Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 10:07:04 -0500
From: Bob Metzger <ultrabob@gte.net>
Subject: Superior Trail 50 [XP & Long]

A Saturday morning 4:15 wakeup call is something I just never get used
to. I stumbled around in the darkened motel room, and eventually found
the telephone. Chris found a lamp and reluctantly turned it on. Our
13-year-old son, Ari, never stirred, wisely saving his energy for his
crewing duties. I stepped outside, and found the temperature to be in
the mid-50's, a light breeze, and cloudy skies. Not the perfect day we
had last year for our 50 miles along the north shore of Lake Superior,
but not too bad.

Around 5:20, Pam Albin, Jan Schlueter, Chris and I were chauffered to
the start by Pam's husband, Loren. Loren, who was crewing for Pam, had
generously offered to also transport Ari from station to station, and
was to return to the motel for him after our start. We could hear
distant thunder, and see flashes of lightning, but the forecast had said
there was only 40% chance of rain, so we were optimistic. About 70 of us
huddled in the elementary school where the race starts, staying warm and
trying to predict the weather. The mystery was solved when, two minutes
before the start, the rain started coming down in torrents. And we were
off...

The 11.8-mile stretch to the first aid station is always tough, packed
full of steep climbs and descents, mostly on narrow, single-track trail.
On a perfect day, you spend the first 30-40 minutes in the dark. On this
day, it was more like 60-90 minutes. The woods are very dense, and with
the driving rain and clouds, even after sunrise, flashlights were
essential. Chris, Pam, Kathy Weix, Lori Dunaway and I ran in a pack for
the first couple of hours, pacing ourselves to stay ahead of the 13-hour
cutoff pace. Then, as the rain eased a little and the trail smoothed out
a bit, Kathy started to move out ahead of the pack. Chris, who has run
with Kathy before, decided to go after her. Lori, running her first ever
ultra of any length, decided to hang with me. Pam, who finished
side-by-side with me last year, was struggling a bit, and dropped back.
Along with being one of  the toughest sections of the course, I hasten
to add that it is one of the most spectacular, with incredible views of
inland lakes, often from the vanatge point of the tops of cliffwalls.
The trail is at times as close as 5 feet to these 200 foot dropoffs.
Even in the rain, the scenery is breathtaking.

At the aid station, Ari and Loren were there with encouragement, hugs,
and our gear. I noticed that the rain had stopped, but decided to keep
my jacket for awhile longer, just in case. Lori's husband, Tom, was also
there for her, no doubt amazed by this whole spectacle. We spent just
enough time there to fill bottles and grab some food, and set out again.

The next aid station is 1.6 miles farther on, isolated, and crew access
is discouraged. Lori and I blew on through there, and on to the next
one, at mile 20.8. This is another long stretch, 7.4 miles of ups and
downs, with more great views. Chris and Kathy were somewhere up ahead,
Lori and I were sticking together like glue, and Pam was often right on
our heels. We were doing a lot of talking now, feeling a little more
relaxed as we realized that the course, despite the rain, was not in all
that bad shape. I was also amazed by Lori's attitude and ability. Here
was a woman who had run 4 marathons in her life, the most recent a few
years ago. Last year, she had been camping with her husband along the
trail when some ST100 runners came through. She was so inspired by them
that she had decided to run the 50 this year. She had chosen as her
first ultra not only a 50 miler, but a very tough one. And she was doing
great, mentally and physically. Of course, this also put the pressure on
me, as a wise old veteran, to hang tough. And it was working! The time
was passing quickly and enjoyably, despite the now gusty winds and
increasingly chilly temperatures. As we neared the 20.8 mile aid
station, Ari was waiting to run us in, and Loren was busy cheering and
snapping photos. Ari, who had run a 5:47 mile in a cross-country meet
two days earlier, was merciful, and loped along gently beside us. He
informed me that Chris and Kathy were about 20 minutes ahead. It was
here, about 2 minutes behind us, that Pam decided she'd had enough fun
for the day, and would save her energy for Twin Cities Marathon in two
weeks.

I love the Superior Trail 50 miler, it's my favorite ultra, but I hate
the next 7.5 miles with a passion. The first two miles, to aid station
#4, is not too bad, although it is on a road shoulder. It's mostly
downhill, the traffic is light, you're running right at Lake Superior,
and the view is quite nice. Then you hit the bad part. A 90 degree right
turn at the aid station puts you on the shoulder of HWY 61 for 5.5
miles. It seems to be mostly uphill, the shoulder is narrow, and the
traffic is heavy, and LARGE. Semis and motor homes seem to dominate the
traffic, and the turbulence they create is unnerving. I pushed hard,
running nearly this whole section, and Lori dropped back a little. I
pulled into the 28.3 mile aid station with dead legs, but looking
forward to returning to the trail for the remiander of the race. Ari
informed me that Pam had dropped, and was back at the motel cleaning up.
He also reported that I had made up about 15 minutes on Chris and Kathy
on the road section.

The next section is another of my favorites, 4.2 miles of mostly
runnable trail through vibrant fall colors, mostly red maples and gold
aspen leaves. But for the first time all day, I was alone. I knew Chris
was in good hands, and would be enjoying Kathy's company and her tales
of her Leadville 100 finish. I was a bit concerned about Lori, though,
whom I felt I had abandoned along the highway. Much as I wanted to run
this section, it just wasn't happening for me. But sometime things work
out just right. I heard a noise behind me, and there was Lori. We both
laughed and hugged, and magically, I was running again. We were still
ahead of the cutoffs, but the footing was not as good as it head been,
and we were losing some time. At the 32.5 mile aid station, Tom, Ari,
Loren, and a very well-groomed and smiling Pam were there to cheer us
on. They also told us that rumor had it that the cutoffs were being
extended because of the weather, and the fact that so many of us were
going so strong, but close to the cutoffs. Ari said Chris and Kathy were
about 2 minutes ahead.

The 6.2 miles to the Cramer Road aid station is also fairly runnable,
but by now I was tired and my legs were starting to stiffen a little.
The falling temperatures and gusty winds seemed to be taking their toll.
Lori and I plodded on, mixing a lot of walking now with the running.
Well, actually she was walking, I was running. Since it's mostly
single-track trail, and Lori had chosen to follow the 'expert' rather
than lead, it took me a good while to realize this. When I figured it
out, though, I asked her to take the lead for awhile. Man, can she
walk!! I liked this arrangement, as she was now pulling me along. The
miles were going quickly again, as we talked, admired the scenery, and
our confidence grew and grew. We pulled into the aid station ahead of
the original cutoff. We were at mile 38.7, with one aid station to go.
Ari said that Chris and Kathy had just left.

Officially, it's 7.0 miles to the Temperance River aid station. I've
done ST50 three times now, and I swear it's got to be 9 miles. I can't
be that slow, even this late in the race. This is another beautiful
section of trail, with some good climbs, lots of descents, and some
spectacularly treacherous cliff-edge passages. A long section of it is
along the bank of the Cross River, but it's nontheless peppered with
climbs and descents. You finally cross the Cross on a wooden bridge, and
make a tough climb, followed by a long descent to the Temperance River.
Perhaps a mile and a half from the aid station, it became clear to me
that first-timer Lori was capable of walking 15 minute miles if she
hadn't been slowing her pace to accomodate me. I told her to go on, to
try to make the official cutoff at Temperance, since it looked like I
was going to be about 5 minutes behind. She said no, I said yes. She
insisted that I had pulled her through to here, and she wasn't going to
leave me. I insisted that she go on, no way I was going to be
responsible for her missing a cutoff (after all, the extension was only
a rumor). Besides, I assured her we would both finish, but that she
would easily get in under 13 hours if she didn't have me slowing her
down. She reluctantly agreed, and quickly powerwalked out of sight.

I pulled into Temperance about 7 minutes behind the official cutoff, but
they had indeed extended them. Lori had just left. She had told Tom she
wanted to wait for me, but Loren and Pam had convinced her to go on,
assuring her that I was fine. And I was, I just wasn't as fine as she
was at that point in the race. I pulled in to hugs and cheers from Ari,
Tom, Loren, and Pam...and Chris and Kathy! They were both looking pretty
wasted, eating handfuls of food, and pulling on jackets to stay warm. I
had jettisoned my jacket back at mile 20, and Ari offered it to me here,
but I declined. I also decided to drop by bottle belt here with him,
since I had had all the food and electolytes I needed, and had been
hand-carrying both bottles all day anyway. Chris, Kathy, and I set out
together for the grueling 4.3 miles over Carlton Peak and to the finish.
Once we finished the food in our hands, I started to run. Kathy stayed
right on my heels, but Chris stayed back. They informed me that Chris
had twisted an ankle around mile 33, and it had been bothering her ever
since. She'd be walking it in from here.

So, here I am, no jacket, no flashlight, about an hour before sunset,
planning to stay warm and get done in the daylight by pushing my pace to
the finish. But my wife is struggling. We have discussed this in the
past, though, and since she is clearly not in any real danger (e.g.,
hypothermia, dehydration, vertigo), I stick to my plan. I push it up
tough, tough Carlton Peak, a seemingly endless climb, and then I slip
and slide down the narrow trail to the gravel road that takes us to the
finish. Kathy catches me on the descent, and I let her pass. She
disappears in a flash. I'm feeling stronger and stronger, and I know the
finish is near. I find the tricky turn into the weeds that leads to the
finish area, and I see Ari and 19-year-old Josie Rea, who was the 3rd
female finisher, cheering wildly. I make the sharp right towards the
finish, and it's a just a couple of hundred yards to go. Ari and Josie
are running with me. Pam and Loren are cheering and waving. Other
runners and crew are doing the same. I'm accelerating, I feel terrific.
I smile for the photographer, and am blinded by the flash. I hear
"13:07", a few minutes slower than I'd have liked, but no big deal. I
embrace Kathy, who got in under 13 hours. I spot Lori and Tom, and
emotional hugs and congratulations are exchanged. I learn that she also
got her sub-13, finishing strong in 12:50.

I tell Ari that mom should be fairly close behind, and that it would be
helpful if he's meet her at the "tricky" turn. I watch and cheer as
other runners finish. A few minutes later, I see Ari and Josie flanking
a runner. It's Chris, limping noticably, but smiling. The clock shows
13:17. Soon, everyone's hugging everyone, and we're headed for the
school, where food and showers await us. It's been a tough day, but a
great one.

Later in the evening, Pam, Loren, Jan (4th woman!), Chris, Ari, and I
gathered in our motel room (actually, more like an apartment) for wine
(oj for the minor), exchanging stories and being grossed out by Chris'
ankle, which is roughly the size of the motor homes we saw along HWY 61.
Her ankle's decked out in full fall colors, too, spectacular purples and
reds, mixed with some yellow streaks. Amazing to think she went 17
(tough) miles on it, and perhaps even more amazing to see that this
morning, two and a half days later, it looks halfway normal again. We're
signed up for the Whistle Stop Marathon in northern Wisconsin on Oct 10,
and it looks like she'll be recovered for it. I was lucky enough to get
through with no injuries (nor, remarkably, did I get lost), and I feel
very little discomfort today.

Having Ari out there crewing for us was absolutely wonderful, and it
couldn't have happened without Loren. Ari was so helpful, filling
bottles, hauling our gear, assessing our condition, and cheering us on.
Loren was always there with a smile, and words of wisdom and
encouragment. Big thanks to both of those guys! Pam's seamless
transition from runner to cheerleader was remarkable, and touching. I
hope I can remain as upbeat and supportive when my DNF comes. First
timer Lori was awesome, both in her physical performance and her
attitude. And, silly girl, she still thinks that I helped her.   ;-)

And Josie, how on earth can you run a 50 mile race so strongly, and then
go back out there and run your friends in????  Awesome...

==============================
==  Bob Metzger
==  Lakeville, Minnesota
==  ultrabob@gte.net
==============================