A year ago I attempted my first 50 miler in the village of Theilman, MN. The Zumbro 100 Mile Endurance Run has a 50 mile and 17 mile option, along with the 100 mile option. At that point in time I had already completed two 50k's and knew I wanted to push it a little longer so I signed up for the 50 miler and hit the trails. The course was brutal, as was the weather. I don't think I was fully prepared physically or mentally which pushed me out of the race at mile 33.4. On the ride home I told my wife, I would not do Zumbro again, it was too tough. Then over the summer I decided to contradict myself and go for it again, this time I knew what I was getting in to. This is my official race report for the Zumbro 50 Miler for 2015.
Brandon (a friend of mine and coworker) and I left Fort Dodge at 10am Friday morning. I had gotten a good 13 hours of sleep and carb loaded plenty that week. My legs felt fresh, and my mind was prepared. We pulled into the camp ground at about 2:00pm and set up camp. The scenery is incredible there, the weather was perfect, and the crowd of people were incredible. Quickly we settled in, bought our official Zumbro gear as souvenirs, and the nerves set in so bad there was no way I was napping as I had planned. We met some great guys who set up camp next to us, Joe and Justin. The hours ticked by and eventually midnight rolled around and we started the race.
The start of Zumbro is filled with energy. These aren't your fitness junkies, health nuts, or bucket listers, these are the crazies. 50 miles is no joke, which makes it hard to conceptualize those 100 milers. It was right around 36 degrees at the start, oh yeah and did I mention the race starts at midnight? Our race director yelled go and we headed off into the black abyss only lit by the 150 head lamps bouncing up and down. Your peripheral vision is zero, the steam from your breath gives you a dense fog to look through, and the footing is rough...for about all 50 miles.
Most of the race is run on single track horse trails through the closest terrain you get to mountains in MN. With an elevation gain of over 2300 feet per 16.7 mile loop to say this course is hilly is an understatement (check out the elevation chart below). Rocks jut out at random points, mud and sand also become and issue, and at some points you wonder what would happen if I took a fall here? This course isn't for the weak, so leave the stroller at home.
The 50 mile race consists of three 16.7 mile loops with 5 aid stations per loop. The aid stations are spaced nicely, so you never have to go more than 4.3 miles before the next station. These stations are run by some awesome volunteers and are packed with delectable goodies ranging from fruit, to candy, to pancakes, to soup, to soda, and much more. Upon arrival to each aid station you yell out your bib number and you are treated like a king, as they fill your water, hand you snacks, and in some cases will bandage you up, offer a seat next to a fire, etc.
I went in with the mentality to finish. My first loop felt great. I came around in about three and a half hours with legs feeling phenomenal. It was still dark, obviously, which starts to wear on you after awhile. It gets lonely and I couldn't wait for that sunrise. The temperature was dropping too with a low of about 27 before sunrise, it was cold. I started my second loop and a little more than halfway through the sun was rising, and it was glorious. On one side of an overhang I looked down and saw an entire valley filled with dense fog and on the other side I saw the sunrise. The scenery on this run is unmatched for me, it's truly breathtaking (but that could just be the fact that I was running). I could feel the lactic acid building up and my pace falling off a bit, but I came around my second loop in about 4 hours which put the time at 7:30am (this is when I dropped the previous year). I changed my shirt and jacket, ate some much needed calories and carbs, refilled my water, and headed out once again, this time without a headlamp (thank goodness).
The last lap was painful, I'll admit. The hills had done a number on my knees throughout the course, and not to mention this was now the farthest distance I had ever covered. I took it aid station by aid station. I walked when needed, and jogged (probably looked more like a hobble) when I could. Brandon, Joe, and Justin (all ran the 17 miler) caught up with about 4 miles left (there race started at 9am) to give me some much needed encouragement and put a smile on my face. Brandon and I hit the last aid station and took off for the finish. My mind was gone, our legs were shot (this was also his farthest run), I was exhausted, and we both couldn't wait to cross that finish line. We made our way out into the clearing where the finish line is in view and ran for it. Crossing the finish line was emotional, maybe due to the exhaustion, or the realization that I had just run for 13 hours and made it 50 miles, or knowing that hard work pays off. It was an awesome feeling and then I passed out, in the car, and took a much needed cat nap before we hit the road.
Overall, the course is beautiful. It's a brutal course that cannot be adequately described through blogging. Zumbro is organized well. It's a low key, laid back ultra marathon (which I think their website says). You have some great people, running, organizing, and volunteering. Running 50 miles put a lot into perspective for me. Now the big question, would I do it again? Of course. I told myself I wouldn't as I was running my final loop, but now after a few days of relaxation, I want to get back there in April 2016 and do it again.
Now for the technicalities:
Gear:
Brandon (a friend of mine and coworker) and I left Fort Dodge at 10am Friday morning. I had gotten a good 13 hours of sleep and carb loaded plenty that week. My legs felt fresh, and my mind was prepared. We pulled into the camp ground at about 2:00pm and set up camp. The scenery is incredible there, the weather was perfect, and the crowd of people were incredible. Quickly we settled in, bought our official Zumbro gear as souvenirs, and the nerves set in so bad there was no way I was napping as I had planned. We met some great guys who set up camp next to us, Joe and Justin. The hours ticked by and eventually midnight rolled around and we started the race.
The start of Zumbro is filled with energy. These aren't your fitness junkies, health nuts, or bucket listers, these are the crazies. 50 miles is no joke, which makes it hard to conceptualize those 100 milers. It was right around 36 degrees at the start, oh yeah and did I mention the race starts at midnight? Our race director yelled go and we headed off into the black abyss only lit by the 150 head lamps bouncing up and down. Your peripheral vision is zero, the steam from your breath gives you a dense fog to look through, and the footing is rough...for about all 50 miles.
Most of the race is run on single track horse trails through the closest terrain you get to mountains in MN. With an elevation gain of over 2300 feet per 16.7 mile loop to say this course is hilly is an understatement (check out the elevation chart below). Rocks jut out at random points, mud and sand also become and issue, and at some points you wonder what would happen if I took a fall here? This course isn't for the weak, so leave the stroller at home.
The 50 mile race consists of three 16.7 mile loops with 5 aid stations per loop. The aid stations are spaced nicely, so you never have to go more than 4.3 miles before the next station. These stations are run by some awesome volunteers and are packed with delectable goodies ranging from fruit, to candy, to pancakes, to soup, to soda, and much more. Upon arrival to each aid station you yell out your bib number and you are treated like a king, as they fill your water, hand you snacks, and in some cases will bandage you up, offer a seat next to a fire, etc.
I went in with the mentality to finish. My first loop felt great. I came around in about three and a half hours with legs feeling phenomenal. It was still dark, obviously, which starts to wear on you after awhile. It gets lonely and I couldn't wait for that sunrise. The temperature was dropping too with a low of about 27 before sunrise, it was cold. I started my second loop and a little more than halfway through the sun was rising, and it was glorious. On one side of an overhang I looked down and saw an entire valley filled with dense fog and on the other side I saw the sunrise. The scenery on this run is unmatched for me, it's truly breathtaking (but that could just be the fact that I was running). I could feel the lactic acid building up and my pace falling off a bit, but I came around my second loop in about 4 hours which put the time at 7:30am (this is when I dropped the previous year). I changed my shirt and jacket, ate some much needed calories and carbs, refilled my water, and headed out once again, this time without a headlamp (thank goodness).
The last lap was painful, I'll admit. The hills had done a number on my knees throughout the course, and not to mention this was now the farthest distance I had ever covered. I took it aid station by aid station. I walked when needed, and jogged (probably looked more like a hobble) when I could. Brandon, Joe, and Justin (all ran the 17 miler) caught up with about 4 miles left (there race started at 9am) to give me some much needed encouragement and put a smile on my face. Brandon and I hit the last aid station and took off for the finish. My mind was gone, our legs were shot (this was also his farthest run), I was exhausted, and we both couldn't wait to cross that finish line. We made our way out into the clearing where the finish line is in view and ran for it. Crossing the finish line was emotional, maybe due to the exhaustion, or the realization that I had just run for 13 hours and made it 50 miles, or knowing that hard work pays off. It was an awesome feeling and then I passed out, in the car, and took a much needed cat nap before we hit the road.
Overall, the course is beautiful. It's a brutal course that cannot be adequately described through blogging. Zumbro is organized well. It's a low key, laid back ultra marathon (which I think their website says). You have some great people, running, organizing, and volunteering. Running 50 miles put a lot into perspective for me. Now the big question, would I do it again? Of course. I told myself I wouldn't as I was running my final loop, but now after a few days of relaxation, I want to get back there in April 2016 and do it again.
Now for the technicalities:
Gear:
- Obvious stuff (compression shorts, running pants, dry fit shirt, light jacket)
- Head lamp for first two laps (33.4 miles)
- Fit Socks (3 pair to change every loop)
- Salomon Speedcross 3's (only wore on lap 1)
- Hoke One One Odysseys (wore for lap 2 and 3)
- Suunto Ambit 3 GPS watch
- Nathan hydration pack
- Nuun electrolyte tabs, Clif energy gels and Shot Blocks
- Handheld water bottle
- Buff/wrap
- Anti chafing cream
- Loop 1 (16.7 miles) : 3:23:11, pace 12:11/mile
- Loop 2 (16.7 miles): 4:16:22, pace 15:23/mile
- Loop 3 (16.7 miles): 5:20:29, pace 19:14/mile
- Overall (50.1 miles): 13:00:03, pace 15:34/mile
- Place: 45 out of 100 finishers (39 dropped)
- Calories burned: about 6135 (or about 41 beers)
- Hours without sleep: 34