Upper Midwest Trail Runners News

BANQUET TIME!

Mike Wallin — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 01:27:21 GMT

This years banquet will be on Nov 22! Potluck, Door prizes, Swap table, this year's race series winners, TPOTY and TROTY and our special speaker Colleen MacDonald

Potluck starts at 5:30 at Hope Church 7910 15th St. N. Oakdale, MN 55128.

RSVP today to help us plan for numbers

New UMTR Merch!!!

Jeff Berg — Mon, 05 May 2025 21:17:42 GMT

Looking to support our trails, support your favorite trail running organization and look good while doing it? Well we have it all here for you! New Merch for the 2025 you. Curious? Click the link!

https://umtr.printify.me/

Happy New Year!

Mike Wallin — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 14:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year everyone!

While this is our quieter season its never to early to start thinking about participating in the 2025 Race series, especially with race signups and lotteries opening up!

As mentioned at the banquet all races that were in the series in 2024 will return in 2025. When the board meets for their annual retreat we will work on assessing and considering new ones that you can expect to be announced early in the year.

Race Series rules can be found on our website

Here is a run down of the preliminary list of races:

Trail Series:

Zumbro 17 Mile
Trail Mix 25K, 12.5k, 6k
Chippewa 10K & 30K
Storm the Park 5K/15K/30K
The Willow 10 & 20 Mile
Go Spring 5K & 10K
Superior Trail 25K & 12.5 K
Chester Woods 10 Mile
Afton Trail 25K
Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon
Storm the Farm 43K, 30k & 21k, 10k
Mines of Spain 4 Mile, 7 Mile, ½ Marathon
Marquette 5k
Mindy Creek 13.1 & 26.2
Superior Moose Mountain Marathon
William O'Brien 25k
In Yan Teopa 10 Mile
Fire Tower 35K & 11K
Harder 'n Heck Half Marathon & Terribly Tough 10k
Surf the Murph 25K
Hixon 25K
Run the Ritter 10 & 5 Mile

Ultra Series

End Sure 100 Mile, 100K, 50K
Zumbro 34 Mile, 50 Mile, 100 Mile
Trail Mix 50K
Storm the Park 50k
Chippewa 50K
Ice Age 50 Mile, 50K
Superior Trail 50K
Chester Woods 50M & 50K
Kettle Moraine 100 Mile, 100K, 50K
Black Hills 100, 50 Mile, 50K
Afton Trail 50K
Dances with Dirt 50 Mile, 50K
Voyageur 50 Mile
Marquette 50 Mile, 50K
Midwest States 100, 100K, 50K
Superior 100 Mile, 50 Mile
William O'Brien 50K
Fire Tower 100K & 50K
Glacial Trail 50 Mile, 50K
Mines of Spain 100, 100K
Black River 50K & 85K
Wild Duluth 100K, 50K
Surf the Murph 50 Mile, 50K
Hixon 50K

Gnarly Bandit

(If interested in the signing up for the Gnarly Bandit, Please email gnarly.bandit@umtr.org)

Zumbro 100
Kettle 100
Black Hills 100
Superior 100
Wild Duluth 100k

More too come! We are excited for 2025! See you out on the Trails!

UMTR BANQUET NOVEMBER 23rd

Mike Wallin — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:31:03 GMT

UMTR Banquet on Saturday, November 23rd

UMTR's Annual Banquet & Awardsfest will open at 5:30pm on Saturday 11/23 at Hope Church in Oakdale, with programming starting at 6:30. Arrive early to participate in the gear swap and grab a good seat for the potluck dinner. If you're joining us this year, please make sure to RSVP so we know you're coming, and let us know if you plan to bring something for the potluck.

The evening will begin with our Annual Meeting, where we'll report on our impact this year, review the results of our member survey and share a plan of action and elect new board members. Then, we'll move right into the presentation of awards for Trail Person and Trail Runner of the Year, and winners of our Trail, Ultra, and Gnarly Bandits series!

This year's special guest is Jeff Berg, a UMTR member and creator of The Ultra Pickle Project, a film exploring the motivations of ultra runners and the amazing community surrounding them here in the Upper Midwest. Jeff will be showing some never-before-seen footage that didn't make the final cut, and sharing lessons learned in creating his film. You don't want to miss this!

And, of course, what would the banquet be without DOOR PRIZES!? We've got some really good ones this year. Discounted races, free races, and guaranteed entries! Plus swag from some iconic races and top running shops. We'll be giving away prizes at the end of the evening, so don't plan on skipping out early!

Harvey Lewis speaking at the UMTR Banquet

Henry Slocum — Sun, 19 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Our annual Banquet and Awardsfest is happening this year on Saturday, November 18th at Hope Church in Oakdale, MN. We're excited to be returning to a potluck-style dinner along with our usual program. We'll review the year of UMTR, and hand out awards for Race Series winners, plus the Trail Person and Trail Runner of the Year!

As is tradition, we'll end the evening with a presentation from someone in the world of trail running. This year, we're honored to have Harvey Lewis joining us remotely to talk about his running career! Harvey has taken top honors at premier national events like Badwater 135 and the neverending Big Dog's Backyard Ultra, alongside some notable results at Upper Midwest favorites FANS 24hr races and the Superior Sawtooth 100.

We hope you can join us for what will be a great evening! Please RSVP with this form to let us know you're coming. And remember- you must be a UMTR member to attend.

Come help out at The Willow!

Jamison Swift — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 18:47:17 GMT

This year UMTR is taking over an aid station at The Willow trail race just northeast of Hudson, WI, and that means WE NEED YOU!! We're looking for energetic folks to come help us on May 7th, 2022 from 7am until around 1pm (or any portion of time in-between).

If you've never helped at an aid station before this is a great way to give back and help out your fellow runners who are doing amazing things. The race will be providing food and supplies, so all we need is your smiling face.

Please email jamison.swift "at" umtr.org if you can help!

What's in store for 2022!

Jamison Swift — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 13:24:40 GMT

Whatever you're up to, we hope 2022 has exciting things ahead! It's shaping up to be a great year for UMTR members. Last weekend we hosted our annual Board of Directors retreat, where we outlined our vision for the year and began planning for some great programming. Here is an introduction to what we're up to in 2022.

New option for auto-renewing membership

Your annual membership is the financial backbone of our organization- without those dues, we wouldn't be able to sponsor volunteer opportunities, fun runs, or provide additional financial support to trail organizations across our region. Now, we've made it even easier to renew your membership each year. Now, when you login to renew your membership, you'll have the option to select automatically renewing membership, instead of having to submit a renewal each year. We've kept the manually renewing membership option, for those who don't wish to be billed automatically.

All current memberships have defaulted to manual renewal. If you'd like to switch to an automatic annual renewal, visit the membership renewal page and select the "UMTR Membership (auto-renewal)" option. You can always change your billing preference through your member profile on UMTR.org.

Flex your competitive muscles in the UMTR Race Series!

We are pleased to be bringing back our Trail and Ultra race series this year. Of course, if these challenges don't sound tough enough, you can take on the Gnarly Bandits series and attempt 5 of the toughest races on offer in the Upper Midwest! Series schedules have just been updated on our website, and you can sign up any time to take part in any of the race series you choose. All the details you need to get registered can be found at https://umtr.org/How-to-Sign-Up. (Participation in UMTR Race Series does not guarantee entry into individual races.)

Keep an eye out for more details on the Race Series, including this year's sponsors, coming soon!

Volunteer opportunities

UMTR members have access to so many incredible trail systems and racing opportunities, thanks in large part to volunteer efforts. We are proud to play a role in these efforts, and offer multiple ways for UMTR members to give back to the trails and the communities that support them. Looking to get involved this year? Stay tuned for information about volunteering at UMTR aid stations at several races this year, as well as several trail work projects that you can support.

Mid-Term Director positions available

Looking for a different way to volunteer? How about joining UMTR's Board of Directors? We recently had some board members step down, and are looking to fill the remainder of their terms. Are you interested in helping guide and implement UMTR's mission? Contact us at info@umtr.org, and let us know if you are interested in a one- or two-year term.

Time to get your hands dirty!

Jamison Swift — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 15:40:35 GMT

UMTR is once again partnering with the Superior Hiking Trail Association for some trail work. This is a great opportunity to get out there and give back to the trails, as well as learn what it takes to maintain the places we love to run.

Saturday Aug 28

9am - 2 pm

Work on a trail project in Duluth led by the SHTA. Exact project TBD: could be hauling material for a structure and helping to construct it, working on a short section of new trail, or a maintenance project of brushing and widening a section of trail.

UMTR will provide lunch + snacks

Contact Rose Ryan (rose.ryan@umtr.org) with questions and RSVP

Sign up by Wednesday Aug 25

See you out there!

2021 Fall Events

Jamison Swift — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 16:30:06 GMT

Wow, what a great time at the Aint City Trail event! Thank you to everyone who came out and joined in. Even though it was smoke-y out, a few folks were still able to discover some trails in their backyard. We can't wait to do more of these in the future.

Mark your calendars!

We're going to attempt to hold our annual banquet this year, though it will probably look a little different (no potluck for example). Save the date of November 20th for our annual pre-banquet run and event.

We're also doing our final group run of the year at the Final Fall Fatass Frolic on November 13th at Elm Creek Park.

More details will be upcoming soon.

Help shape the future of UMTR!

Keep an eye on your email and social media channels on how to join the UMTR board of directors next year. Nominations will be opening up in a few weeks.

"Aint City Running"- An Urban Trail Running Event with Saint City Running

Henry Slocum — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 15:01:37 GMT

Summer is heating up, and we're excited to see the return of so many social running events! After more than a year's long hiatus, UMTR is bringing back a number of non-competitive group runs that keep our members connected and welcome those who are new to trail running. Our next opportunity is coming up on Sunday, August 1st, with "Aint City Running"!

It's no secret that the Twin Cities Metro area has many amazing trails to run. This summer, we want to show off some of the best choices for city dwellers, that don't even require a trip in the car to get to! Join UMTR and Saint City Running on an urban trail exploration through Hidden Falls and Crosby Farm parks. We will have guides and trail buddies for a variety of distances and paces, making this a great event for all!

Let's talk race series

Jamison Swift — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 21:30:39 GMT

Happy Spring everyone and welcome back to racing! We wanted to take a brief moment to update everyone on how the race series are going to work this year.

We're hoping to hold our various series as close to as normal as possible, however, we ask that people have patience and understanding if circumstances require changing things at the last minute. Many race directors are struggling to get permission to hold an event, and sometimes that means shifting date or distances. Remember everyone is doing their best.

Trail Series: The trail series has kicked off with Zumbro and Trail Mix, and Willow is right around the corner on May 1st. If you've signed up for this series you should have already heard from series director Mandy on how to submit your results.

Ultra Series: We've had 4 events happen in the Ultra series with END Sure, Zumbro, Trail Mix, and the awesome Chippewa 50K finishing up right now. Series director Carl will be contacting folks after each race about submitting results.

Timed Series: The first Timed Series event is the Treasured Havens Farm 3, 6, and 12 hour run on May 30th. The rest of the schedule is still very much in flux and we'll keep people posted as we hear more.

Gnarly Bandit: This is the one everyone has been asking about... and YES we are hoping to have a Gnarly Bandit series for this year. However, with the absence of Zumbro, this will once again be a 4-race series this year; Kettle Moraine 100, Black Hills 100, Superior 100, and Wild Duluth 100K. Series director Brandon will be keeping track of results and who's still in, and who's still out, as the year goes on.

Finally, there's still time to join in the fun, and it's as simple as 1, 2, 3...

Make sure you're a current member of UMTR. You must be a member in good standing to participate. You can sign up at https://umtr.org/Membership

MAKE SURE TO CHECK IF YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS CURRENT! MANY PEOPLE HAVE LAPSED MEMBERSHIP AND DON'T EVEN KNOW IT!
Once you're a member, check out our instructions on how to select your race series for 2021. https://umtr.org/How-to-Sign-Up (must be logged in to view)
Go run and have fun!!!

We also want to thank our sponsors:

These are great folks in our running community and they've earned our support, and they are helping to support us. Go check them out!

Kicking off 2021!

Jamison Swift — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 20:03:48 GMT

Greetings UMTR!

Your Board of Directors just completed our annual retreat to plan for the year and we wanted to share a few things that you can expect coming up.

First, we know that everyone is very excited to know about the race series. We're going to send out a more detailed email in the coming weeks, but we wanted to let everyone know that we're going to try really hard to run the series as normally as we can. There will need to be adjustments and we'll communicate those as soon as we can.

Next up, we're really excited that 2021 holds the promise of more in-person gatherings. We're planning 3-4 fatass events over the year, and even if they need to be held in a socially distant fashion, they will still hopefully happen. As with all in person events we will be following guidance from the CDC and other governmental authorities to ensure everyone stays safe.

Finally, we are very, very hopeful that we'll be able to hold a year end gathering this year. Depending on the situation it may look a bit different, but our intention is to get everyone together at the end of the year to celebrate our bounce-back year!

Make sure you keep an eye on our website (https://umtr.org/), emails, and social media accounts to keep up to date on all the latest happenings. And if your membership is lapsing soon, please renew and help us keep supporting trail running in the Upper Midwest.

UMTR Membership and Auto-Renewals

Jamison Swift — Sat, 02 Jan 2021 18:02:51 GMT

Happy New Year everyone! We can't wait to get 2021 kicked off right, and we're incredibly excited about what trail running holds for the next year.

BUT! We can't do it alone. In order for UMTR to give money back to trails, and put on fatass events, and have prizes for our race series, and sponsor trail work weekends... we need your support. 2020 has decimated our membership numbers, and we're looking at a tough road ahead in rebuilding. If you've been a member in the past, we'd love to have you join us again. We need as many people as possible to help make 2021 incredible.

About that auto-renew thing...

Many of you may remember that when you signed up in 2019 there was an option for auto-renewal. Some people liked this, and other people didn't. Our software platform has a limitation in allowing users to choose to auto-renew, and therefore, we needed to turn off auto-renewal for everyone. That means that you may think you're still a member, but actually, your membership has lapsed. You can head over to https://umtr.org/Sys/Profile and check your membership details at any time to see what your status is. We'll be investigating other options for auto-renewal in the future, but for the time being we need to ask people to renew manually.

Thank you again for helping us advocate for this sport that we love! We're so proud of our community here in the upper midwest, and everywhere we travel we hear nothing but great things about runners from our region. Thank you for being amazing, and please come join us on this journey into an incredible future.

Give to the Max Day and the Trails

Carl Bliss — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 01:55:40 GMT

Thursday is Give to the Max Day in Minnesota! It's a day when Minnesotan's step up and help the many non-profits that help make the midwest a better place.

On this day of generosity, many organizations are able to take advantage of matching funds to make your donation go farther (and we know you like to go farther!)

There are many incredible organizations helping to preserve outdoor spaces, encourage an active lifestyle, and make outdoor recreation accessible to everyone in our community. If you plan to participate in Give to the Max day, we want to encourage you to remember organizations like this.

While this list is certainly not exhaustive, here are a few organizations UMTR has partnered with in the past:

Even if you're not from Minnesota, we'd love to encourage you to remember the organizations making the trail a better place, with your year-end giving.

Getting started in Trail Running

Jamison Swift — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 14:54:57 GMT

Many people want to start trail running, but don't know how. That's where folks like Jake Hegge come in. He's a physical therapist and coach at Trail Transformation. Come listen in as he shares tips and tricks for people who are just getting started!

https://youtu.be/a8kGJlMHj4I

A summer of hiking on the SHT and IAT

Jamison Swift — Thu, 02 Jul 2020 14:24:23 GMT

It's been a busy summer so far on two of the long trails in our region, the Superior Hiking Trail and the Ice Age Trail. UMTR supports these two trails, and we've all come to love being on them, either for races or just for fun. Check out some of the amazing accomplishments that are happening right in our backyard!

Brittany Peterson and Cody Lind recently lowered the supported FKT time on the SHT, coming on the heels of recent records set by Michael Koppy, Alex Elizabeth, and Rory Anderson. They battled some incredibly warm temps and sleepless nights to drop their time to just over 4 days 9 hours.
Coree Woltering is a midwest favorite at races, and an incredible athlete on the world stage. He took to the Ice Age Trail and dropped the FKT to 21 days 13 hours 35 minutes. Check out this awesome profile of him where he talks about his time in the sport, and the challenges of being a gay, person of color in trail running.
Also check out Crystal Gail who will be starting her SHT trek on July 4th to raise awareness of the healing power of nature, and support of PGM One, an organization that seeks to help BIPOC engage with environmental issues.

With many events being cancelled during the pandemic, it's a great time to get out there and do some hiking. Even small section hikes can be great training for the endurance required for ultras, and for learning more about the trails that we love.

2020 Race Series and Banquet

Jamison Swift — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 13:21:53 GMT

Greeting runners! We hope you all dealing with a difficult 2020 as well as possible.

As you all know, many of the races in all of our race series have been either cancelled or postponed. At this point it is not clear that runners will have the opportunity to participate and complete three races in any of the Trail, Ultra, and Timed Series that are required to be eligible for awards, let alone all the races in the Gnarly Bandit Series. Further, we do not want to encourage participation in races under conditions that a runner may consider uncomfortable or unsafe.

Thus, the UMTR Board has decided to cancel the Trail, Ultra, Timed, and Gnarly Bandit Series for 2020. We are hopeful for the 2021 racing season, and to the extent possible we plan on keeping the scheduled races for 2021 the same as for 2020.

We have also made the difficult decision to cancel our annual Banquet, due to ongoing public health concerns. While we relish the idea of gathering with members from across our region to share stories and celebrations, we determined it would not be possible to create an adequately safe and hygienic atmosphere in our traditional potluck format. We do hope, however, to share a virtual address with members at the end of the year, to acknowledge the difficulties overcome and accomplishments made in a challenging year.

The banquet also serves as our annual membership meeting, an important part of which is electing new Board members. We will still hold an election this year, through an electronic poll. In the coming months we will be posting nomination forms and information regarding how the election will be conducted.

Stay safe, positive, and keep on running!

Inclusion and diversity in trail running

Jamison Swift — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 21:11:25 GMT

A couple of years ago, UMTR updated its mission statement to include the following phrase: “In our experience, the trail running community is tremendously diverse, welcoming, and open.” However it has become apparent that this is not the truth that many people in the trail running world have experienced. Trail running has never been known for being very diverse and it has struggled with carrying out a commitment to being an inclusive community. There are many who feel unwelcome in the trail running world and as a community, we need to do better.

UMTR is not a running club, and we do not speak for any specific group of local runners. We are an organization that advocates for the betterment of trails and the sport of trail running, however, we feel that the injustices in the world we live in compel us to use our position to model a better way. We know that our community has lessons to learn and changes to make if we are to truly work towards our mission.

Going forward, the UMTR Board would like to announce some initiatives that we'll be taking, in an effort to align our work with our values, and the future of trail running we strive to create. These are two specific actions that we feel are within our capabilities (as an all-volunteer organization), and that play to the strengths of what our organization can do.

We will be intentionally seeking to add more diversity to our board of directors, and ensure that our board better reflects the composition of the trail running community.
We will be using our platform to help amplify the conversations that are happening around our sport about race and equity.

Therefore, you can expect to see more communication from us, across our social media platforms, over the coming months about racial inclusion and overall diversity in trail running. In particular, we will be sharing links to discussions and perspectives that we hope will help our community find real solutions to the issues that our sport is facing.

We ask that through this process that everyone remain respectful and focused on our shared mission to build a trail running community that is tremendously diverse, welcoming, and open. We also welcome your input and feedback about how UMTR can do better.

Also, during this time, we would also like to share some links to organizations that help promote diversity in outdoor activities. If you have the means, please give generously.

Black Girls Run
Girls on the Run
Outdoor Afro
And a whole lot more that you can find on REI's website

Sincerely,

UMTR Board of Directors

A Statement Regarding the Death of George Floyd

Carl Bliss — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 21:27:57 GMT

Dear UMTR members,

We at UMTR want to acknowledge that our community is grappling with the murder of George Floyd and the injustice of racism that people of color in our nation have long endured. It is our community's desire to be open and inclusive to everyone, and our belief that the outdoors, and running on dirt, is something that everyone can enjoy. We strongly believe that trails should be a place where people can feel safe and welcome, and we hope that our trail family continues to be one of equality, acceptance, and respect.

We all need to do our part to dismantle systemic racism in the upper midwest and the United States as a whole. We at UMTR hope to be able to do more in the future to contribute to being a more inclusive community and acknowledge that this is just the beginning of the conversation that we all need to have. For now, if you have the means, we suggest you consider donating to the following causes:

BLVC: Black Visions Collective
George Floyd Memorial Fund (set up by his brother) https://gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
Northside Funders Group
Petition to end violent policing against Black people.
NAACP Legal Defense Fund fighting for racial justice.

If you would like to share anything with us, please reach out. We are here to listen.

-UMTR Board

Stir Crazy Solo Virtual Fatass results!

Jamison Swift — Sat, 11 Apr 2020 22:25:18 GMT

Well folks here it is, our Stir Crazy Solo Virtual Fatass results. Thank you SO much to everyone who took part in this fun event. We had close to 50 people submit their crazy short loop runs.

We've posted a spreadsheet of all the participants, so check out how many miles everyone took on. We've also created a photo album of all of the photos that people submitted with their runs.

And last but not least here's the announcement video where we run down the various awards. A quick apology to David Hansen who also ran 26 miles. My filter didn't pick it up as a marathon distance, so I neglected to include is name in the video.

Thanks everyone, and can't wait to see people out on the trails sometime in the future. Until then, stay safe and keep running... from a distance.

UMTR Stir Crazy Solo Virtual Fatass!

Jamison Swift — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 20:04:46 GMT

It's a rough time right now, but we're trying to have some fun with it. Check out our new UMTR Stir Crazy Solo Virtual Run and join in the fun!

https://youtu.be/24YoiZcS0KY

Gnarly Bandit in 2020

Jamison Swift — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 02:57:51 GMT

Greetings UMTR community,

We wanted to take a moment and update all of you on the Gnarly Bandit Series for 2020. The Gnarly Bandit series has long been considered a difficult and brutal challenge for participants. To be a Gnarly Bandit you need to subject yourself to 5 of the hardest races in the Upper Midwest, all within a 7 month time span. It's not for the faint of heart, and many years only a few souls make it to the end.

Because of the amount of planning that needs to go in to attempting Gnarly Bandit, we want to give members as much of a heads up to possible changes as we can. Therefore, we want to announce that the 2020 Gnarly Bandit will remain the same as previous versions. That means that that participants will need to tackle, Zumbro 100, Kettle 100, Black Hills 100, Superior 100, and Wild Duluth 100K, just as before.

Due to a schedule change with the Kettle 100, which puts it two weeks apart from Black Hills 100, we spent some time as a Board considering a possible change to the Gnarly requirements. We considered adding other races and allowing participants to choose among a list, or even just swapping out one race for a different one to ease the schedule. However, after consulting with experienced and trusted members of our community, we decided that making a change right now was the wrong move. Becoming a Gnarly Bandit is tough, and we don't want to dilute that challenge.

However, we will be monitoring the 2020 series very closely, and are committed to continuing the conversation into the future. Thank you again for supporting trail running throughout the Upper Midwest, and we look forward to another wonderful year in 2020!

- UMTR Board of Directors

UMTR Getting their hands dirty!

Jamison Swift — Sun, 11 Aug 2019 22:30:22 GMT

Today we bring you an inside glimpse of building and restoring the trails we love, from our current Trail Person of the Year. Enjoy!

Sugarloaf Re-route on the Superior Hiking Trail, June 12-14

By Stephanie Hoff

When I first heard about an opportunity to reroute the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT), I said hell yes! There is nothing like building a new piece of trail, having hikers enjoy it, and being able to proudly say, I BUILT THAT! To me, it is truly one of the best feelings on earth.

We were fortunate that we got both the Schroeder town hall and all of the food donated for the Sugarloaf reroute by Upper Midwest Trail Runners. When people can come volunteer and not have to worry about paying for lodging or food, it makes the experience possible for everyone.

Tamer, Trail Operations Director for the SHT, and I had pre-marked the reroute with pin flags and distance markers so we knew how long each section was. When you do a reroute, it works best if you split the project up into smaller sections. These sections are then worked on by one crew leader and his/her crew. For this project, we split it up into 9 mini sections: we had three crew leaders and three days to complete the project, so the hope was that each day, each crew leader could finish one section.

Tamer and I pre-marking the reroute with a measuring tape and pin flags in the middle of May

On Wednesday June 12th, the first day of the project, all of the volunteers, crew leaders, Tamer and Denny (the Executive Director of the SHT), met at the Schroeder Town Hall. We went over the project, showed a map of the area, talked about safety and then we were off to the worksite.

As much as our goal was to build trail, there are two rules even more important than building a trail. Rule number one - be safe, rule number two - have fun. After those two rules, if we get some trail built, then we’re pretty dang successful!

My mom’s truck was loaded with the lumber she picked up in Duluth, to be used for a section of new boardwalk. We got to work unloading the lumber, and staged it to be used on day two.

My mom’s truck riding low

Once the lumber was unloaded, we headed onto the trail to walk the new section. I like to walk a new section prior to starting. I’ve found by physically walking it, it really gives you an appreciation for what we are about to tackle. We could barely pick our way through the new reroute section we were about to create. There were trees in the way, lots of brush, and a low bog area.

Tamer going over tool safety

We divided the volunteers up into three crews; Michael, Tamer and I took our crews and got working on the tread. Tread is the main part of the trail that hikers walk on. You need to dig down, past the organic matter to the soil. Our goal was to build a 24” tread. The first section my crew worked on was mini section number one. We got lucky with pretty good soil, minimal rocks and roots. Just before lunch, we walked our section again and talked about what we were going to do after lunch. I find that by walking the section several times throughout the day, it really shows the crew what progress we’ve made. By lunch time we had most of the tread built and just had some fine tuning to do.

Volunteers starting to work on the tread

Lunch break is always fun. We chat, we laugh, make jokes. After lunch, it’s back to work, trying to finish up three mini sections for day one.

My mom and I enjoying lunch break

Next, we built tread, made rock piles and dug a burrow hole (a separate hole away from the trail) for ‘fresh dirt’. We used that dirt to fill in holes on the newly built trail. Digging and hauling from a burrow pit is exhausting. By 3:00 pm on the first day, we were all pretty spent, and decided to haul in the lumber for the boardwalk to switch up the pace a little bit. It took us almost an hour just to haul all of the wood into where the boardwalk would be built. We finished the day by walking all three of the mini sections.

Day one crew! Logan and Grant hauling in the boardwalk boards

We got back to the town hall for dinner. (Thanks again Upper Midwest Trail Runners) After dinner on day one, we took a group field trip to one of the highest spots close to Finland. The views were amazing!

Tom and Liz enjoying the view on our field trip

Day two started with a mandatory quick trip up the shores to World’s Greatest Donuts, for treats for the whole crew. After breakfast, we headed to the worksite again and went over tool safety and tread construction for those that were just joining us. We again walked the reroute and talked about what we hoped to accomplish. After day one, we had one mini section complete, and had a great start on three other sections. The goal for day two was to finish up mini sections 3, 4 and 5, start building the boardwalk (section 2) and get a start on section 6. That would leave us section 7, 8, 9 for day three. Everyone was pretty tired after the first day, but they still did great.

Tamer showing us how to build the boardwalk; a trip to World's Best donuts is a necessity

During day two, we came across soil that was not so nice to us. We had to pull many stumps, rocks and lots of roots; it’s funny how the soil can change so much in a matter of 100 feet. It was great seeing my fellow trail runners learning new techniques on how to build trail.

Mike and Marianna pulling stumps; the crew spreads out during lunch

Day two was a success! We got through almost all of the sections we were hoping to, and made a great start on the boardwalk. We were feeling confident we would be able to complete the reroute by day three. After cleaning up from day two, we went back to the Schroeder town hall for dinner. After dinner, I took the crew on another field trip to Minnesota’s longest train tunnel. It was a fun adventure!

Day two crew; field trip to the train tunnel

To say I was tired and sore on day three would be an understatement, but the ‘finish line’ was in sight! Day three breezed by. We finished up the boardwalk, made the approaches to it, and finished up the last couple of mini-sections. We had a wonderful hard-working crew and were done shortly after lunchtime. We walked the new trail with the entire crew that day and marveled how in three days, we completely transformed the landscape.

Everyone was so proud of what they had completed. We finished the day by ‘plugging up’ the old part of the trail so that it is now impassable. Wow! So happy about what we did in three days!

The Friday crew...what an awesome project; the boardwalk is just about finished

I encourage you to get out and be part of a trail building experience. It is truly rewarding. Trail people—they are what sets Upper Midwest Trail Runners apart from other communities. I’m so lucky to be a part of this amazing group.

It's time for Gnarlies!

Jamison Swift — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 19:05:38 GMT

After a winter that just wouldn't loosen its grip, and a canceled Zumbro 100 series kickoff, the Gnarly Bandit series finally got underway at Kettle Moraine 100 on June 1. Thirteen fearless would-be Gnarlies toed the starting line in on a muggy Saturday morning in Whitewater, Wisconsin. They braved humidity, thunderstorms, and miles of shoe-eating mud and standing water in the first race of the 2019 series.

At the end, seven crossed the finish line. Congratulations to Timothy Adamski, Tammy Davis, Erika Lohn, Faye Norby, Erik Raivo, Daryl Saari, and Ryan Wanless for clearing the first Gnarly Bandit hurdle!

Will this year's schedule favor the Gnarlies? It's one of those uncommon years when the next race up, Black Hills 100, is four weeks after Kettle instead of the more usual three weeks. More time to rest and recover ahead of next week's challenge! On the other hand, after a cool and damp spring, it looks like the weather patterns are shifting, and the next race looks to feature all of summer's heat. Will our seven remaining would-be Gnarly Bandits make it through the hills of South Dakota? We'll know soon! Best of luck, Gnarlies! We're all cheering for you!

May update from UMTR

Jamison Swift — Thu, 09 May 2019 23:48:18 GMT

Happy Spring! It might not feel like Spring out there right now, but we're in high trail race season, and many of you have already been hitting the dirt for some amazing adventures. We just got done with the UMTR aid station at the Chippewa 50K, and the following week many members took part in The Willow 10/20.

As we turn our eyes to upcoming events there are TWO awesome opportunities that we need you tell you about. Many of you remember the great trail work event that UMTR sponsored last year on the Superior Hiking Trail. We want to do it again this year, but we need your help!

On June 11-14, 2019 one of our 2019 Trail People of the Year, Steph Hoff, will be once again leading a crew of people, working on the Sugarloaf Reroute project on the Superior Hiking Trail. The actual work days are the 12-14th, and we can use as many bodies as we can get. If you can help with some or all of this, please email info@umtr.org and we'll get you in contact with Steph. UMTR will be helping provide food and supplies for the event, and we'd love to have a whole ton of our members out there showing how much we love the trail.

BUT, before that, on June 1st is our annual LaCrosse Fatass! If you've wanted to see what the Hixon 25K/50K race course looks like, this is your chance. Come on out for a great day of trail time with awesome people. Check out the Facebook event, or our website event to RSVP. Everyone is welcome!

See you on the trails!

2019 Gnarly Bandit Update

Jamison Swift — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 16:27:59 GMT

Dear Gnarly Bandits and Friends,

Don't panic! Gnarly Bandit is still on!

Earlier this week, the UMTR Board of Directors discussed what we should do in the event of a Gnarly Bandit race cancellation or modification. Here are the consensus guidelines we agreed on:

1. If a Gnarly Bandit race is canceled, the Gnarly Bandit series will continue. Gnarly Bandits must complete all races in the series that are held that year. Series finishers will be honored at the Awards Banquet, receive a custom award, and be listed on the UMTR Gnarly Bandit page in perpetuity, with a note indicating the races that were run that year.

2. If a Gnarly Bandit race is modified (e.g. course altered or shortened), Gnarly Bandits must complete the race as it is run to continue in the series and be counted as a finisher.

John Storkamp has agreed to honor his commitment to admit any Gnarly Bandit into Superior 100 who entered the lottery and didn't get into the race, if they have completed Kettle 100 and Black Hills 100.

In discussing how to handle contingencies like Zumbro, the Board felt strongly that the Gnarly Bandit series should continue even if a race is canceled. We want to continue to recognize the commitment, hard work, and grit of our Gnarlies no matter what the weather throws at our racing season. We did consider other rules modifications, such as adding another 100 mile race, or requiring that Gnarlies complete *any* additional ultra of 50 miles or more during the season, but didn't want to impose late-breaking, new rules that would require participants finding additional time or money they may not easily have access to. (Plus, we recognize that many of our Gnarly Bandits do additional races throughout the year anyway!)

In conclusion, the board offers condolences to the Gnarly Bandits who were prepared to line up tomorrow morning and brave a wet, snowy Zumbro. As trail runners ourselves, we too are disappointed that Zumbro decided to Zumbro so hard this year. We look forward to seeing you all on the trails in the coming weeks, and can't wait for the next Gnarly Bandit event, Kettle Moraine 100, in early June.

See you all there!

Robyn Reed, UMTR Gnarly Bandit Ultra Series Director
and the UMTR Board of Directors

Call for volunteers: Chippewa 50K!

Jamison Swift — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 23:22:44 GMT

A Call for Volunteers at the UMTR Aid Station at Chippewa!

While many of you are planning for your first races of the year, we are also hoping you can take some time to volunteer with us at our first UMTR sponsored aid station of the season! We will be staffing an Aid Station at the Chippewa 10k and 50k races on April 27th, and we'd love to supply a full complement of volunteers for the day. Help us to support these hardy runners as they traverse the springtime trails!

When: Saturday, April 27th
Where: New Auburn, WI (Exact aid station location will be shared once volunteers have been committed)
Time: Set up at 7am, tear down at 4pm

If you can only make it for a few hours, please still feel free to sign up and just indicate the hours you can be there.

Interested?? Please email Volunteer Coordinator Kate at kate.hanson@umtr.org

In Memory of Randy

Jamison Swift — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 19:16:36 GMT

In 2018, we were pleased to have Randy Kottke as our sponsor of the Trail Run Series. Late last year, even as he underwent treatment for the leukemia that would later claim his life, he spoke of wanting to sponsor the series again. This community of runners meant so much to him.

So this year, we're honored to have been contacted by an anonymous donor, who wished to sponsor the 2019 Trail Run Series in Randy's name.

This generous donor writes: "You will not be remembered for your wins and DNFs. Nobody will remember the time it took you to finish. You will be remembered for the way you behaved, for trying your best and, mostly, for all the people whose lives you've impacted while out there. So go, try your best, face the challenges, and feel alive! But never forget to say "thank you" to volunteers, never forget to cheer for others, never forget to offer help, and feel no shame if you need help yourself. Live in the moment, appreciate what life has to offer, and be yourself! Randy exemplified all this and will live in our hearts forever."

Here's to The Rambler.

Big changes at UMTR!

Jamison Swift — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 16:09:32 GMT

We hope that all of you are finding a way to enjoy the wet Spring that has taken hold over us here in the midwest. The mud and muck are a part of the changes that we experience every year in our region, and we know that on the other side of these changes, good things are coming. As the seasons change, UMTR is also moving into a new season in its life.

Our new home on the web

UMTR is a non-profit, and as such, it's important that we reflect that. Starting this weekend, we will be rebranding ourselves under UMTR.org. The .org domain is the traditional domain for a non-profit, and we feel that this better speaks to our mission as a community that gives back. Don't worry about the old umtr.net domain; it'll still be there, redirecting to the new umtr.org domain. Going forward though, all references to UMTR will change to umtr.org.

Membership is getting even easier

One of the biggest issues that UMTR has faced is finding a good way to retain members year-over-year. Oftentimes, folks forget to renew their membership, and so we lose them as members for years at a time. Thankfully, there is an easy way to solve this with technology. Launching on Sunday March 17th, UMTR is getting a brand new website, along with a full CRM (customer relationship manager) tool. What this means is that when you sign up for your yearly membership, you can opt to auto-renew, and never have to worry about it again. You'll have a user account which you can use to log in to your profile and keep your contact information up to date. You'll also get access to special areas of our new website, created for members only.

This also means that we are now switching to a 12 month membership, instead of a calendar year. (Finally!) If you sign up in March of 2019, you're good to go until March 2020. If you wish to participate in the race series, you need to maintain your membership throughout the year, including the banquet, to be eligible for prizes. With more and more trail running taking place in the winter months, we felt that it was important to acknowledge that we are not just a three-season sport - or community, for that matter.

Important: If you're currently a member - which you should be, if you're getting this email! - you'll be receiving another email in the coming days. This email will prompt you to set up your account on this new website. Please take some time to poke around in our new internet playground and share your feedback with us.

Parting words

Finally, we want to say thank you for all of your support as this organization has learned and grown. We want to continue to build upon the organization we've all loved for many years, and we can't want to bring all of you along on an exciting journey. With a wonderful community such as this, we can't wait to see what amazing things happen.

- UMTR Board of Directors

Welcome to our 2019 Gnarly Bandit Sponsor!

Jamison Swift — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 22:30:04 GMT

Today, we're introducing Performance Running Gym, sponsor of the 2019 Gnarly Bandit Series. Thank you, Mark Johnson!

Performance Running Gym is a gym for runners by runners. Performance Running offers Woodway treadmills, a full weight room, personal training, group classes, recovery services, race coaching, nutrition help, physical therapy, and chiropractic services – a one stop shop for all things running. While all of those things are a huge part of PRG, the community at PRG is really the heart and soul. Monthly memberships currently offered at $44.95/month.

Located at 4940 W 35th Street in St. Louis Park.

Meet our Ultra Series Sponsor!

Jamison Swift — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 00:03:04 GMT

Every year, we seek sponsors for each of our race series. This sponsorship allows us to provide awards for top finishers in each series, and it gives us the opportunity to highlight a few great businesses in our community who share our interest in trail running.

Today, we're thrilled to re-introduce a sponsor from last year, Dr. Chad Koterba! Dr. Chad sponsored the Ultra Series last year and wanted to come back for more! Thanks for being a part of our community, Dr. Chad!

Dr. Chad Koterba is not only a chiropractor, but also a certified athletic trainer. His background in sports medicine and chiropractic gives him a unique ability to treat sports injuries, as well as other nerve, muscle, and joint injuries. He specializes in runners and active individuals by using a comprehensive approach of treating through adjustments, specific stretching and strengthening exercises as well as soft tissue techniques such as myofascial release, Gua Sha tools, and trigger point therapy to relieve muscle tension which can lead to pain and dysfunction.

At Ultimate Health Chiropractic, we are runners, we treat and care for runners, and we get runners! You can see this from our wall of greatness filled with race bibs and medals from numerous patients who have trusted us to get them to the starting line and / or helped them with their recovery post-race.

Ultimate Health Chiropractic: Health Care for the Active. Located at 12991 Ridgedale Drive Suite A in Minnetonka.

UMTR Making a Difference!

Jamison Swift — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 19:08:36 GMT

Trail people love our trails. This past September a hearty crew traveled to the north shore to help work on a crucial section of the trail. UMTR Member and amazing trail runner Steph Hoff helped lead this crew, and wanted to share her experience over the weekend.

“There’s something inside of me that changes as I drive north past Two Harbors.” One of the volunteers told me this on the first day and I couldn’t agree more. As I sit here typing and I’m back into my routine of work, life and family stuff my heart longs to be back up north. Don’t get me wrong, I love my family but the satisfaction and fulfillment I get from working on the trail doesn’t compare to any other ‘work’ I do.

I went through Volunteer Crew Leader training back in April through a program that the Ice Age Trail puts on. I was excited to work on my ‘own’ project on the Superior Hiking Trail sometime this summer. I met with Tamer, the Trail Operations Director for the Superior Hiking Trail, back in August to discuss a potential project. We met at the Crow Creek site where, in February of 2018, they had put in a brand new bridge. The approaches to the bridge and a new set of stairs needed to be built and the trail needed to be rerouted. Tamer and I discussed possibilities and came up with a plan.

The work days for the project were September 19-22nd. Surprisingly, we got more volunteers for the Wednesday and Thursday shifts, than for the weekend. Thankfully, we had such an eclectic mix of people with wide ranges of background that it worked out perfect and there was someone for every job.

The morning of Wednesday September 19th we met at the Grand Marais municipal campground. I brought coffee, bananas and cookies for breakfast on the first day. We had a quick breakfast and then met at the work site, about 9 miles north of Grand Marais. At the work site we had a safety briefing, talked about the scope of the project and then started hauling materials into the bridge. It was about a half a mile hike to the bridge. This doesn’t seem far….unless you are hauling planks of wood and tools. Thankfully the USFS lent us a four wheeler and trailer to haul in the really big boards. It took us half the morning to haul in everything we needed and man, did I feel that the next day! Once we got it all hauled in we split up into two groups. I led the group that was working on the trail reroute and Tamer took a group to start the stairs. Coincidently while we were rerouting the trail, a hiker came by and started talking to us. He was from Pennsylvania and was hiking a section of the trail. He kept talking to us, eventually put down his pack, and started working with us. It was great and shows another example of the spirit of trail people. We took a lunch break around noon. We finished the day with my group working on the reroute and Tamer’s group working on the stairs. I feel like we had made some great progress on the first day.

After trail work, we headed back to the campground, made a quick stop at Voyageur brewing for a little bonding time and then went back to the campground for dinner. Joe, the hiker from Pennsylvania, even came with us. He decided he wanted to do trail work more than hike. We brought him back to the campground with us. Thanks to UMTR I had purchased a bunch of food ahead of time to feed the volunteers. I had made up some pulled beef the day before, so we heated that up with some potato salad, pineapple and brownies. The crew seemed to really enjoy the dinner. We ended the day with sitting around the campfire. Even the volunteers that weren’t staying at the campground came to dinner and the fire. Another volunteer told me how nice it was that the campground and food was provided. It made it easier for her to come and volunteer. Perfect end to a perfect first day.

The second started similarly to the first. We had a few more new volunteers join us so we went over safety again, the scope of the project and headed into the work site. It was so nice that we didn’t have to carry anything in today. We split up similarly to the first day. By lunch time, my group had the trail reroute pretty much finished. We took our lunch break, and then my group started working on the approach on the west side of the creek. For the west side approach we built 4 platforms, each 2 feet shorter than the previous, so that it would be like 4 giant steps. The group working on the steps was also making good progress and by the end of the day we had the west side approach almost complete and the first set of steps (there will be two sets) almost complete. Just as we were wrapping up it started to rain, we couldn’t have lucked out any better with the weather that day.

After trail work, we once again stopped at Voyageur brewing and then headed back to the campground for dinner. Now it was really coming down with rain and wind. I had hoped we could cook the hot dogs over a fire, but with the weather, that wasn’t going to be the case. There was a picnic shelter just off the lake, across from our campsite. There was two people doing CrossFit under the shelter. We asked them if we could share the shelter. We put up an Umbrella Mike had brought to block the wind, set up our two burner stove, and boiled the hot dogs and baked beans. It was almost comical sitting there under the picnic shelter. The wind whipping across us off the lake, huddled up to stay warm, meanwhile 10 feet away from us there were two beefcakes (one guy and one girl) doing CrossFit. I offered them a hotdog, but I’m sure you can guess their answer. We ate our hot dogs under the cold picnic table and then walked back to our tents and hunkered down for the night. We were all in bed by 7pm though I’m sure no one was sleeping. The wind would blow off the lake and whip your tent into my face where I was laying. Thankfully my cheap tent didn’t leak or break down but everything was damp.

Friday morning we woke up and the clouds were starting to break. It was barely drizzling. I was so thankful. Most of our volunteers had driven up from the cities and I didn’t want to cancel a work day because of the weather. We ate breakfast – yogurt, fruit, granola, coffee (made by my generator) and of course cookies – and then headed to the work site.

Day 3 of trail work and we were really gaining traction. We had the same two guys finish up the second set of stairs, another two guys finish up the west side approaches, 3 more working on the trail reroute (one of which was the Executive Director of the SHT) and 3 more starting on the east side approach. It was amazing how fast it was coming together. The weather cooperated for the most part with just a scattered sprinkling here and there. By the end of Day 3 we had minimal work to be done on the project, which was exactly how I was hoping it would go so that Saturday would be just some odds and ends and clean up.

Friday after trail work Tamer invited us out to his house for homemade chili. After a cool day on the trail, the warm chili and fireplace felt amazing. Everyone was in great spirits and appreciated the camaraderie. We drove back to the campground before dark and had another bonfire.

Saturday’s trail work was minimal. The handrail on the bridge was finished up, and a little bit of trail work on the west side of the creek for the reroute. All in all, it’s just simply amazing what we got done in the 4 days we were working.

The thing that I love about trail work is you can come back to the same section of trail year after year, bring your kids to that section and say – I did this, I built this! And each year hundreds, if not thousands of people will benefit from the 4 short days of work we put in one week in September!

Meet our 2018 Gnarly Bandits!

Jamison Swift — Thu, 06 Sep 2018 19:11:09 GMT

Meet our Gnarly Bandits!

If you’re like me, you’ve been wondering what makes our Gnarly Bandits tick. Why are they undertaking this year-long, 462-mile project? And what wisdom are they acquiring along the way? This week, I spoke by email to three of our five contenders to find out more about what motivates them, and what they can teach us. Thank you, Matt, Even, and Brian! If you see them on the course or at the finish line this weekend, be sure to give them a hearty cheer!

Matt McCarty

What made you decide to do the Gnarly Bandit this year?

Matt McCarty:

I just want to run a hundred miles in the woods with friends. I really enjoy the 100 mile distance. The vast range of emotional and physical challenges you face over the duration of a race of this length really pulls at me. I haven’t found the same level of satisfaction in events shorter than this since I started running them. This is the only place for me to strip down and find peace and happiness from everything else in life. I am getting older, thereare other races that really appeal to me that I want to do, and my good buddy Brian was doing it. Brian and I talked about doing The Bandit together this year in the lead up to last year’s Superior and Here We Are! Zumbro is really special to me, Superior is the best time of year in our community and I can’t ever imagine not being at either one, I had crewed and paced a number of times at Kettle, the Black Hills of SD are beautiful, and Wild Duluth is a really challenging 100K that time of year. It just made sense.

Even Semrud:

Basically, “gnarly bandit” just sounds cool. I mean, who could resist? Really though, it’s pretty simple: the Gnarly looked hard, and I wanted to try something hard.

Brian Corgard:

At 2016 Wild Duluth I met and ended up running for awhile with Jim Lemke, he told me about each of the races and I became interested in each of them individually. I really wanted to run Zumbro, Black Hills and Superior in 2018, so adding in the others and doing the series seemed to make sense.

What have you learned from your Gnarly experience so far?

Matt McCarty:

I have really honed in on my ability to shoot a quality snot rocket. Seriously. You can’t spend that much time out in the woods in the elements and not be able to blow a booger. If you’re wiping your nose for 29+ hours, you’re going to have bad day. Surround yourself with like-minded good people and you’ll have fun doing it. There will always be someone who has ran farther, faster, and has finished more races than you. They all have a story to tell. Find something to take away from every one of those people for when you need it.

Evan Semrud

Even Semrud:

It seems like the secret to the Gnarly is to just keep on not quitting. Whatever the heck happens out there, keep on not quitting and you’ll get through it just fine. I look at the Gnarly (and running ultras in general) as good practice for tricky future situations. Hopefully at the end of this thing, I can wrap up the whole experience into a tidy, cohesive metaphor for later use. For now, though, the best I can do is say, “NO QUITTING!”

Brian Corgard:

Each race in the series is so different from the others. They all have beautiful views along the way and challenge you in different ways. The one constant is the great people you meet and see at each of the races.

What has surprised you about doing the Gnarly Bandit series?

Matt McCarty:

You never know what you’re going to get. Be mentally and physically ready for anything. I was lucky enough to have my friend Mark Smith pace me at Zumbro. Mark is doing the Grand Slam this year. Mark is an accomplished 100 mile finisher and spoke of this year’s weather at Zumbro as, “This is really something special.” Mark saved my race. I can’t underestimate that enough. Zumbro was Zumbro, the weather at Kettle was nearly perfect, the hills on the first half of Black Hills should not be run.

Even Semrud:

I didn’t think that mud was going to play such a pivotal role. I really don’t care for running in mud at all, and when I imagined running these races, in my head, there wasn’t any mud. Cut to reality, and the trails have been like a darn monster-truck rally (those are muddy, right?). I guess there’s probably a lesson here, like letting go of expectations or learning to be adaptable or something, but… I’m still too bitter for that kind of perspective.

Brian Corgard

Brian Corgard:

How awesome our trail running community is. The support at each race has been incredible, from the amazing volunteers pulling all day/nighters at the Zumbro blizzard to friends taking time off work to travel and help crew and pace at races. It has been great being surrounded by so many supportive people.

What one piece of advice would you share with a would-be Gnarly Bandit?

Matt McCarty:

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” (Mike Tyson). You’re going to get punched in the mouth. Go out and have fun. Don’t spend a lot of time and frustration with every detail on what pace you are going to run at, what you are going to wear, run comfortable, run by feel. Find a friend or friends go along for the ride with you. Enjoy every mile out there.

Even Semrud:

My one piece of advice would be: don’t listen to me, I’m not qualified. Really, I have no idea what I’m doing. But if I could give 3 pieces of advice (demanding, I know), number two would be to get yourself a mantra. It helps keep things on track when the delirium sets in. And third, remember to hear the birds chirping, smell the forests, and say thank-you to all the badass volunteers helping you get this thing done. Oh, and “no quitting.”

Brian Corgard:

Do it. And add the Sandlot Marathon on your spring race calendar to get the year started right, it’s the best pre-Zumbro training around.

Matt McCarty is from Ramsey, MN. He is 39 years old.

Even Semrud is from St Louis Park, MN. He is 29 years old.

Brian Corgard is from Coon Rapids, MN. He looks forward to celebrating his 37th birthday at Superior, and thanks everyone “for showing up and making it so special”!