Here is a link to my GPX file for the race and here is a map of it:
Like all my winter races, my goals for the race were to:
1. Not put other people at risk.
2. Compete safely.
3. Finish within the allotted time (maybe with a little time to spare).
4. Be helpful and encouraging to my fellow racers
5. Be polite and upbeat with the folks at the checkpoints.
Having fun is not a separate goal, because I believe that if I do all of the above, the fun will be there. I think I did pretty well on all of the goals, although I feel like I can never really do enough to thank and appreciate the volunteers at the checkpoints.
Here is what happened:
Gear Check. The weekend started with a mandatory gear check Friday at the Rice Lake Nights of Columbus center which was the race headquarters. While I am not a big fan of mandatory gear lists, the list for Tuscobia was short and reasonable and the gear check was done quickly and efficiently. I think the whole thing took five minutes. We were required to bring:
- Sleeping bag – Zero (0) °F or lower.
- Bivy sack – must be a real bivy sack, not the SOL emergency bivy that I usually used to satisfy bivy sack requirements.
- Sleeping pad – inflatable is okay.
- At least 20 square inches of reflective material – 10 front and 10 back, most folks just wore suspender-style reflectors.
- $30 cash
- Headlamp and back-up batteries
- Three individual flashing red LED lights and back-up batteries – 1 front facing and 2 rear facing and at least 20 lumen each.
After the gear check, I had a chance to chat with one of the race directors, Helen Scotch, who is an accomplished winter ultra runner. Given the large number of participants and the complexity of the race, I found Helen and her co-race director and husband, Chris Scotch, to be extremely personable, helpful, and well organized.
There was a good base of snow, but the weather forecast called for temperatures ranging from high twenties to the high thirties with rain on Saturday and Sunday. I was concerned that rain during the days together with freezing temperatures at night might turn the trail into a sheet of ice that could not be skied. Helen told me that I could switch to the foot category before the race start, but that if I started as a skier I would have to stay in that category and bring my skis with me the whole way even if I had to walk most of the course. As it turned out the course was almost entirely ski-able and I only had to walk on road crossings, a single mile-long section of road, and a few hills that were too steep to ski given the conditions. Out of the 80.5 mile course, I likely walked less than 2 miles.
Pre-race meeting.
Chris presided over the pre-race meeting. It was a fairly standard pre-race meeting that involved thanking the many volunteers and sponsors who made the race possible, going over a few course highlights and safety matters, and the most impressive gear raffle that I have seen.
At the meeting, I got a chance to say hi to few old friends including ITI veterans Leah Gruhn and Charly Tri and meet a few new friends including Robert Youngren whom I had been corresponding with about his upcoming ITI effort. Talking to my fellow racers is always among the highlights for me of these events.
Morning check-in was Saturday morning at the race headquarters from 615-645 am. After signing in and enjoying the fresh coffee, we boarded the buses to the start line in Park falls, 80 miles away. The trip was uneventful and we arrived at the Park Falls City Hall at about 9:00am where there was more coffee and plenty of snacks.
I chatted with a few of the racers and hoped that the relatively clear skies would continue (they didn't). One of the skiers I spoke with was Polly Albright from Dunkirk, NY. Polly was doing her first ski race after having had some success in Ultra running. We compared gear and I noticed that her skis were a little dry. Fortunately I had brought along plenty of liquid wax and we were able to put some on her skis for the race. She had a long effort but finished just under the time limit and set a course record. It seemed an impressive effort.
Just before the 10am start I turned on my mandatory flashers only to realize that the batteries in one of them had gone dead. It took me several minutes to replace the batteries and reattach the lights to my backpack. As a result, I started about a minute after the last racers left the start line. The first half mile or so of the race involved carrying my skis from town hall to the start of the trail and chatting with Helen:
My plan was to break the race into 4 segments and focus on completing each segment as a separate goal. I wanted to avoid thinking about the race as an 80-mile push. The segments were:
1. Park Falls to Loretta/Draper -- 20 miles
2. Loretta/Draper to Ojibwa -- 15 miles
3. Ojibwa to Birchwood -- 29 miles
4. Birchwood to finish -- 16.5 miles
Park Falls to Loretta/Draper (20 miles).
This first section was all in the daylight but it started lightly raining about mid-day. It was nothing too bad, but it was not a good sign for how the weather might progress. The trail in this section was flat and mostly wooded. It was a nice start to the effort.
My pace for the first 10-miles averaged about 4 mph which was pretty good for me given the soft and very uneven snow conditions. This was a bit faster than most of the foot racers, all of whom had started ahead of me. As a result, I had to expend a fair amount of effort going around them on the softer snow in the center of the trail. That effort turned out to be for naught since most of them eventually re-passed me as my pace in the race gradually slowed to 3.5 mph and ultimately 3.0 mph before recovering a little bit for the last 4 miles where the trail conditions were especially good. The lesson, which I never seem to learn, is to go slow at the start so that I can manage a faster overall pace.
When I got to Loretta at the end of this segment, I had hoped for a stop and sure enough there were a few foot racers who had stopped at a local steakhouse for an early dinner. But I was looking for something a bit less formal and decided to push on to Ojibwa.
Loretta/Draper to Ojibwa (15 miles)
This section started in daylight but quickly got dark. The rain become increasingly heavy and was pouring at several sections. As with the first section, the trail was flat and mostly wooded. Since it was relatively short and ended with a well provisioned checkpoint, it went pretty well. That was not the case for the cyclists. I crossed paths with Leah and, a little later, Paul Schlagel (another ITI veteran who had temporarily switched to cycling because of an injury). Both were doing the 160 on bikes and each would eventually drop due to very tough cycling conditions. This was one of those rare years where skiers had an easier time of it than the other disciplines--all of the skiers in both the 80-mile race and the 160-miler finished.
Because the trail is shared with snow machine riders, the race directors are (rightly) very strict on the requirement that all racers carry three blinking lights. About mid-way through this section I spotted a blinker on the trail. I picked it up and about a half-hour later I spotted a foot racer with a missing blinker. He was glad to have the light back and I was glad to have done my good deed for the race.
I arrived at Ojibwa a little after 8pm and was treated to soup, bread, cake, and great hospitality. I had to use a zip-lock bag as my soup bowl since I had forgotten to back a real bowl as the race instructions suggested.
After eating, I waxed my skis and was able to almost completely dry my shell jacket and gloves which had been nearly soaked through when I arrived.
I left the checkpoint feeling refreshed and optimistic. My only concern was how I would cope with the weather if the hard rain continued though the long segment to Birchwood.
Ojibwa to Birchwood (29 miles)
This was the hardest section. It was dark, very rainy, and ended with a long, but gradual uphill climb.
Given the rain and cold, I was quite concerned about hypothermia risk. But as the night progressed it became clear to me that, even in hard rain, the technique I'd always used in winter ultras still worked. Simply put, as long as I kept moving, I stayed warm. I contemplated changing my water resistant shell jacket for a rain jacket that I'd brought, but I knew that a non-breathable rain jacket would cause me to overheat and sweat and would ultimately result in me being just as wet as if I stayed with the shell jacket. The only issue was that in the wet gear, I'd become cold very quickly if I stopped. But for that I had the parka, middleweight puffy vest, and arm warmers that were all still dry.
I think Race Director Chris Scotch was also concerned about the conditions. During the night, he made 3 or 4 passes along the course checking on each racer as he passed them. It was truly appreciated. As dawn approached, he passed me for the final time and asked me how I was doing. I said I was fine, but cold. He asked if I could make it another 3 miles to Ed's Pit Stop in Birchwood where there was coffee. That all the encouragement I needed. I few miles later I passed the local snowmachine clubhouse where a night aid-station had been run and I could still smell cooking. Sunrise came shortly thereafter and then I was at Ed's. It was a little slice of heaven with coffee, donuts and just about anything else a tired cold racer could ask for.
There was a good base of snow, but the weather forecast called for temperatures ranging from high twenties to the high thirties with rain on Saturday and Sunday. I was concerned that rain during the days together with freezing temperatures at night might turn the trail into a sheet of ice that could not be skied. Helen told me that I could switch to the foot category before the race start, but that if I started as a skier I would have to stay in that category and bring my skis with me the whole way even if I had to walk most of the course. As it turned out the course was almost entirely ski-able and I only had to walk on road crossings, a single mile-long section of road, and a few hills that were too steep to ski given the conditions. Out of the 80.5 mile course, I likely walked less than 2 miles.
Pre-race meeting.
Chris presided over the pre-race meeting. It was a fairly standard pre-race meeting that involved thanking the many volunteers and sponsors who made the race possible, going over a few course highlights and safety matters, and the most impressive gear raffle that I have seen.
At the meeting, I got a chance to say hi to few old friends including ITI veterans Leah Gruhn and Charly Tri and meet a few new friends including Robert Youngren whom I had been corresponding with about his upcoming ITI effort. Talking to my fellow racers is always among the highlights for me of these events.
Morning check-in was Saturday morning at the race headquarters from 615-645 am. After signing in and enjoying the fresh coffee, we boarded the buses to the start line in Park falls, 80 miles away. The trip was uneventful and we arrived at the Park Falls City Hall at about 9:00am where there was more coffee and plenty of snacks.
I chatted with a few of the racers and hoped that the relatively clear skies would continue (they didn't). One of the skiers I spoke with was Polly Albright from Dunkirk, NY. Polly was doing her first ski race after having had some success in Ultra running. We compared gear and I noticed that her skis were a little dry. Fortunately I had brought along plenty of liquid wax and we were able to put some on her skis for the race. She had a long effort but finished just under the time limit and set a course record. It seemed an impressive effort.
Just before the 10am start I turned on my mandatory flashers only to realize that the batteries in one of them had gone dead. It took me several minutes to replace the batteries and reattach the lights to my backpack. As a result, I started about a minute after the last racers left the start line. The first half mile or so of the race involved carrying my skis from town hall to the start of the trail and chatting with Helen:
My plan was to break the race into 4 segments and focus on completing each segment as a separate goal. I wanted to avoid thinking about the race as an 80-mile push. The segments were:
1. Park Falls to Loretta/Draper -- 20 miles
2. Loretta/Draper to Ojibwa -- 15 miles
3. Ojibwa to Birchwood -- 29 miles
4. Birchwood to finish -- 16.5 miles
Park Falls to Loretta/Draper (20 miles).
This first section was all in the daylight but it started lightly raining about mid-day. It was nothing too bad, but it was not a good sign for how the weather might progress. The trail in this section was flat and mostly wooded. It was a nice start to the effort.
My pace for the first 10-miles averaged about 4 mph which was pretty good for me given the soft and very uneven snow conditions. This was a bit faster than most of the foot racers, all of whom had started ahead of me. As a result, I had to expend a fair amount of effort going around them on the softer snow in the center of the trail. That effort turned out to be for naught since most of them eventually re-passed me as my pace in the race gradually slowed to 3.5 mph and ultimately 3.0 mph before recovering a little bit for the last 4 miles where the trail conditions were especially good. The lesson, which I never seem to learn, is to go slow at the start so that I can manage a faster overall pace.
When I got to Loretta at the end of this segment, I had hoped for a stop and sure enough there were a few foot racers who had stopped at a local steakhouse for an early dinner. But I was looking for something a bit less formal and decided to push on to Ojibwa.
Loretta/Draper to Ojibwa (15 miles)
This section started in daylight but quickly got dark. The rain become increasingly heavy and was pouring at several sections. As with the first section, the trail was flat and mostly wooded. Since it was relatively short and ended with a well provisioned checkpoint, it went pretty well. That was not the case for the cyclists. I crossed paths with Leah and, a little later, Paul Schlagel (another ITI veteran who had temporarily switched to cycling because of an injury). Both were doing the 160 on bikes and each would eventually drop due to very tough cycling conditions. This was one of those rare years where skiers had an easier time of it than the other disciplines--all of the skiers in both the 80-mile race and the 160-miler finished.
Because the trail is shared with snow machine riders, the race directors are (rightly) very strict on the requirement that all racers carry three blinking lights. About mid-way through this section I spotted a blinker on the trail. I picked it up and about a half-hour later I spotted a foot racer with a missing blinker. He was glad to have the light back and I was glad to have done my good deed for the race.
I arrived at Ojibwa a little after 8pm and was treated to soup, bread, cake, and great hospitality. I had to use a zip-lock bag as my soup bowl since I had forgotten to back a real bowl as the race instructions suggested.
After eating, I waxed my skis and was able to almost completely dry my shell jacket and gloves which had been nearly soaked through when I arrived.
I left the checkpoint feeling refreshed and optimistic. My only concern was how I would cope with the weather if the hard rain continued though the long segment to Birchwood.
Ojibwa to Birchwood (29 miles)
This was the hardest section. It was dark, very rainy, and ended with a long, but gradual uphill climb.
Given the rain and cold, I was quite concerned about hypothermia risk. But as the night progressed it became clear to me that, even in hard rain, the technique I'd always used in winter ultras still worked. Simply put, as long as I kept moving, I stayed warm. I contemplated changing my water resistant shell jacket for a rain jacket that I'd brought, but I knew that a non-breathable rain jacket would cause me to overheat and sweat and would ultimately result in me being just as wet as if I stayed with the shell jacket. The only issue was that in the wet gear, I'd become cold very quickly if I stopped. But for that I had the parka, middleweight puffy vest, and arm warmers that were all still dry.
I think Race Director Chris Scotch was also concerned about the conditions. During the night, he made 3 or 4 passes along the course checking on each racer as he passed them. It was truly appreciated. As dawn approached, he passed me for the final time and asked me how I was doing. I said I was fine, but cold. He asked if I could make it another 3 miles to Ed's Pit Stop in Birchwood where there was coffee. That all the encouragement I needed. I few miles later I passed the local snowmachine clubhouse where a night aid-station had been run and I could still smell cooking. Sunrise came shortly thereafter and then I was at Ed's. It was a little slice of heaven with coffee, donuts and just about anything else a tired cold racer could ask for.
Sadly, a few racers had enough of the course and dropped in Birchwood with only 16 miles to go. I saw a father and son team loading up their kick sleds and a foot racer drop out with muscle trouble. I tried to encourage him, but to no avail. I spent a bit longer at Ed's, 90 minutes total, than I intended, but while I was there, the sun came out and my gear mostly dried.
The only really issue was that my boots were still pretty wet and my feet somewhat macerated. I wanted to put on the dry spare socks I'd brought, but I knew that they'd be instantly soaked by my wet boots. Chris was at the station and I mentioned this to him. He suggested I put a bag over my socks and then put my boot over that. I laughed because I had actually brought heavy duty bread bags for just that purpose. In my mental fog after skiing all night, I had completely forgotten.
With dry feet and gear, I put a final coat of wax on my skis and headed out for the last segment.
Birchwood to Finish (16.5 miles)
The rain stopped while I was at Ed's and I felt pretty good as I started out. The first mile or so out of town has the only hilly section of the race and the conditions were such that I had to walk several of the hills. Coming down one of them, I fell for the first time in the race. The skis flew out of my hands and came to rest in the ditch on the side of the trail. Nothing is ever easy. After that the trail smoothed out and the rest of the way was an largely uneventful and pleasant ski into Rice Lake and the finish.
At one intersection, less than a half-mile from the finish I had to remove my skis to get across the asphalt. When I bent over to put them back on, I momentarily fell asleep. It wasn't long enough for me to fall down, but I was glad that I was almost done. After that I cross the finished and enjoyed the post-race pizza and conversation.
I spent the next day traveling home and relaxing. It was an unforgettable experience.
I'd like to thank my family, my fellow racers, the volunteers and race directors, and my co-workers and employer, all of whom made this possible and to all of whom I am deeply in debt.
Here is the gear I used for the race, all of which worked well and which I plan on including in my ITI gear list in March:
On me:
1. Fischer Comfort Pro boots Size 49 (breathable, affordable, and reasonably lightweight, although the heal seams tend to come out and need to be re-sewn);
2. Salomon Snowscape 9 Skin Skis XXL
3. Warrior Adjustable Ski poles (140-160CM) by US ski pole company
4. Dry Max XL socks;
5. 4ucycling Windproof pants XXXL (they run small);
6. Wool base layer (long sleeve top and bottom briefs);
7. HED Sensatec gloves (XL);
8. Modoking CREE-XPG 140 Lumens Head Lamp (takes 1 AA battery!);
9. Ear band;
2. Salomon Snowscape 9 Skin Skis XXL
3. Warrior Adjustable Ski poles (140-160CM) by US ski pole company
4. Dry Max XL socks;
5. 4ucycling Windproof pants XXXL (they run small);
6. Wool base layer (long sleeve top and bottom briefs);
7. HED Sensatec gloves (XL);
8. Modoking CREE-XPG 140 Lumens Head Lamp (takes 1 AA battery!);
9. Ear band;
10. Suspender-style reflectors
11. Condor Summit Zero Jacket (L) with the following in its pockets:
e. $60 Cash, 2 credit cards, and driver's license.
My backpack and contents:
Weight Item
(lbs., approx)
2.20 Granite Gear Crown2 60L Backpack
1.00 Absolute Zero Mitts (XL);
0.40 Sams club down vest (lightweight) (L)
0.20 Arm warmers from The Sock Guy
1.00 Food
4.40 2 qts H2O in a 3 liter water bladder
0.25 Titanium 16 OzCup (forgot to pack, ooops)
0.35 Personal bag (lots of medicine, tooth brush, etc)
11. Condor Summit Zero Jacket (L) with the following in its pockets:
- 6 * AA spare batteries (all electronics other than my phone use these batteries);
- Garmin Etrex 30 (takes AA batteries);
- 2 hand warmers;
e. $60 Cash, 2 credit cards, and driver's license.
My backpack and contents:
Weight Item
(lbs., approx)
2.20 Granite Gear Crown2 60L Backpack
1.00 Absolute Zero Mitts (XL);
0.40 Sams club down vest (lightweight) (L)
0.20 Arm warmers from The Sock Guy
1.00 Food
4.40 2 qts H2O in a 3 liter water bladder
0.25 Titanium 16 OzCup (forgot to pack, ooops)
0.35 Personal bag (lots of medicine, tooth brush, etc)
1.00 REI Bivy Sack
0.40 2*dry max socks spares
5.00 -20 REI sleeping bag
1.46 Parka
1.32 Air Mattress (Recharge Sleeping Pad, Ultralight,)
0.44 Gaiters
0.20 Sandwich Bags (keep socks dry in wet boots), garbage and zip-lock bags
0.20 TPaper
0.50 Mild, Mid, Cold, and skin liquid waxes from Vauhti, Scraper (for ice buildup)
0.25 Personal pack (tooth brush, medicine, moleskin, etc),
0.25 Tools and repair items
0.30 3*Flashing red lights (blackburn LOCAL 20 REAR LIGHT, 2*AA battery each)
1.80 Icebug DTS2 GTX Shoes sz 15 (in case significant sections were not skiable)
23.0 Total weight of backpack (about 10 lbs less than what I plan to carry for the ITI)
Here are some race statistics:
In the 80-mile race there were 121 starters and 75 finisher for a completion rate of 61%. Course records were set for the men's and women's ski and the women's foot divisions.
In the 160-mile race there were 100 starters and 37 finisher for a completion rate of 37%. Course records were set for the men's ski and the women's bicycle divisions.
Way to go Lars!!! Well done!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteNice work! I remember visiting with you at Ed's! I was one of the last 160 bikers to finish that day.
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