Greetings Runners,
We are about a week-and-a-half out from the 31st Annual Superior Fall Trail Race. 325+ volunteers are coming together to put on this year’s race. We are thrilled have 942 registered runners from 3 countries, 35 states and 196 Minnesota cities – thank you all for joining us!
If You Can No Longer Run:
If you are no longer running there is no need to contact us. We will know you are not starting the race when you do not pick up your race number.
Do Your Reading:
NOW is the time to review all of the information on the event website again, so you are as prepared as possible come race day. We cannot stress enough how important it is to review the information associated with the distance you are running along with taking the time to review other important sections of the website.
100 Mile Info: https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/100-mile-info/
50 Mile Info: https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/50-mile-info/
26.2 Mile Info: https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/26-mile-info/
Maps / Data: https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/maps-and-data/
VERY IMPORTANT – Crew, pacers, family and spectators:
If you have crew, pacers, family or spectators joining you they need to review THIS https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/crew-pacer-family-member-spectators-information/ page and associated links in their entirety, please make sure you forward this information to them. Runners, you are responsible for your pacers, crews and spectators.
VERY IMPORTANT – Changes to parking at Caribou Highlands / race headquarters / race finish:
Each year Lutsen Mountain Ski Area graciously allows us the use of their portion of the large gravel surface parking lot across from Caribou Highlands / off of Ski Hill Road (Caribou Highlands owns a portion of this parking lot as well). Lutsen Mountain Ski Area is currently working on a chair lift replacement project and about half of the parking lot is being used as a staging area for the project. As a result we will have to get creative with parking this year, likely including a significant amount of parking on one side of Ski Hill Road. 100 milers arriving and parking on Friday morning, and 50 mile and marathon runners arriving on Saturday morning to take the shuttles to the race starts should plan to arrive extra early in order to park and walk a little further than normal to the shuttle bus stop. Additionally, the shuttle bus stop may be slightly relocated – if it is, it will be in close enough proximity to the normal / published location that it will be easy to find. There will be Caribou Highlands staff and Superior Trail Race volunteers around on both Friday and Saturday morning to direct traffic / parking.
Bib Number Assignments:
Bib number assignments have been made and are available on our website HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/2023-bib-assignments/ – Be sure to use the ‘search’ function to find your name as the list is not entirely alphabetical. Those using drop-bags should mark them with the aid station location, name and bib number.
Bib Number Pickup and Drop Bag Drop-off:
Bib number pickup and drop bag drop-off for each distance is just that – there will be no meeting or program. We will be there if you have any last minute questions. We only accept drop bags the night before each race, never on race morning. While we prefer to get as many people checked in the night before as possible, if you do not have drop bags to drop, you may check in at the race start on race morning.
Drop Bags Return:
Once aid stations close, drop bags will be delivered to the finish line, but most will not be available until after 8:30PM Saturday night. Drop bags will remain outside, unattended and unmonitored near the finish line until approximately 9:00AM on Sunday. Unclaimed drop bags will not be mailed to you and will be donated to charity.
Tettegouche Reroute (affects 100 mile runners only):
The Tettegouche reroute remains in effect for 2023 https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/superior-100-tettegouche-reroute-and-logistics/ – The race start time is reverting back to 8:00AM this year (we had pushed it up to 7:50AM in 2022). Cutoffs at Tettegouche, County 6 and Finland remain extended by 10 minutes each (correct cutoff times are published on the aid station chart and will be posted at the aid stations.)
Cupless Race:
A reminder that we are a cupless race, so carry your own water bottle, hydration bladder or cup. We will have hot cups used for soup and other hot food items.
Aid Station Food & Special Nutrition Items:
Here is a post about what we will (and will not) have for food and drink at the aid stations. https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/2023-aid-station-snacks-food-and-drink/
Course Markings:
If you studied the specific info page (linked above) for the distance you are running, you will have come across it, but if for some reason you missed, HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/trail-markings/ is a comprehensive guide about the trail / race course / course markings.
Runner Tracking / Results
Links to results and 100 mile runner tracking can be found on our website. Live tracking is done for the 100 mile race only and is for entertainment purposes – there is no guarantee that it will always be updated or 100% accurate. The link to 100 mile runner tracking can be found HERE https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/100-mile-live-runner-tracking/ – The direct link to results can be found HERE https://www.athlinks.com/event/179985/results/Event/1060101/Results
Medals / Buckles / Stick Around:
All 100 mile runners will be handed / awarded a medal and a buckle as they finish the race – 100 mile finisher sweatshirts and patches will be available for pickup under the party tent, you or your crew need to seek these out on your own. All 50 mile and marathon runners will be awarded a medal. We started doing new medals in 2021, a scaled back design sans year / date with space to write it in or add other info helps us to cut down on waste (no more throwing out / burning dated medals). There are no specific overall or age group awards. Please stick around at the finish line with us until the very last runner comes through as we celebrate each runners accomplishments!
Coffee:
We are super excited to once again be serving coffee from our fantastic sponsor Fika Coffee throughout the event. Fika is a local coffee shop, located in downtown Lutsen off of Highway 61. https://fikacoffee.com/
Post Race Meal:
A huge thank you to Caribou Highlands / Moguls Grill and Taproom for dong a wonderful job catering Chili donated by Captain Ken’s for this event! We will have meat and vegetarian chili for participants after they finish the race. For crew, pacers, family members or runners that needs something more, Caribou Highlands / Moguls will be doing a cookout, selling burgers and other items right at the finish line as well.
Beanies:
We took another year off of shirts and instead created this handsome beanie. All runners and volunteers will get one (and we will have some extras for sale for crew, pacers, spectators, family, etc.) https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/2023-race-beanie/
Swag for Sale:
We will have some t-shirts, hats, posters, stickers, sweatshirts and more for sale. Cash or check preferred – PayPal and Venmo available.
Support the Superior Hiking Trail:
A large percentage of you are already Superior Hiking Trail Association members. Many of you who are not, indicated at the time you registered, that you would like to be. Now is a great time to show our support en masse that we, as trail runners support the trail that we love to run! You can join, or make an extra donation to the SHT via the following (custom for Superior Trail Race) links… https://superiorhiking.org/joinsuperior/ and https://superiorhiking.org/donatesuperior/ – if / when you donate consider droping a line to the SHT telling them how much you value the race and the trail. The Superior Trail Race will continue its charitable legacy to the Superior Hiking Trail Association with a $3,000 donation in 2023, in addition to ongoing volunteer efforts on the trail itself; building, clearing, maintaining and improving.
Sponsors:
Please click the following link to check out all our awesome sponsors https://www.superiorfalltrailrace.com/sponsors/ – several of which are heading up aid stations! (Performance Running Gym, Trail Transformation, Bigger Than the Trail, Mill City / Saint City Running and Twin Cities Running Company).
We cannot thank you enough for taking part in the Superior Trail Race – we cannot wait to see you all at the race. If you have any questions, please reach out.
Thank You,
John Storkamp
Race Director
[email protected]