afternoon about the Wild Duluth ultra races. The post talks about some of the contenders for the 100k, and mentioned me as one in the competitive field. It should be a fun race on great trails. I'm looking forward to running it, and to seeing all of you - who are not doing the Whistle Stop Marathon or Half Marathon that is - out on the course!

You can check out Down The Backstretch's post here:
http://downthebackstretch.blogspot.com/2011/10/another-ultra-win-for-undefeated-nowak.html

Good luck to all of the racers this weekend!

Rock Hill NMTC Race

This Sunday I ran in the Rock Hill NMTC race, the 6th race in the NMTC fall series and the 5th that I have run. The NMTC races have all been a blast, and have proven to be great opportunities for me to run speedworkouts with some of awesome the members of local trail running community!

The start of the race. I'm at the front in blue.

We were once again the benefactors of perfect weather, with temps in the mid 50's, a light breeze, and only a few clouds. It had rained earlier in the day, so some of the leaves and wooden bridges were wet, but nothing was too soaked or slipery. The race was at Bagley Nature Center, a great little trail system that is right on the UMD campus and near the CSS campus as wll. The trails are fairly wide and soft, and run through some nice oak and maple forest. They also have some challenging hills, but are still very runnable. I like to do some of my speed workouts here from time to time.

Half way through the first lap, Paul Craig and still running together

The race again started with a small chase pack forming behind Eric Atkinson (who for a little trivia is one of my former high school cross country and track teammates). I was running in the chase group with 3 other guys including Craig Hertz, who has recently joined me in the very addictive niche of ultra running, and my occasional training partner Paul Kimpling. We stuck together through the first of the two laps and then Paul surged ahead of Craig and me. Half way into the second lap I moved ahead of Craig and then caught Paul part way up the largest hill on the course, known as Rock Hill, which is where the race gets it's name. Although my hill strength helped me reel Paul back in, his turn over and shorter distance speed helped him gap me again on the 400m downhill finish. Eric won the race, followed by Paul in second, me in third, and Craig fourth.

Rounding the corner with 50m to the finish

Paul, Craig, and I have been finishing close together in the NMTC races so far, and it has been a lot of fun to have some shorter distance speed sessions with these guys in my fall training. This coming week I have a few mid distance run in the 2:00 hour range, one shorter speed workout, and then on the Saturday the Wild Duluth 100k. Good luck to all of the other runners who will be racing in the Wild Duluth Half Marathon, 50k, and 100k. I'm looking forward to seeing you all out on the trails,and remember...keep exploring the limits!

Snowflake Nordic NMTC Series Race

Cool temps and great fall colors were the perfect recipe for last night's Snowflake Nordic race, the 5th in the NMTC fall race series. The 7.2k course was made up of 2 loops of the nordic trails near the Duluth Hermantown border. Snowflake is a ski, snowshoe, and biathlon center but also hosts other events through out the year including trail running races and cyclocross events.

At the 6:00 PM race start

The race was the last of the fall series to be at 6 PM on Wednesday. From here on out, the decreasing dayight means that the races will be at 2 PM on Sunday afternoons. Today's race started with Eric Atkinson surging to the lead, which he would hold for the entire race. Just behind I ran in the small chase pack. We ran together until the begining of the second lap when I opened a gap and moved into second place.

Just off the starting line, a runner's dog decided to join the lead pack

The chase pack, with me in the lead, late on the first lap

I carried and expanded my gap on the chase pack during the second lap and finish in second place. Heart rate average for the race was 175 beats per minute, which is right where I wanted it be in my anerobic threshold zone. It was a good run for me, and a great way to do a speed workout. Thanks to Austin Jarrow's for putting on the NMTC fall race series and to Eve Stein - a resident silent sports photographer - for taking the photos in this blog entry.

The next NMTC fall race series stop will be on this Sunday at 2 PM at Bagley Nature Center on the campus of UMD. I hope to see you all there. In the mean time, keep exploring the limits!

Spirit Mountain NMTC Race

Last Wednesday night I joined many other trail runners from the area at the "Rolling Stone" Spirit Mountain MTC race. The race is the 4th stop in the NMTC (Northern Minnesota Track Club) fall trail series. The name "Rolling Stone" is very approperaite, as the course starts at the top of Spirit Mouintain and runs down the trail to near the Lake Superior Zoo and Kingsburry Creek, before connecting with the Superior Hiking Trail and zig-zaging back up the mountain. The race was about 6.5K, half climbing and half descent.

It was a lot of fun to let go on the long steep down hill, and a nice challenge to climb back up. Luckly for me, climbing and legth strength is a strong point for me, so I finished in third place. Eric Atkinson and Craig Hertz were again first and second. Paul Kimpling, who is the past few NMTC fall series races has been third, got lost for a part of the race so he finished a bit farther back. I'm sure he will be charging hard this coming Wednesday!

Closing in on the finish line at the Rolling Stone NMTC race

I'm looking forward to the next NMTC fall series race this evening at Snowflake Nordic Center. The turn out for this year's series has been great, so I hope to see a lot of you there again. If you have not yet raced in any of the races, it is not to late to join in the fun!

Have a great week of training, and I hope to see you out on the trails. Keep exploring the limits!