All of the 2010 Trail
race
series are set, renew your membership
and sign up now!! This year we are hosting the MN Trail Race Series, the Fab 5 Fifities, the Gnarly Bandit, as well as an all new 5k series.
2010 Trail Race Series Update
Member of the Month: Valeria(Val) La Rosa
There are
actually two races. I will
never forget last year’s Voyageur (50 mile). I was having a fun race,
and not worrying too much
about my position or placement. With 9 miles to go and not much left in
me, I took some time to rest at one of the aid stations. As I was
getting ready to leave, one of the volunteers warned me that there was
a lady runner coming, and apparently running fast. I was in 3rd place
at the moment and was willing to leave it all out on the trail to keep
it that way. I immediately took off and did not turn around to see who
she was. No matter how fast and hard I ran, people would
tell
me that she was just 30 to 40 seconds behind me. I would turn
around but could not see her. I started to doubt they were telling
the truth - maybe they just wanted to see me run
faster...? That went on for the remainder of the race. I
actually felt kind of bad because I couldn't
even thank volunteers for being there. There was no time
to stop at aid stations! The other
race I will never forget was last year’s Superior Trail 50 Mile. It was
the happiest race I have ever ran. What's the
trail or race you dream of trying? Upper Midwest Trail Runners are looking for
runners to be part of our new Member of the Month profile. It's an easy
way to tell other runners about yourself, maybe meet new running
partners, or find out more about that runner who always finishes ahead
of you. If you'd like to sign up or know of another runner who you want
to hear more about, email Steve
Quick. Steve will send out seven quick questions that runners can
answer online, and then we'll post the responses. Don't be bashful,
sign up now.
My
favorite race is Superior Trail 50 Mile. There's nothing like
the Superior Hiking Trail (especially in the Fall time);
the race director and volunteers are amazing, and the group of runners
is very friendly. I love running technical trails, single track
and like the challenge of the hills ("How many can I not walk?"). For a
while now Larry has been trying to convince me to run
Sawtooth. Each year, when crossing the finish line for the 50
miler, I wonder how it is that some runners are capable of doubling that
distance in this trail. I hope to be able to find an answer to this
question this coming September!
Tell about a memorable training run or race.
Just
as I was approaching the paved bike trail two young kids got really
close behind, so I asked them if they had seen a lady approaching me.
They said "she's right here!". I don't know where my energy came from,
but as soon as I reached the paved trail I started to “run for my
life.” I was finally able to see her once she reached the paved
trail. I didn't know how much she had left in her, so I gave it all. I
crossed the finish line first, but she was so close behind (and worked
so hard!) that
we should have shared the third place. I finally learned that this
amazing runner was Kim Martin, and the two kids were her lovely
children. I am thinking that, if I ever get as lucky as I did to be
ahead of Kim, and her kids are close by, their answer will be different.
Do you have a piece of gear or shoe that you love?
I have a favorite water bottle that a good friend of mine gave me
- it is my good luck charm!
My
favorite shoe is Salomon Lab2 XT Wings. Very light and
flexible. They are great on technical trails! I love
them!!
What do you crave when you're out on the trail for
hours?
Towards
the end of a long race I crave a good Argentine asado (BBQ), but as
those are hard to find around here, a nice and juicy mushroom Swiss
burger usually does it. Something I hate to admit I sometimes crave is
beef jerky. I really don’t like it... it must be all that salt!
What advice do you have for new trail runners?
Not sure I should be giving advice, but here are a couple of
things that work for me / try to do:
Well, there’s more than one. Here are a few: Gore-Tex
Trans Rockies and Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run, Hard Rock, Leadville,
Wasatch Front 100 Mile, The North Face Challenge 50 Mile San Francisco
(hopefully this year…) and Columbia Cruce de los Andes. This
last one starts in Argentina and ends in Chile. I love the Andes and
grew up hiking them. I can't wait to run them!UMTR: Who Are We?
About Our Wiki
Our site is a bit different than other running club sites because we've
opened certain pages on our site for our members to edit; after all,
it's our members who make up the community of Upper Midwest Trail
Runners. After you submit your membership, you'll be granted access to
the collaborative pages on the site, including the activity calendar, a
list of trails in the upper midwest, internet resources, and an event
archive. We're using a wiki to accomplish this purpose and we hope you
find it easy to participate. And don't worry about messing things up;
it's just as easy to correct mistakes as it is to make them. Note that
our wiki does not use an invite key. After you receive the email from
the wiki site, establish your own username and password to use the wiki
in the future.
