Voyaguer 50 Miler

After the second time through the powerlines, about 15 miles to go.

The swinging bridge at Jay Cooke. 5K left.

The river through Jay Cook State. If you want to know about the Geology of the area, just talk to Meg.

This year was the 30th anniversary of the Voyaguer 50 miler. The race that started as a small challenge between the runners in the UMTR club has now become one of the oldest ultras in the nation, and one of the most competitive in the region.

The race starts and ends in Carlton MN near Jay Cooke State Park

Coming into the Voyaguer 50 Miler I knew that my training was right where it should be. I had been putting in good volume and some quality ANT workouts and after the Half Voyaguer I was even able to put in some time at altitude, so I was ready to go. The part that made me a bit nervous was the this would be my first ultra sans-crew. For those of you who race ultras, you know how much of a benefit a crew can be in keeping you feed, hydrated, and moving. Meg was in Utah finish the last bits of field camp and racing herself at the Speedgoat 50K in Alta, UT; and my parents were out of town on a trip. The positive thing would be that, as a hometown runner, I would know a lot people along the course, and the frequent well staffed aid stations on the Voyaguer course would be a big help for me too.

The race came early (though not as early as the Half Voyaguer!) on the July 30th at Carlton High school. We lined up in front of the school and with a few shouts, including on from me, we were off to Duluth - and then coming back.

I breezed though the swinging bridge at Jay Cooke and then I settled into a good rhythm in 5th place. I was comfortable through to the top of Spirit Mt. at about 23 miles, but in retrospect was not eating or drinking enough - which would come back to haunt me later. The temps were cool in the early stages of the race, but soon climbed into the upper 80's with full sun and some humidity to boot!

As I ran down the face of Spirit Mt. to the turn around, the miles without enough calories caught up to me. With as many ultras as I have done you would think I would learn! I came into the aid station in 3:35, and hesitated picking up plenty of food, water, and Mountain Dew. After about 2 minutes of refueling I was off and running back towards Carlton. Fellow racer John Storkamp caught me just after we left the turn around, as did one other racer. I was now in 7th place and feeling spent. The heat was climbing as I started up Spirit Mt.

I gave myself until the top of Spirit Mt. to hike/run and recover, and the strategy payed off. By the top of the 2 mile climb the food and Mountain Dew kicked in and I felt 100% better. I cruised down to Becks rd, and on to Fon du Lac. On the descent I caught back up with John Storkamp, and we were running in 4th and 5th place. We ran together through the climb up to the power lines pushing each other. At the Grand Portage aid station I was still feeling good and running a good pace, so I took off and used the tough climbs of the section to make up some time on the runners ahead of me.



At 4 Bay and closing fast!

At the coming aid stations I kept hearing that I was getting closer and closer to the runners ahead of me. I was flying and reeling them in. At Peterson I was 8 minutes back from the 3rd place runner. At 4 Bay I was 4 minutes back, and at Jay Cooke I was less than 3 minutes from 3rd and 2 minutes from second! The race was on!

I was pressing hard through the technical section from the swinging bridge at Jay Cooke to Carlton. But my closing effort was just not quite enough and I finished in 4th place. I raced very strong, recovering from a real slump at half way and from mile 35 to the finish gained nearly 25 minutes on 2nd and 3rd. It was one of the best run and mentally strongest races I have ever had, and I also showed myself that (with great aid stations and volunteers) a 50 miler with out a crew is no problem for me.

Thank you to the great race directors Andy and Kim Holak, all of the volunteers, and my coach Jason Kask at Superior Performance. Congratulations to all of the other racers and finishers.

See you out on the trails!

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