Run the Keweenaw 2010

Linked-photo credits: Juskuz Photography
Other pics by my kids.

Two years ago I arrived in Copper Harbor just after the Run the Keweenaw (RTK) race series had finished. Darn, I missed it. I talked to a Mother and Daughter that ran the series and they loved it. Last year I was able to run the first event of the weekend (10K trail run) and immediately after I had to go back home to Minnesota. This year it took some careful planning and I was able to run the three events in the series: On Saturday, July 10th there was a ~6K Mt. Baldy Summit run at 9am, a 12K Copper Harbor Trails Challenge at 5pm, and on Sunday there was a 25K Keweenaw Trails Run at 8am.

Last year was the 10th running of the series and this year was the first year with a new race organizer. I didn't know what was in store for the series as my only experience was the 10K in 2009. That was a tough run.

9am Saturday - Mt. Baldy Summit Run

Saturday morning I got ready and headed out of Copper Harbor and down to Eagle Harbor. The Mt. Baldy Summit run traditionally started at the beach but with road construction, it started on a road that led directly to the trail. I had picked-up my race packet Friday night but I walked over to the registration desk to write emergency contact info and were I was staying on the back of my bib. My wife was in Minnesota, my kids were in a campground....it would not have been good if something happened to me and there was not easy way to find my family.

I talked to a couple of other guys that were there early too and a little later I saw a Mom/Dad/Daughter. The daughter had just posed for a picture by the Ambulance and I decided to see what that was about. The daughter had seen something about the race in the paper and thought it would be fun. I asked her if she knew much about it....like the 750 feet of hill climb. She thought I was joking and said she hates hills. I thought this was fantastic that she showed up to a race like this, knowing nothing about it. I'll call her Wisconsin as that's what was on her shirt.

Moving on, I warmed up by running the trail up to the point of the loose sand hill (I hate loose sand) and did some warming up on the pavement too. The race started and off we went. Well, I was running hard and I was passing some, others were passing me. Around a mile in, I was running behind a girl for awhile then passed her. She only let me run for maybe a hundred yards before passing me. Oh well, I'll just follow her. She probably wanted to get away from me because I constantly had the need to clear my throat. Yuck. The noise I was making was annoying me so it probably bothered others too. This was a hard run. We run up to the top of one mountain which then we look over to the next mountain where the finish line is. So, down the other side we go and up the taller mountain. I'll call them mountains because they're a lot taller than the hills I'm used to running. I got to the top in 30:36 on a distance of somewhere around 3.5 miles. My Garmin read 3.27 but I think it was longer than that. Here is my Garmin data for the Summit run. A short while later Wisconsin crossed the finish. She didn't carry any water so I gave her the last third of my bottle. I didn't need any more. The view from the top of Mt. Baldy is spectacular. I don't have pictures and won't describe the view, you'll just have to go on that run yourself. Update: Here is a professional photo of me approaching the finish:



After most of the runners finished, Wisconsin and I walked down the mountain. This took forever and we finally ran the last mile to the start. At the awards ceremony, it turns out that both Wisconsin and I got 3rd place in our age groups and scored a nice little jug of maple syrup. Sweet!

5pm Saturday - 12K Copper Harbor Trails Challenge

I survived the first run just fine and was looking forward to the 12K. I heard some rumors that the actual distance was 11K. Either way, it was going to be a hard run if it was anything like last year. Last year was a point to point and this year it started and finished at the same location in Copper Harbor. The route was entirely runnable (by me) this year. Janice, who I met at the race last year, is #50 in the pic below, which was taken not long after the start.



A mile or so into the run I settled into a nice pace and had a woman in front of me and a guy directly behind. The woman didn't seem to mind me following close enough to just be safe. There were a lot of switchbacks on this run and most of it was single-track. Very nice for running. I think I was pushing the woman a bit and she was pulling me along too. She never looked back, just kept charging ahead. note: I felt much better than I look in the professional pic below. :-)



Us three runners had a really nice run and maybe a half mile or so from the finish the guy behind me passed us both and moved on ahead. I kept right behind the woman, she was running at the perfect pace for me and it was a hard race pace. I crossed the finish line directly behind her and when she turned around I said 'Oh, I was right behind you up the mountain this morning!' She said she thought it was me behind her and I said that she probably wasn't sure because I wasn't hacking up and clearing my throat this afternoon. :-) It wasn't until the race was over that I realized I was pacing behind that same woman (actually 16 year old girl) in both races. At this point in time she beat me twice. :-) By 3.4 seconds in the Summit Run and by 0.4 seconds in the 12K. Not that I'm racing her, but I was getting interested that we run at the same pace. From now, I'll call her JA as those are her initials. We've talked a bit but didn't exchange names. My kids were at the finish and one took two pics:



This time, I was 2nd place in my age and the awards were slices of a tree with the RTK logo burned in. Oh, my time was 54:17 and I believe the distance was ~6.8 miles.



For the 12K, my Garmin data is here. The map looks nice if you click on the 'Terrain' button.

8am Sunday - 25K Keweenaw Trails Run

I figured this run was going to be a beast and I'm not a youngster anymore so I wanted to start the race and 'take inventory' for 6 miles. I figured that I'd run the first 6 slower than I would race it, maybe 30 seconds slower per mile. I got to the start early and chatted with a few new friends. I wished AJ good luck and she lined-up closer to the start. I wanted to start back just a bit so I could take it easy. I also knew I wouldn't be on AJ's rear-end like I was the previous two races.

The race started and I felt a bit sluggish at first. About 2 miles in I had settled in right behind a guy and I was feeling pretty good. After another mile I started to get a pain in my left foot as we were climbing. This route too was very runnable as was the 12K. My foot pain went away after about a half mile but not before I was determining where I was going to drop from the race. Thankfully I was able to keep going and started to move along nicely. My pace did seem like I was going about 30 seconds slower that I could go on these trails. I decided to keep to my plan and stay slower until mile 6.

Dog on the trail....I was getting really annoyed at this dog running the trail run too. It's owner was up ahead, calling it to keep moving along and to go faster. I don't think I was the only one annoyed due to the dog on the trail. I couldn't wait to get away from that dog/owner. Also, I set a new goal for myself: Don't get beat by the little house dog. Tiny, but tough, trail running dog in pic below!



At mile 5.5 I took an S!Cap for salt, three shot blocks, and a healthy drink of water from my hand-held bottle. Just half a mile and I could take off. Yes. I felt good, stuck to my plan, and now was ready to run. Now I was running by myself and was moving right along at a natural race pace - not too slow and not too fast. I met up with a gal from Minnesota and ran with her though the lap 1 finish and up the road a bit before I left her. Now I had entered the park trails and could cruise. They were just biking/running/walking paths and were super easy to run. I made up some time here. That easy running could only last for so long and I knew there was more single-track ahead.

The picture below shows me on one of the numerous footbridges we encountered during the race.



I would repeat my S!Cap/3-shot-bloks combo at miles 8.5 and 11.5, spacing them out just right for my needs.

For those runners that didn't finish in the top few, you know what happened next. Yes, the THUNDERSTORM. I had about 3.5 miles to the finish and the skies opened up. Torrential rainfall. Oh well, doesn't help to stop so I might as well keep running. It was funny and scary at the same time as my glasses fogged up but I could still read the 'Danger, Cliff' sign, it was pouring rain, and I had to run on one of the wooden bridges. As bad as that sounds, I didn't slip and fall or plunge off the cliff. As a matter of fact, I was wearing road running shoes and I think with the significant amount of surface area contacting the bridges and rock, I had good traction. So, I moved quickly though the last 5k and crossed the finish completely soaked, dirty, and happy.

Just great running trails. This was after the rain slowed down.



My time was 2:08. Here is my Garmin data for the 25K.

Still in the finishing area was AJ, who I never saw except at the start. I asked her how she did and she said 2:05. It made me think about the '3 minutes' I 'added' in my first 6 miles. Here is the spooky part: I looked up AJ and my 2nd lap times and hers was 1:00:55.6 and mine was 1:00:56.2. AJ was 0.6 seconds faster than I was in the second lap. Spooky. You can't plan that. Anyways, this weekend is the ONLY time that AJ's and my paces will match. She is 16 and has speed in her future, I'm 50 and am slowing down. Still it's interesting to me because I never run with anyone with nearly identical racing paces.

It turned out that in this 3rd race I ended up first in my age group and got a nice locally-made ceramic mug. The sponsors also threw out gifts to the crowd after the awards and I scored some Vasque socks and Hammer Gels. Here are those awards:



Would I run this again? Yes, every year if I could. It's a mostly-runable course but I did have to walk up parts of the two summit hills/mountains and only walked up one hill in the 25K. I don't care if the course is the same or if it changes every year. It's a beautiful area with great running trails. See you in 2011.

--Mark

p.s. I don't know if the dog ever finished but I know for sure it didn't beat me. :-)

[note 7/19: I purchased the digital copies of all the photos that include me so I can post them here but I will leave the original ones linked for now.]