2008 Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run

That's me at mile 9 with Lake Superior behind me, it was a glorious start to the day!

One down, One to go!

I successfully completed the Superior Sawtooth 100 Mile Trail Run last weekend. It took 31 hours, 20 minutes, 28 seconds. I can honestly say this was the hardest running I have ever done, even harder than Western States. I did not appreciate the technical difficulty of the Superior Hiking Trail until I started running. My initial time in mind was 25 hours, but the night before I revised it back to 30 hours given the feedback from veterans of the race. I would have been close to breaking 30 hours had I not gotten lost during the last 7.1 mile stretch of trail- DOH! I went another 2 miles out of the way for a grand total of nearly 104 miles.

The course was stunning in its scenic beauty and in the way it brought me to complete breakdown and suffering. Not finishing was never an option, but enjoying the last 30 miles was not much of an option either. Thankfully, I had the motivation from the students in Tanzania to keep me moving forward with purpose.

For the first time I carried a digital camera with me and took lots of photos along the way. I have posted this photos for you to see the course, the aid stations and the witness the journey unfold.

I need to give major thanks to Nick Stoneman (my race buddy), Larry Pederson (the race director), my family (for supporting my crazy hobby) and all of the other runners, race and aid station volunteers who make these experiences so memorable and special.

I had a few firsts in this race:

- first time running over 24 hours
- first time running on a trail not meant for running, but for hiking
- first time eating a grilled cheese on the course
- first time eating a grilled ham and cheese on the course
- first time eating a hamburger on the course
- first time eating pancakes on the course
- first time being so physically spent that I could not run for more than 5 minutes at a time
- first time I took photos along the course- enjoy these.
- first time hallucinating while running- yes, you have heard the stories, it really does happen at night and during the day

I am recovering quickly and will start to set my sights on my next 100 mile challenge which is in just over four weeks.

Enjoy the photos and thank you to those who have contributed to the Endurance Africa cause. We can do it and help make a new classroom a reality for the students of the Peace House Secondary School.

Here is the link to the race photos: http://flickr.com/photos/28965358@N04/