Miles and Miles at the FANS 12 Hour

Last week I joined a few other crazy, and by that I mean crazy cool, ultra runners for the FANS 12 Hour race at Lake Nakomis in the Twin Cities.  The race is in it's 23rd year and is a fundraiser for the FANS association, which is an academic support program for Twin Cities students.  Last year I had a great race in tough conditions with temps over 90 degrees!  I was hoping for better weather this year.

Crew area at FANS about 45 min before the start

As the race started I went out with the leaders, but after about 2 hours I decided to slow down just a bit.  Some of the other runners in the lead pack were shooting for PR times and distances in the 50 Mile and 100k to try to earn a spot on the US National 100K team.  I ran for about 4:00 with Carolyn Smith and we ended up closing the gap with some of the early race leaders as their strong pace started to ware on them. 

Just after the 50 Mile mark of the race, almost 7 Hours in

The weather was much better this year, with highs of about 72 degrees.  I felt much stronger this year and was able to run a much more even pace throughout the race.  During the course of the race I was running in second and third, and ended in third place with 75.2 miles - a New 12 Hour PR for me.  I also got a new 50 Mile Road PR at 6:50:00.  I know that my coach Jason, as well as my former teammates Tyler and Anne's visits and pacing during the race really helped me and pushed me to both my new PR's - so a big thanks to them and my always awesome crew!  

Listening to "Stuff You Should Know" Podcasts

 After the race, I felt much better then I did last year.  I felt like my race pacing, nutrition, and post race recovery was dialed in really well.  A big thanks goes out to all of the volunteers and the massage therapists who helped me after the race too.  Congrats to all of the runners at FANS and who raced at other weekend races, including my friends and teammates at the Minneapolis Marathon and Half Marathon. 

Ice Age 50 Mile

Camping the night before the Ice Age Trail races

On May 11th I traveled down to southern Wisconsin for the Ice Age Trail races.  I made the trip with some fellow Duluth ultra runners who were also running in the 26th annual race.  The race is now part of the Montrail Ultra Cup, so it has now become one of the most competitive ultras in the mid west.  I was running the 50 Mile, my first of the year.  We camped at a near by unit of the Kettle Moraine State forest the night before the race.  The weather held for us and would provide not only good camping but good racing too.   



Racers starting to come to the start area.  Over 800 runners raced at this year's Ice Age races

The 50 Mile race started bright and early at 6 AM.  The race attracted some of the best ultra runners the country including Zach Gingrich, Tim Olson, and the current US 50 Mile trail record holder.  I was excited to test myself against this great competition.  The race started at a fast clip, and I went out with a chase pack of 4 runners.  The lead pack had about 8 to 10 runners, and I knew that some of those runners would be falling back as the race progressed.  That would leave an opportunity for strong second half runners like me to move up in the field.  

Nearing the half way point

At the half way point I was in about 15th place and still feeling strong.  I was moving up in the field taking by advantage of some of the longer climbs between the aid station at Horse Riders Camp and the far turn around.  My nutrition proved well balanced.  I again used Honey Stinger gels but also used Honey Stinger chews as my stomach began to get tired of the sweetness and consistency of gels later in the race.  I also used Mountain Dew at a few of the aid stations in the second half.  Mountain Dew is one example of a food that I don't ever use in normal life, but in an ultra the sugar and caffeine can really bring you back from the edge.   


Top of a climb at about the 40 mile mark

With 10 miles to go I was still feeling strong and did my best to put as much of a gap on the runners behind me as I could.  I was pleased with how little of the race were "dark times" for me, and how even my energy level stayed through out the race.  I finished in 7:14 and 12 place, only 15 minuets behind some of the biggest ultra runners in the country.  7:14 is also a new 50 Mile trail PR for me by almost 27 minutes.  This result showed me that by the end of the season I think I can run a sub 7:00 trail 50 Mile.  Next up for me: the FANS 12 Hour.  I had a great race there last year with a gutsy finish, and I am looking forward to using my experience from last year to see if I can get a second PR this season. 

Congrats to all the runners at the Ice Age trail races and any other races out there this past weekend! 

FANS Races

On June 4th I joined some of the fastest, coolest, and craziest ultra runners in the midwest for the 22nd annual FANS races. FANS is a time race in which runners run as far as they can along a loop, in this case around Lake Nakomis, for the appointed time. The person with the most distance at the end wins. FANS has both 12 and 24 hour categories, and I was running in the 12 hour. This was going to be the longest race I had ever done and the longest road ultra I had ever done as well, so a lot of learning for me.The race started at 8AM, and we could already tell that this day was going to be great be great weather....for going to the beach perhaps. The sun was coming out and foreshadowing the 85 to 90 degree temps that we would run in all day.

Pre-race with crew chief (and wife) Meg

The race started with a short out and back stretch to even out the split marks later in in the race, and then it was on to the roughly 2.5 mile loop. I for the first few hours with John Storkamp, well know Minnesota ultra runner on the Inov-8 team whom I "run into" at a lot races throughout the year, and Carolyn Smith a Wisconsinite and ultra running legend who was getting ready for the 100K nationals and worlds this year as well as going after her one year old course record.

After a bit more than 2 hours of running with John and Carolyn I moved out front and ran by my self for a while. I was running at between 19:00 and 21:00 minutes a lap through 5 hours. After that I started to slow down and was passed by John, moving me into second. I shifted my focus to the short term - PR'ing at the 50 mile distance. I pushed it in with my coach Jason Kask running with me a bit and hit 50 miles in 6:58, a PR.

Coming through the crew area after a 50 Mile PR

Then I hit a real low point here and really slowed down. The heat was more than I was used to so far this season, and I was starting to get dehydrated and sun burned. I ticked off some slow laps with Jason, my wife/crew chief Meg, and friend Erika. At about 8:00 John passed me a second time, and that got a bit of fire under me to pick it up. I had a Lara bar, a Honey Stinger, and some fluids and started to make up ground. I ran a few good solid laps after that in about 22:00 to 24:00 minutes.

I soon caught John while he was walking on the far side of the loop, and did my best to keep on pushing. I blew right though the aid station and check point and completed another lap, catching John just at the end of that lap to bring us even in the standings with about 1:00 to go.

I finished with 70.89 miles, got the win, and PR'd in the 50 Mile, 100 K, and 12 Hour. Like in many of my previous races, I really found another gear in the last part, in this case making up a 5 mile deficit and gaining 3 miles on the leader. It was a good race and I really showed myself the mental strength that I can have if I allow myself to push for it. I think I had the nutrition aspect dialed in well, and I learned some great lessons about ultra strategy as well.

Men's and Women's 12 Hour winners

A big thank you to the FANS race volunteers, my coach Jason Kask and crew (Meg, Laurie, and Dick), and my sponsors. Congratulations to Carolyn Smith for breaking her one year old 12 Hour women's course record, and to all of the racers!

Me after the awards: 2011 Men's FANS 12 Hour Winner