Superior Fall Trail Race 2021 Volunteer Email 1

Date: Wednesday July 14, 2021
Subject: Superior Fall Trail Race 2021 Volunteer Email 1

Hi All,

I am sending this email to past volunteers of the Superior Fall Trail Race (thank you for your past volunteerism!).

I truly, truly hope, that this email finds you all well. I have seen some of you so far this year, but not all, I miss ya!

After a traumatic, and transformative year and a half, I completely understand that returning to and volunteering at Superior may be the furthest thing from your mind. Conversely, I know for many of you, a return to being of service to your fellow runners is something you cannot wait for (or have already been engaged in). We have done some of our other events already this year and they have been really great. Regardless of what you decide to do, I support it and I am forever grateful for everything you have done in the past.

The reason for my email today is to get a sense of who would like to volunteer this year. While we are still in the permitting process (usually done about 10 months in advance, but coming down to the wire due to Covid), we are hopeful that we will get permitted, and that the race will more or less resemble races of years past. The race dates will be Friday September 10 and Saturday September 11, 2021.

If you are in fact interested in volunteering this year, when ready, please sign up via our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/volunteer-signup/ – if there is a specific assignment that you have worked in years past, or an aid station you would like to be at, please let me know in the notes section. If you have a special skill like medical, photography, data entry, HAM radio, etc. please let me know that in the notes as well.

After directing a few races this Spring and Summer, I got to participate in the Curnow Marathon this past weekend. It was the first running race I participated in since October of 2019. I volunteered the night before, ran the race on Saturday and volunteered for cleanup after. As a participant I really did not realize how much I had missed it, until I ran, and got to commiserate with all of my fellow participants at the finish. As a volunteer it was an honor to help support such a great race, with so much history behind it. It is a really special and unique thing we get to do – I am grateful for it.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

Thank You,

John Storkamp
Race Director
racedirector@superiortrailrace.com

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.