2019 Superior Fall Trail Race Runner Thank You

Sep 14, 2019 | Race Updates, Uncategorized

Photo Credit Tone Coughlin

 

Dear Friends,

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been a week since the 2019 Superior Fall Trail Race took place – I trust that everyone is recovering well, but missing the North Shore I am sure! I would like to thank each and every one of you; along with your family, friends, crew and pacers for making this years race a resounding success. I stand in awe of your grit and determination and have nothing but gratitude for the fun, considerate and special people that show up for the Superior Fall Trail Race year in and year out. The Superior family.

Over 365 volunteers came together to make this years race a reality and we owe them a debt of gratitude. As is customary, a thank you letter has been sent out to our volunteers and I encourage you to take a moment to read it – a copy of it can be found on our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/thank-you-letter-to-volunteers-2019/

Live results were available during the race as each runner crossed the finish line along with the live 100 mile runner tracking. The (archived) results and records section under ‘Race Information’ > ‘Results’ of our website has been fully updated for the year.

A race recap has been written and is available on our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/2019-superior-fall-trail-race-recap/ – also stay tuned to the ‘News and Updates / Blog’ section of our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/news-and-updates/ for runner interviews and other fun stuff to be posted in the coming weeks. Our Facebook page HERE https://www.facebook.com/superior100/ does a great job of documenting the two days of racing and is pretty fun to look back on. Finally, be sure to keep an eye out in a future issue of UltraRunning Magazine for a detailed report of this years races.

Photo galleries have been rolling in from our photographers and can be found HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/photos/ – many, but not all (so be sure to check back) galleries have been submitted by our awesome photographers and added to the website!

IMPORTANT – A CALL TO ACTION: As I mentioned at the pre-race meetings, after each years race we do a “Call to Action” asking those runners who are not yet Superior Hiking Trail Association Members to join, and for those who are already members to make an additional financial contribution. We ask that you use these specific links to do as much; Memberships – https://superiorhiking.org/joinsuperior and Donations – https://superiorhiking.org/donatesuperior/ – once you have joined or have made an additional contribution, we ask that you go to THIS Facebook Post on the Superior Facebook page and add a comment to the thread and share the post – lets show the Superior Hiking Trail Association, our fellow trail runners and other trail users that WE ARE TRAIL RUNNERS AND WE SUPPORT THE TRAIL! Like we do every year, the Superior Trail Race will make a significant financial donation to the trail association in addition to contributing 100’s upon 100’s of volunteer hours to the trail each season.

Help our partners Visit Cook County / Cook County Tourism Board. Visit Cook County gives significant support to the Superior Trail Races and ask little in return – one thing they would love to know is, where did you stay on race weekend? THIS https://forms.gle/JeKH5Qy6FGgEFc3y6 survey will take you about one minute to complete – please consider clicking the link and let them know where you stayed!

OK, last ask. We are trying to get our arms around how many people are actually joining us on race weekend. We know how many runners and volunteers we have but what is harder to quantify is how many crews, pacers, spectators, family members etc. are making the trip with our runners. THIS https://forms.gle/SAnuFmV4CHuokKzU6 super short one question survey will only take a minute to complete. Lets shoot for 100% of you taking it… deal?

Have a race report and want to share it? Send me the link and I will add it to our website HERE for others to get your firsthand account of the race! https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/race-reports/

The dates for the 2020 race will be Friday September 11 & Saturday September 12, 2020 (the race is always the weekend after Labor day, BUT please note that dates are contingent on permit approval). The lottery registration period for the 2020 race is currently scheduled to open on January 1st, 2020. Registration will remain open for a 15 day period and the drawing will be held thereafter. Complete / final details with any changes in lottery protocol or procedure will be updated on our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/registration-info/ by no later than December 1st, 2019. If you don’t get in, please volunteer – we have so many people do that each year and it is a big part of what makes this such a great experience for everyone.

Again, it was an absolute pleasure having you, your families and friends with us this year. We hope to see the majority of you again next year – either as runners or volunteers, or returning the favor and pacing / crewing your friends and family. Until next time – happy trails!

Thank You,

John Storkamp
Race Director
[email protected]

Superior Fall Trail Race
100MI, 50MI, 26.2MI Trail Race(s)
Lutsen, Minnesota
(approx 4hrs North of Minneapolis, MN)
September 11 & 12, 2020
• 100MI Friday 8:00AM
• 50MI Saturday 5:15AM
• 26.2MI Saturday 8:00AM

Registration / Lottery:
Registration via 15 day lottery registration period.
Opens Wednesday January 1st, 2020 – 12:01AM CST
Closes Wednesday January 15th, 2020 – 11:59PM CST
Complete Lottery / Registration Details HERE

Directions:
100MI Start: Gooseberry Falls State Park, MN HERE
50MI Start: Finland Rec Center – Finland, MN HERE
26.2MI Start: Cramer Road – Schroder, MN HERE
Races Finish: Carbibou Highlands – Lutsen, MN HERE

Terrain:
The Superior Fall Trail Races 100MI, 50MI & 26.2MI are run on rugged, rooty, rocky, 95% single-track trail with near constant climbs and descents.  The race is held on the Superior Hiking Trail in the Sawtooth Mountains paralleling Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota / not far from the Canadian border.  The race located approximately 4 hours North of Minneapolis, Minnesota.   The Superior Fall Trail Races are very difficult / challenging races and are probably not a good choice for your first trail or ultra race (see Registration Info for qualifying requirements).

100 Mile:
Point to Point 103.3 Miles
Elevation Gain 21,000 FT
Elevation Loss 21,000 FT
NET Elevation Change 42,000 FT
13 Aid Stations
38 hour time limit
Complete 100MI Info HERE

50 Mile:
Point to Point 52.1 Miles
Elevation Gain 12,500 FT
Elevation Loss 12,500 FT
NET Elevation Change 25,000 FT
7 Aid Stations
16.75 hour time limit
Complete 50MI Info HERE

26.2 Mile:
Point to point 26.2 Miles
Elevation Gain 5,500 FT
Elevation Loss 5,500 FT
NET Elevation Change 11,000 FT
3 Aid Stations
14 hour cutoff
Complete 26.2MI Info HERE

More About the Race:
The Superior Trail 100 was founded in 1991 when there was no more than a dozen or so 100 mile trail races in the USA, back then if you wanted to run a 100, you had choices like Western States, Hardrock, Leadville, Wasatch, Cascade Crest, Umstead, Massanutten and Superior . Superior quickly earned it’s reputation of its namesake today – Rugged, Relentless and Remote and is known as one of the tougher 100 mile trail races.  Superior lives on now as one of the “legacy 100 milers” and is considered by many to be one of the most challenging, prestigious and beautiful 100 mile trail races in the country. Shortly after the inception of the 100, the Superior 50 was started and in the early 2000’s the Moose Mountain Marathon was added. None of the history or tradition of this race has been lost and is a great event for those looking for a world-class event with a low-key, old-school 100 miler feel.  The Superior Trail Race is put on by ultrarunners for ultrarunners.

More About the Area:
The North Shore of Lake Superior runs from Duluth, Minnesota at the Southwestern end of the lake, to Thunder Bay and Nipigon, Ontario, Canada, in the North to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in the east. The shore is characterized by alternating rocky cliffs and cobblestone beaches, with rolling hills and ridges covered in boreal forest inland from the lake, through which scenic rivers and waterfalls descend as they flow to Lake Superior. The shoreline between the city of Duluth to the international border at Grand Portage as the North Shore.  Lake Superior is considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It is the world’s third-largest freshwater lake by volume and the largest by volume in North America.  The Superior Hiking Trail, also known as the SHT, is a 310-mile long distance hiking single-track hiking trail in Northeastern Minnesota that follows the ridgeline overlooking Lake Superior for most of its length. The trail travels through forests of birch, aspen, pine, fir, and cedar. Hikers and runners enjoy views of boreal forests, the Sawtooth Mountains, babbling brooks, rushing waterfalls, and abundant wildlife. The lowest point on the trail is 602 feet above sea level and the highest point is 1,829 feet above sea level.