Wild Duluth Race Report

Wild Duluth 50k Race Day: Saturday September 19, 2024 – 8am

With a light rain Saturday morning at Oldenburg Point in Jay Cooke State Park, me and a record field of starters awaited the conclusion of race director Andy Holak’s pre-race announcements. The boardwalks and rocks are like ICE, he said. This was a special moment for me – 10 years since my first ultramarathon which was Wild Duluth 50k 2014. Over 10 months prior, I was registering for the Day Across Minnesota gravel bike ride, apprehensively, while also telling myself I didn’t have to train this year. Training and racing wasn’t going to be a priority this year, I told myself. And the racing year played out pretty much that exact same way. I finished a decent amount of races, but with not a lot of specific training. I had no routine or consistency with training, especially after Day Across MN in August. As if I had any before that… I got through DAMn somehow with minimal training, was running well in the early fall at the NMTC Fall Trail Race Series, and that gave me two ways of thinking a month out from Wild Duluth – bust ass and try to win or just go out and have fun. Well, I figured I might as well try to put together some type of training program.

Two weeks out, I got a very good run in with my training partner Kyle. We went to Temperance and ran to Oberg about 12 miles but it was kind of slow… slower than what I was thinking about for Wild Duluth. I figured if I could run 10 minutes per mile, 6 miles per hour, that would give me a 5 hours finish time. Looking at the start list, that wouldn’t have been out of the question to get a decent placement. Maybe top-5, anyways. The North Shore run was easy, though, and I recovered fast. In fact, I even went to the first Sunday NMTC race at Spirit Mountain directly from Temperance River State Park.

The next week, I had the opportunity to get back to the North Shore, and ran 12 miles pretty hard at Cascade River. I ran especially hard at Lookout Mountain, bombing down the overlook to get back to my minivan and not be late for the rest of the day. That was a Friday, and on Sunday at the Bull Run NMTC race, my right hamstring felt pretty weak. My legs in general felt weak. What the heck? I was feeling strong then all the sudden broken. The race went bad, with no spring in my step and getting passed quite a bit towards the end. So, race week I focused on just taking it easy. I drove a ton for work and was seated for many long hours at a time. My hamstring felt tight, sore and weak on Friday before race day. I tried a couple short, easy runs on pavement to try to loosen things up, which worked to some extent. Oh well, let ‘er rip! I jogged down to get my shirts and bib with Dayeton on Friday and we were all set to go.

The bus ride to the start was fun, but nobody seemed to be a fan of the rain. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but cold rain sucks no matter what. It wasn’t too cold and really, optimal running conditions were setting up for our day. My pre-race routine went perfectly and I was set to go at the start. I saw local runner Sam run off to the porta-potty as Andy was going through pre-race stuff and I realized I kind of had to go. Naw, I held it.

The race started and I got surpassed right away by a big group because my right leg was a little tender. I could tell my running form was off a bit. The field was big right away, running through the ski trails of Jay Cooke State Park. My plan was easy running – just rack miles and do no damage. Build a buffer, then stick to 6 miles every hour. I still had to pee and relieved myself in the woods at a spot I swear I’ve stopped at in the past where the ski trails turn to singletrack to go down the big valley in Jay Cooke. I looked around for Dayeton but couldn’t see her. I got right back into a line of people, this time with some local runners Kevin and Matt. I felt kind of moody and went from not wanting to talk to anyone to chatting away. I ran with those two dudes and a couple others in a pack for quite a bit… through Grand Portage aid station to Ely’s Peak. I was feeling great, conditions around Mission Creek were great, but we were going fast and I had built a pretty big buffer of time.

I hadn’t stopped at Grand Portage and was fueling smartly. At Ely’s Peak, I took a lot of food – pb&j sandwich, a pickle on the side, licorice and gummi bears for dessert. I filled up with Tailwind in my handheld, thinking that some liquid calories and carbs would suit me well. I shoved everything in all at once and took off shuffling struggling to chew with that much volume in my mouth. I was looking at my watch to get a sense of where I was at as 100k’ers from the other way were heading into the aid station. About 1:30 in, just over 10 miles. I was on track. My nice big buffer was slipping, though.

I walked up Ely’s Peak with a purpose and tried to get it done as fast as possible without blowing myself up. I was pumped by seeing 100k runners and yelled at each one. “LEGENDARY” was my favorite phrase. One guy maybe saw my singlet and asked if I had a blog. Yes! Lots of positive affirmations, yelling, I saw my friend Aurora and almost slipped to my demise on a slick rock as we passed. I was running pretty tenderly on the wet rocks above Ely’s Peak, but running nonetheless. I came across my friend Liam who complained a bit about his feet hurting. He was wearing Brooks Cascadia and blamed them. My favorite shoe… I passed him up and wondered what place I was in. Not in 5th.

I ran decently into the Bardon’s Peak area, but knew my mile splits were not adequate to achieve my goals. I was alone besides the back of the pack 100k runners going the other way, and without a nice group to run with I was going off of my own strength and abilities, which were waning. I was mortified to feel some abrasion on my nipples and was appalled that I forgot band-aids over that sensitive area of my body. Darn it! Mile splits in the 11 and 12 minute range were common, and I didn’t really see any in the 9s. I needed some 9s. Every time I tried to push, I got sidelined by a really technical downhill or rocky section or boardwalk, and I was just running so tenderly over these areas. My hamstring and legs in general were feeling fine. They were getting sore for sure. I wondered where Dayeton was at. I just chipped away mile after mile, knowing that if I pushed just a little too hard, I’d be suffering badly and hemorrhaging time in Piedmont. At 2 hours, I was right at 6 miles per hour… I went from a strong buffer of time to even. I had to run 10 minutes flat for every mile from here on out. Yeah, right. That wasn’t going to happen. Through the technical and challenging west Spirit Mountain area, I was excited to get to the Magney aid station. It’s such a hard climb to get there, I just stayed in my zone of comfort. They had paper cups at this aid station, and a couple slugs of Coke were fantastic. I took gummi bears along with me, and filled up with “calorie water” again. The Tailwind at this aid station was a bit more flavorful, probably Dauwaltermelon flavor. It was a little too flavored for my liking, but it was fine and I was feeling really good from a nutrition standpoint about halfway through. I got passed a few times heading down to the DWP trail but let them go easily. No problem. I just had no snap, no zing, no zang. I didn’t feel like I was totally imploding, but it became clear mid-way through the race that a sub-10 minute pace was not achievable for me. So, I just kept chipping, with a focus on not having a blow-up. I had to run smart, run within my abilities, and keep up the nutrition.

Down to Spirit, it was fun to hear a big cheering crowd. I didn’t really look around, just kept shuffling. I felt like I was just shuffling. No running, not walking, just a nice little swinging of the legs and relentless forward movement. I felt best running up the hills, whether it was actually faster or not. It helped me pass a couple people going up Spirit Mountain and Knowlton Creek. I was losing time to my 6 miles per hour goal, but not much. Miles in the mid to high 10-minute range, a lot of 11s and a few 12 minutes. But none slower than that. Once I got up near the freeway, I was feeling really good. I was feeling strong. Conditions were good and the rest of the race was super runable. I knew that if I could hang on to just a bit of energy, and stay mentally strong, I could run it out and minimize damage to my time. I linked up with a girl running in front of me that I was with for a mile or two at the very start, and a dude right behind me who was zooming down hills. I asked if he wanted to pass, and he said not unless he wanted me to. Naw, I don’t care! He asked if I’d done this race before. Yep. I asked if he had. Nope. I asked if he’d run any of this course before. Nope. Hm. I figured that’s maybe why he was OK just trailing behind me. We passed up the girl on an uphill and I starting yapping about the rest of the course whether he wanted to hear it or not. I told him that under the I-35 bridge was right about mile 20 out of 30, how the course was a little short of 50k exactly, and how after the freeway it’s a challenging uphill section to the aid station at Highland Getchell. I was just shuffling. I couldn’t push, but that was OK. I was moving. I got a little bit of motivation at Cody Street where there was an “unofficial” aid station at the Growing Duluth parking lot. The kid behind me stopped and I ran through. At the end of the street where we turned into the power lines section, I couldn’t see him. I wanted to put time on him. I didn’t see any other racers throughout the challenging climb to Highland Getchell, and I was pretty quick at that aid station, just filling with Tailwind and leaving. I didn’t have much of an appetite and was hoping that the calorie water would get me to the finish. I just kept shuffling along, focused on moving forward every moment at a sustainable pace. I wasn’t slowing down, but my shuffle pace was becoming harder to maintain. I started thinking of the next day. Ugh. With a bum hamstring, I knew that I was favoring an alternate gait for hours. How was my body going to hold up for the next day? That’s not just a 6 milers… it’s 13 miles. That’s an hours long race. Yikes. No. Focus on today, I told myself. Pass people. A sub-5 was out of reach, but could I beat my time from the previous year? That was… 5:10? I couldn’t remember.

Once we crossed Skyline Parkway and got to Brewer, I got into a group with my first-timer friend and a gal who both seemed fine to hang right behind me. I was a little slow on the runnable sections on top, and when we could see the bridge under Haines Road far below the hillcrest, she made a move to pass me. We all stayed together pretty well on the steep technical downhill to Haines, and I knew I wouldn’t be running fast on the flats. I just had no spring in my step. Under the bridge, she took off and me and the guy behind me just shuffled along. I could tell he had gas in the tank but I was just unable to run faster than 11 minute pace. We kept chipping. The uphills were hard, and I just had to keep the high cadence running motion going to make it up. I felt like walking uphills or just walking in general was too hard to transition. If I just kept the same running cadence and motion I just wouldn’t stop. I envisioned a train. It takes a while for the big train pistons to get up to speed, but once they’re churning and burning, you can’t get them to stop. Keep the pistons pumping. The dude behind me was in lockstep right on my heel, and I liked it. I could tell by his vocal inflection that he was getting tired too. He asked drearily how many more miles. He might have well asked if we were there yet. I remembered the previous year where I kind of fell apart at Piedmont and got passed. This was not going to happen. I just dug deep and kept chipping away mile by mile and it worked. 11:40 minute miles weren’t what I was hoping for, but up to this point, mile 24 and 25 with 5 to go, that was absolutely acceptable. I was excited to get to the final aid station, just spin my legs away up the final uphills and enjoy a smooth finish. I was very thirsty getting to the 24th West aid station. I dumped a swallow of Tailwind and filled up on water quickly, chugging a big couple gulps and spilling all over my chest before I put the cap back on. I looked back over the bridge over Piedmont Avenue right in the Duluth city streetscape and didn’t see my young friend behind me any longer. I didn’t wait up and kept moving as smoothly as I could. There were lots of pedestrians at Enger Tower as usual and I was hoping to ring the peace bell. There was a family and a young kid trying to ring the bell so I didn’t interfere. I did yell “peace be with you!” and they didn’t respond, except with slightly confused looks. Yes, I am delirious, people.

I was able to rack some pretty quick running down from Enger. The homeless encampments were fairly intense, with lots of trash and former personal belongings literally in the middle of the trail. That, and the relentless downhill, were motivation to make my way through Point of Rocks quickly. I looked behind me one last time across I-35. My running form was horrible and I could feel my right leg just weaker than my left. I could tell that my hamstring was weak and causing a bit of compensation. It was a little frustrating and I thought about training in general and where I could do better in the future. Yeah, lots of ways. For now, I was well above 5 hours and just excited to finish. I had been thinking about the sweet finish line and stopping running for a couple hours at least. But, I was super proud with how I stuck it out. Around Bayfront, one turn onto the sidewalk then with one last straightaway to go, I saw Dayeton standing and waving. Nooo!!! She didn’t pass me out there… she must have dropped out. I shook my head and when I got to her said “noo”. I sprinted in for the cameras. It wasn’t sprinting, but it felt so good to get to the finish just over 5:12. I sat down on the ground right away, as I had planned for quite a while. People asked if I wanted a chair. No. It was hard to stand up. My friend Brian helped me up and it felt good to stand. The kid I was running with came in shortly after and I congratulated him on his first Wild Duluth finish.

My legs were just sheerly in pain right after the race. I knew I’d be toeing the line the next day… I wasn’t unprepared for those thoughts to come into my mind. My hamstring had been bothersome throughout the race but somehow it felt fine after the initial shock of soreness wore off. I got home to the shower, layed in bed a bit and actually felt really good by the evening.

50k Race Results

50k GPS Data

Shoes: New Balance Hierro size 12.5
Nutrition: Nathan 18oz insulated handheld with pouch, 3 gels

Harder ‘N Heck Half Marathon Race Day: Sunday September 20, 2024 – 10:30am

I felt good the next morning. Real good. I was kind of rushing around… I really wanted to carry my hatchet to get knighted and a new arrowhead while it was in my hand, but I didn’t really feel super good about having it unsheathed and running on technical, highly uneven trails with hundreds of other people in close proximity. I sewed up a sheath in the morning, being the procrastinator I am, and it came out expectedly shoddy. But, it covered the sharp steel hatchet blade just fine. It was a beautiful day, contrasting nicely with the rainy, cloudy Saturday we encountered for the 50k. I saw a couple other Wildman and Wildwoman racers and we discussed our ailments and predicted how this race would go. Before too long we gathered in a field at Chambers Grove park. It was a big field. I was ready to run. I stood near the front of the line and Andy set us off. It was very congested right away but I remembered to be patient – this was a long race too. I don’t need to jockey for position, I told myself. Across the highway and up mountain bike trails about a mile in, I was breathing very heavily. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. It was a little concerning… my body was not prepared for the shock to the system. I made a couple sketchy passes on the switchback bike trails, got into a nice zone and caught my breath. I felt like I was flying on the mountain bike trails and my body was feeling good. Phew. The sun was shining and it was an utterly immaculate day. Hot, actually. I was sweating already.

I yo-yo’ed with a couple racers and noticed that I wasn’t able to be very consistent pace-wise. I’d be able to run hard on a downhill, then get stuck on the flat and loose steam. Uphills were hard but I found it easiest to run them, just like the day before. Then some downhills were too technical and I was just being pokey and slow going over rocks and roots. I was utterly horrified to realize that I forgot nipple band-aids, AGAIN. That was a very tender area from the day before. Cripes. My first few mile splits were fast. I started slowing down when I found myself alone in the woods. A couple people up ahead zoomed right on out of sight, and nobody else was around. I just got into my zone and chipped away. I had an issue on a root where I got jostled off balance and really tweaked my problematic right hamstring. I limped for a few steps and the pain subsided. No issue. PHEW. Keep chipping away. Just like yesterday.

After some deliberation, I decided to stash in my shorts pockets a half-pack of gummis and one gel, no water and the plastic cup I’d forgotten the day before. It took a while to get to Ely’s but it was a super fun section. I took a bit of calorie water at the aid station, some gummis and took off. I knew I’d be walking up the scramble to Ely’s Peak, but running felt good on the bike path so I let ‘er rip. Ely’s was no problem. Some nice power hiking concluded with seeing Eric taking pictures and Dayeton drinking coffee at the top.

Back to running on top of Ely’s, I was a bit focused on people not passing me. There was nobody really around, but I felt like I had to keep pushing. It’s good running on the way to Bardon’s Peak and I made adequate time. I could tell I was slowing down by the way I felt and by my watch’s mile splits. 11s and 12s, just like yesterday. I got one speed here! Into the western Spirit Mountain area went fine. It is so technical and rocky and rooty but I didn’t really have any issues like ankle turns or falling down, because I went slow. The boardwalks were still a little bit slick from the rain the day before, but at least the rocks seemed very dry. A gal came up from behind me as we were getting close to the bottom of the ski hill. Andy announced that he had to get some extra mileage and we’d go all the way up the ski hill. That came back into my mind as we got closer to the finish line. I wondered if that was a joke. No, it had to be a real announcement, I told myself. When we popped out to a catwalk, signs directed us straight back up the ski hill just like he said. I ran it up and actually put a little time on the gal behind me. I was just gassed… going straight up the hill was torturous. I didn’t have to push like crazy, I told myself, but tried to get into a nice little rhythm where I didn’t feel like dying. At the top I just chugged along steadily, happy to not see anyone behind me. A couple little turns through the woods and we popped out at the top of Knowlton where an access road intersects the SHT. I saw another racer who told me they got lost. They got into the single track trail right in front of me and I caught up to apply a bit of pressure. He moved aside hearing my footsteps right behind him. I told myself I had to put time down and ran hard. No issues! Nobody passing me! Let’s go! Finally, the cheering crowd greeted me to the finish line and I held my hatchet high for a solid finish.

All in all, my lead-up was relatively poor and my race finishes and times were about as expected. It was funny to see GPS paces 3 seconds of each other for the 50k and half marathon. One speed only. Both races played out similarly, and my right hamstring really bore the brunt of the effort. That will heal, though. In retrospect, I think the 50k/half combination is easier than 100k/10k. Running the half was challenging, through, and at the time I figured it was the harder combination. No way. I’ll be back for another arrowhead.

Half Marathon Race Results

Half Marathon GPS Data

Shoes: Brooks Cascadia size 12.5
Gear: reusable cup, 1 gel, half pack of gummis