Superior Commitment - 63 Mile Prep Run

The last time I came to you regarding my commitment to finishing the Superior 100 Mile Endurance Run was before my 63 mile training weekend on the course track.  

I've been back from that now for over a week and I think it's time to tell you a little bit about it.  The good news is that I don't have any major events to share with you.  I was able to stay ahead of any chafing, didn't deal with any cramping and refined a fueling system that worked perfectly for me during the time I spent on the trail.

What we did do was put together a series of videos from the number of sections we completed during the weekend.  I'll share those with you here.

This is from the race start section; Gooseberry Falls to Split Rock including the loop.

Silver Bay to Tettegouche.  This is the section that includes Bear and Bean Lakes.

That was Friday.  Saturday morning we camped out at the Finland Rec Center and I got on the trail at 7am.  It was Finland to Crosby through the Sonju Lake section.  I will be heading through Finland aid in the dark.

Crosby to Sugarloaf.  This is the section that I crashed on in 2013.  I conquered it on this day and  I will again on the 6th of September, 2014.

Sugarloaf to County Road 1 was quite uneventful.  I saw a guy weed whacking the wooden planks but that was about it.

After I met Jesse at County Road 1, we drove to Temperance to climb the South side of Carlton's Peak.  It was a beautiful afternoon and so much fun to share the peak with Jesse.  I passed him on the North side as I was coming down and I was able to wait for him to summit the peak and enjoy the beautiful view of Lake Superior.

Once we finished the peak section of trail we headed to Caribou Highlands for showers and at at Bluefin Bay.  Our plan was to head all the way back down to Camp 61 for dinner, but we didn't.  Bluefin was close and they had a great food selection.

We slept at Oberg and I was off at 6:30 Sunday morning for the last section of the weekend.  7 miles and it was really quite foggy.  I had Jesse meet me just after crossing the Poplar River.  The road to the lodge will be the last mile of the Sawtooth and I wanted to save it for that.

Sitting atop the bridge overlooking the Poplar River I took one last video from our training weekend on the trail.  

I was able to finish 63 miles in 43 hours.  At Sawtooth I'll need to cover 103 miles in under 38 hours.  I am prepared.  I am focused.  I will succeed.

Jon Howard - Husband and Father of 3 | Ultra Endurance Athlete | Owner - Training Edge Sports