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I was so excited to hear that Andy Holak was bringing back
the Northwoods Snowshoe Marathon in Duluth. As the Northwoods Winter Trail
Marathon. I always loved that snowshoe
marathon!
The new race would take place on different trails, with
option of snowshoe or trail shoe. There would be a half marathon and full
marathon option. I was all in. I was going to run in trail shoes.
I stayed at Fitgers on Friday night and attended the trail
film festival/packet pick up at Iron Works. It was so much fun!
The race didn’t begin until 930 so I had lots of time in the
morning. In fact, I felt like I needed a second breakfast before start
time! I began with 2 bananas and an
orange. At the start while waiting I ate a sweet potato. I was all set!
The weather was uncharacteristically warm. The high the day
before was 42 degrees and at the start it was already 32 degrees with a
forecast of 40. Unbelievable. It made for very warm, wet conditions. The snow
was deep and melting, it was so soft and hard to maneuver through.
I was surprised that we were able to run on these trails as most
are public use and fat bikers use them. I saw people skiing, biking,
snowshoeing and running. We were making deep footprints on the trail. We were
really messing it up.
The conditions were real tough. We were post-holing through
the snow, up mid calf through some of the trail. The snow was too soft to run
on top of, we just sunk. Within 2 miles I had to remove my windbreaker. I was
glad I had a pack so I could just stuff extra clothing away. It was very warm.
There was an aid station at mile 7. It took me over 2 hours
to get there! I didn’t need anything, I just trudged on
through. I had plenty of Tailwind in my bladder and a good supply of gels.
The trails were just gorgeous. We ran along Hawks Ridge fat
bike trail which is perched high above the Lakeside neighborhood with
incredible views of Lake Superior and the City. It truly was amazing…yet
incredibly difficult to run through.
As I was running back to the start I began to think about
how long it was taking me. It would be
3:30 hours before I finally got to the start/finish again. I began to worry
about daylight. I began to worry that it would take me to dark to finish. I
hadn’t brought a head lamp. I never dreamed it would take me so long. I began
to listen to others complain about the conditions. Their feet were cold and
wet. They weren’t going to continue. I began to take a self check. I felt good,
strong. I wasn’t sore, I wasn’t cold. I was working hard but sure didn’t want
to stop. My only concern was daylight.
I decided I wouldn’t worry about the light. I wasn’t going
to stop because of something that may not even happen.
I ran into the start
and asked if anyone had a head lamp I could borrow..no one responded so
I refilled my bladder with water and threw away my empty gels. I asked a group
of women if they were ready to head back out with me but they were all
dropping. I was so shocked. I said so
long and headed out.
I was hoping the trail would have been in a little better condition
for the second loop but it really wasn’t. I was still sinking into the warmed
snow and doing a lot of sliding. I
decided to make an effort to run faster so that I would finish in daylight.
I didn’t see ANY other runners for the whole second half.
Not a one! I began to wonder if anyone
else was running the marathon. I was
running a good two minutes faster per mile, I figured if it was getting dark at
the aid station, mile 20, I could stop there. I trudged on and made it to the
aid station at 2:45PM. I had a good two hours to do 6 miles in the light…I
figured I could go for it.
I continued on, picking up my pace as I neared the finish. I
felt so good, so strong, so happy. I loved the trails, the beautiful views of
the lake, the overlooks of the city, it really was incredible.
After 6:30 hours I came into the finish. It was a great
effort. I was thrilled with my :30 negative split. It was daylight. I made
it!
After I finished a volunteer walked up to me with an age
group award. I couldn’t believe it. 1st Place 50-59 and 3rd
woman overall.
I had a spectacular time. A great day!
