I started training for the Superior 100 Trail Race in January, following the birth of our son, Bruce. I hired this incredible coach (Jake Hegge) who has loads of records on the trail yet operates with complete humility & kindness. He gave me the roadmap, and I am so grateful for the training cycle he put together. Moms don’t have time to think about what to run the next day. And I don’t have the self-control following pregnancy to “take it easy”. He brought me out of the tender months following delivery and into tune-up injury free and hungry.
the training
The time I spent running in spring & summer to prepare was a blast. I loved getting to set multiple mile markers to act as check-ins for my fitness and capabilities. I ran the Big Sur Marathon, 7-8 unofficial marathons (weekend long runs) an FKT (“fastest known time” – F, supported) on the Duluth Traverse and a “double marathon”. The double marathon was completed as part of the Grandma’s Marathon where I ran the course in reverse, then in the appropriate direction for a total of 52 miles. The greatest part about running these longer distance events are all the goals you get to set and crush on your way to the start line. If you have a goal I strongly recommend you get a get a coach.
One of my favorite weeks in training included a 100 mile running week which broke up the pattern of my usual runs. I ran a little in the morning and some more at dusk. The pattern interrupt was good for my body and another way to prepare for the 100 mile distance. I wanted to get used to running at atypical times of the day. To mimic the trail and prepare my legs for the 21,000 vertical feet I would climb he had me run a 60-70 minute hill repeat workout, weekly. These were completed in a nearby state park and again part of what made this season so special. I would hit the state park after work and just run up and down while listening to my favorite tunes and podcasts. Just before the sun set, the deer would come out and stand on the side of the trail to eat and watch. There was something special about that fact that my being there wasn’t a burden to them, but they stood, in acceptance. The largest volume month was my final month of training, bringing it in at 348 miles. This looked alot like 3 and 4 hour runs. That’s a ton of time away from the kids and Fargo so when I say I have only my crew to thank for this run, I mean it. It’s only because of their sacrifices I was able to get to the start line healthy and prepared.
the course & pre-race preparation
If you have never visited the North Shore of Northern Minnesota, specifically the Superior Hiking Trail, it’s a must. The Superior 100 Trail Race runs along the Superior Hiking Trail and is comprised entirely of singletrack hilly, rugged technical trail. The terrain is packed with roots, rocks, steps with rebar, single and double planks and steep descents…you take one look up off the trail and it will literally chew you up and spit you out. More geography – the course parallels Lake Superior which is the largest lake in the world by surface area. This lake has always drawn me to it – when I am hiking, walking or driving alongside it, it always brings me back to the ocean where I grew up.
The funny thing about running and racing in motherhood is that the actual race feels like a break compared to daily living. You field movement for several hours a day chasing your kids, managing your nutrition and theirs, sort, fold, rinse and repeat. The bulk of our work, in preparation to be away, was banked by the time we left for the bib pick up. We secured childcare for 4 kids for 3 nights with three different humans (thank you Chelsea, Kerry & Hannah) and three one page Word documents of bullet points and feeding times. Fargo and I hit the road with 5 pairs of running shoes (his and mine), a tote filled with noodles, pop tarts and sour worms and a guidebook that ruled the race day.
The best thing a runner can do for a 100-mile run is get a crew compromised of people that are important to you, people that are good humans you can trust seeing you in a vulnerable state. The ability to pull an all-nighter is also a key factor. About every 6-10 miles on this course there is an aid station equipped with volunteers for medical, nutrition and time check-ins. These are places where your friends/family/crew could meet you and support you in addition to the volunteers. To make it easy on them, I prescribed everything that could be needed and should be applied by the respective aid station. This is something Fargo and I have put together for every race and have tweaked it along the way. If we weren’t married yet I imagine we would structure our vows in a similar way to share how we receive love.
3 years into marriage: buy our baby toys and clothes.
6 years into marriage: hire the babysitter for our date nights.
10-12 years into marriage: take me to another country for a date.
Things like that.
When you run a longer race like this, everything is thought of in advance by the runner ahead of the day. The crew won’t be able to consult your right mind for questions and there is no time to consider preferences once the race has started. I wrote the script for the day down to my sock change, and even added a few motivational kickers in case they needed to access the “dig deep” tab.
“I welcome what this day will require of me.”
I spent the last 15 hours with Fargo at our cabin sans our four kids. We sat outside. We rode 4 wheeler. We went to a restaurant. We ate salmon. We got dessert. We watched the birds. We talked. No interruptions. I can’t quite describe the peace I felt during this brief window. Again, a period of time (pre-race jitters) so typically rocked with nerves, angst and fear.
During the evening, I read two critical passages I would carry with me all day:
“strength comes in the struggle“*
And I got one tender picture that would also stay in my heart all day. Little man pulled himself up.
the race
Typically there are no nerves like the start of a race line nerves. I’ve experienced a full buffet of start line nerves. The can I get a 5K-10k-10 mile PR start line nerve. The can’t feel my fingertips, shivering start line nerves. The will I qualify day start line nerves. The this will have been the furthest I’ve ever run start line nerves. But today, there were no nerves. Just excitement. I was home. The wilderness pushes me and makes me better. Down at the starting line we gathered for pictures and announcements, the usual. Then Fargo and I hugged and headed in opposite directions. My mission: to run. His mission: to feed me… and keep the proverbial train on the tracks.
As the race started, I fell into the beautiful rhythm of my body moving and my feet turning over and over on the earth beneath me. I got lost in the curves and found my flow in the wild beauty of the endless ribbon of single track. Up, down and around. Up, across and down.
The views were breathtaking as usual.
I’ve seen the Superior Hiking Trail on sunny days and rainy days. Bright late afternoons and dark early mornings. Crisp, cool fall days and wet, muddy spring days. Each day delivers its own distinct beauty. On this day, the fog slipped through all the valleys wrapping the trees like a whimsical garland. The leaves carried fresh nitrogen from the rainstorm to produce a shade of punchy, kermit green I had never quite seen.
I had the same thoughts over the course of the first few sections to keep my legs in line. I said, “all day pace” and “stay cool, stay calm”. The animal in me wanted to complete the 100 mile in the first bite. Like a rocket right out of her launch pad. As runners we know the patience required to come out of taper and directly into the first stages of a race. So hard to contain yourself. There is an unspoken comfort that is carried on the quiet trail while everyone is settling into their pace and trying to start calories, early.
The first aid station to see my crew was at Mile 18. I shot right out of the trail and into Fargo’s arms just long enough for him to unlatch my vest, tell me what was in my new vest and give me a slap on the ass to keep on. We are talking 1, maybe 2 minutes? Then boom, into the next section I go. At this point in the race it was still pouring. Did I mention rain at the start? Driving rain. I ran closely behind runners where I could just settle into the meandering trail without having to look up for turns or flags. I met a runner who had just completed the Big Foot 200 Mile race last month. “Legs are still a little heavy”, he said.
In those races you run for 2-3 days. Straight. That is the greatest thing about these events. You spend weeks leading up to the race talking about the distance and people telling you how crazy you are. Only to arrive, get on the path and meet people crazier than you.
I arrived at the aid station for Mile 43 in a blink. My brother-in-law immediately jumped in to pace me and ran the entire 6 miles about 25 yards ahead. I was chasing his tail trying to stay with him, but this energizer bunny was ready to pounce. At Mile 51 we came out to another aid station facing two challenging sections. Mark & Fargo sat me down to switch out my wet socks and shoes while I ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup with my four fingers. Fargo would pace me for this portion and it was here, I rotated in my trekking poles and we set out on a mini-date. Second half of the race means hat goes backwards.
In these races you truly transform into a version of yourself that is unrecognizable. Wolfing down food, grunting through the uphills and gritting your teeth.
Here, I got to catch up with Fargo on the day from his perspective. He had met a few different crews of the other runners around me, and this is always an enjoyable experience for him. The fellow NASCAR pit crews, tending to runners as if they were racecars. We ran right into the sunset turning on our headlamps around 7:30pm. The nighttime on the trail is a part I look forward to the most. With all of the sugar, adrenaline and physical energy tired wasn’t a word I would use for these sections. More, determined. I was still in second place trailing champion Gretchen Metsa. And for every additional minute I sat or stopped or walked or pee’d I knew she was gaining an additional minute ahead. It was here, approaching mile 60-70 that I began to enter the deeper, darker cave. It’s why I do these types of runs. Now, I look forward to the Beast showing up. Because every time he does, I handle him better. I aim To get to the point in my mind where it isn’t easy anymore. When I can move through the fatigue, pain and suffering, and get to the other side. It is through this, that life is stripped down to just the bare necessities.
As this section came to a close I knew I would be picking up my good buddy Chelsy to run the next 7-mile section. This beautiful section was meant to be run by sunrise right along the riverside. We were ahead of my goal pace and therefore the entirety was in the complete dark.
We got on the trail and a few minutes in, I saw my older brother’s face floating in the trail wind and his voice, “You got this Sis! I love you so much!”
Was I hallucinating?
No. She had collected a video from each of my family members, one for each mile and had them on her iPhone. There, I ran behind her as she played a video of my mother and father speaking words of encouragement into my soul. It’s those miles, numbers 78-83 that continue to set these types of experiences apart in your heart. Just so special.
So grateful to say from here it only went up. the back half of the 100 is so tough to plan/train/prepare for. but gosh darn it, this went as smooth as could be. The funny thing about pain is it hurts to a certain point, then doesn’t get any worse. I flew up Temperance and Carlton Peak, and through Sawbill & Oberg, the final two aid stations.
I was ready to finish and had the incredible company of my brother-in-law Mark for Miles 90-95 and Fargo to run the final 7 miles with over and across the finish line. Racing, like life is consistently a game of balancing your goals with reality and figuring out what to prioritize when shit hits the fan. While shit never hit the fan, I got damn tired at the end. Mile 102 I looked at Fargo like my 3 year-old “are we there yet?”
In the end, I was able to finish 2nd Female and 8th overall.
I keep saying, it was one hell of a day.
a tradition once you cross the line is to receive your medal, coveted buckle, sweatshirt with a few patches – your name, and an orange star – and for the runner to kiss the wolf. Rocksteady has it going on.
The rest of the day was a fog. it was only 10 AM but I was too tired to sleep. We went back to the cabin where my sister-in-law had made the most delicious home-cabin cooked meal. Nourishing quinoa salad with grilled chicken, fresh guacamole and zippy fresh blueberries. Hard to fathom taking anything else down after 26 GU and Maurten Gels, but it was warm, comforting and such a great reminder of the different gifts people embody. Here’s the summary, a collection of tough moments and powerful moments and how the scratch, wetness, friction and struggle made me stronger.
what I learned
Pain is strange where it only hurts to a point, then doesn’t get any worse. If you can comfortably camp out at that point, you will learn a TON about yourself.
Run YOUR race
It’s possible to be in a moment of complete BLISS, and still worry about things like Covid, next day plans or that deal that won’t close. A mother’s mind – I have to frequently remind myself to return to the present.
The gifts…
A heart bursting at the seams with gratitude for it all…my community and the North Shore
A shining light from within. A chance to push my body and mind to what they are capable of and beyond.
Racing my strengths and elevating my weaknesses 4% more.
Nailing Temperance, a previously difficult section that had made me want to quit years prior.
The incredible beauty of nature. Starting out at Lake Superior lit by the full moon, from Crosby Manitou.
Fargo and Mark and Chelsy – who ran paced me and pulled me
Rocksteady Running – to put on these races so that we are running for these powerful, seemingly rare, opportunities to connect to the earth, to ourselves and to the humans around us. Usually without words, always with love.
*Excerpts Taken from A Champion’s Mind
mitchellmileage 
Hi Lauren! That is FABULOUS!!! I have not been seeing your updates so it’s great to catch up on this😁. I love love love seeing your guys family photos – and so hope you all end back up in O.C. Some day. We miss you!!
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