Very excited to be heading out to Northern Minnesota in September later this year to work on and photograph the Superior 100.
Superior 100 has an incredibly history, it is one of the oldest 100 mile trail races in the country; founded in 1991 by a man named Harry Sloan from Minnesota. Harry had participated in 12 Western States, his first in 1983. When he began the Superior 100 (later renamed to the Sawtooth 100 then changed back to Superior 100) there were only about 10 or 12 other 100 mile trail races in the country.
The race course is just hours North of where Scott Jurek was born, raised and ran his first ultras! Minnesota has a long and proud ultra running history. Superior 100 is on the rise and I feel really honoured to be heading out to experience the buzz.
Are you running the race or have you run the race? I would love to hear from you.
History and Race
The Superior 100 Mile Trail Race is a point-to-point (100% trail) ultramarathon which traverses the Sawtooth Mountain Range on the Superior Hiking Trail in the far reaches northern Minnesota . The course parallels the north-shore of Lake Superior, the greatest freshwater lake in the world, climbs to near 2000′ peaks with breath-taking vistas of the lake and inland forests and crosses countless whitewater rivers and serene streams and meanders through mystic Boreal forests. The race starts at the Gooseberry Falls State Park Visitors’ Center, MN, and finishes at Caribou Highlands Lodge in Lutsen, MN. Runners will have access to thirteen aid stations between the start and finish, and will never go more than 10 miles without an opportunity for aid. Founded in 1991 if you wanted to run a 100, you had choices like Western States, Hardrock, Leadville, Wasatch, Cascade Crest, Umstead, Massanutten and Superior. Superior quickly earned it’s reputation of its namesake today – Rugged, Relentless and Remote and is known as one of the toughest 100 mile trail races in the world! Superior lives on now as one of the “legacy 100 milers” and is considered by many to be one of the most challenging, prestigious and beautiful 100 mile trail races in the country. None of the history or tradition of this race has been lost and is a great event for those looking for a world-class event with a low-key, old-school 100 miler feel. The Superior Trail Race is put on by ultrarunners for ultrarunners.
Got to say, I just can’t wait to be a part of it and experience it for myself…
Images ©Superior Endurance Runs (Fall Races)
Links:
INFO:
Superior Trail Races 2014
Friday September 5th 2014
100 Mile Starts 8:00 AM
Saturday September 6th 2014
50 Mile Starts 5:30 AM
Marathon Starts 8:00 AM
Registration opens Sat March 15th
Very excited to have you come out here and experience a fine race. Hopefully we can give you some good weather and an interesting story.
Pingback: Ian Corless is coming to Superior | Ultra Minnesota
You should note at some point how much elevation the runner’s gain and lose over the course of the race. I remember it being around 42,000. My husband completed it last year (he has never completed a full or 1/2 marathon) and lost weight for days after. It was hard!!!! He trained by running ski hills.
The Superior Hiking Trail is a magical place that touches my soul. Whether I am running the 100 , hiking or camping, the experience fills me with joy. When I first ran the 100 in 2006 there were 18 entrants! 2007 and 2008 brought a few more. I would love to keep it a secret, a little known gem of a race. The secret is out. See you there in September!
Awesome; you will have a blast! I ran in 2013 and remember the images like it was last week. Pretty easy to crew (photog) along the course in different spots with the highway right there too. Feel free to contact me if you want more info/feedback.
I ran the race, it was brutal. Took me 6hrs, 4 weeks later ran TC marathon in 2:55