Join Us October 15 for the Wild Duluth Races

Dates are set.  Look at the right sidebar for start times and fees.  Registration is also updated on our Registration Page.  See you there!

Harder 'n He!! 1/2 Online Registration is Live

Go to our registration page for a link to the Harder 'n Hell 1/2 Marathon online registration.

Registration updated for 2011 Race

The Registration Page has been updated with a new entry form and online registration for 2011.

Wild Duluth Races Set for October 15, 2011

The 2011 date for the Wild Duluth 100K and 50K is set for October 15, 2011.  We'll have the race entry forms and online registration up and running soon.

2010 Wild Duluth Races Video

Here's the video for the 2010 Wild Duluth Races.  Unfortunately we didn't have footage of everyone, but come back next year and you might make the video then!  Thanks again for making it a great day!  Race report coming soon!

Updated Results

We've updated our results and tried to correct most of the misspelled names.  We were pretty tired when we posted them the first time.  Let us know of any other misspellings.

2010 Wild Duluth Results Posted

It was another gorgeous day for the Wild Duluth races!  Thanks to all of the runners and the great volunteers who made the race possible.  We had a lot of fun and we're looking forward to next year already!  The results are posted on our Results page.

Video Preview of the Wild Duluth Course

Preview of the various sections of the Wild Duluth course.  Sort of a rush job, but it gives you an idea...

Course Description Updated

The Wild Duluth 50K Course Description for runners has been updated with the new start at Oldenburg Point.  It is also comprehensive and covers the entire course now.  Check it out here.

Harder'n He!! Half Marathon Announced

Due to runner demand for a shorter distance offering at Wild Duluth and a desire to share this spectacular course with a few more trail people, we've decided to offer the new Harder'n He!! Half Marathon in 2010.  We're only a month away from the event, but we're hoping to keep numbers for the half marathon fairly small this year so we can be sure it works out logistically and doesn't have a negative effect on the 50K and 100K races which we care about so much and are the primary focus of Wild Duluth.

The half marathon distance works out nicely with a nearly perfect 13.1 mile distance from the upper Spirit Mountain trailhead parking lot to Bayfront Park.  The route follows the Superior Hiking Trail the entire way and includes many of the most spectacular views from the 50K and 100K routes.  And, it will be a VERY challenging half marathon...you could say it will be Harder'n He!!

A printable pdf entry form is available on our Registration page.  Online registration is also available from RunRace.net.  We will also be providing additional race details on our website soon.

Updated Race Information Page

The Race Information page has been updated to reflect the new start at Oldenburg Point.  Aid station distances have been updated.  Please note that there are no longer out-and-back segments to aid stations at Grand Portage and the Zoo.  Runners will run directly through the Grand Portage aid station now coming from Oldenburg Point.  The Zoo aid station has now been moved to the base of Spirit Mountain as well.  It is now called the Spirit Mountain aid station.

Also note that there will be bus transportation to the start for 50K runners.  The Race Information page was not clear on that before.

See you at the race!

Wild Duluth Photo Tour Updated with New Section

The Wild Duluth photo tour has been updated with new photos covering the new 50K start and 100K turnaround from Oldenburg Point to Grand Portage aid station.  Check out the photos here or from our Course Photos page.

New Maps and Elevation Profiles Posted

New maps and elevation profiles reflecting the new 50K start location have been posted on our Course Maps page.

[caption id="attachment_483" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Wild Duluth 100K Course Profile"][/caption]

New Start Location for 50K - Turnaround for 100K!

[caption id="attachment_449" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="View from Oldenburg Point"][/caption]

We're excited to announce a new start and turnaround location for the Wild Duluth 50K and 100K!  While we absolutely loved Chambers Grove as a start location, we worried about the long term sustainability of using undeveloped trails and the steep slope leading out of Chambers Grove.

Our new 50K starting line and 100K turnaround will be located at Oldenburg Point picnic area within Jay Cooke State Park.  There are a lot of great things to note about this change.  Here are the top 10 cool things about the new Wild Duluth 50K start:

1. Runners will get on the Superior Hiking Trail almost right away.  A short 1/4 mile spur trail from the picnic area will lead you right to the Superior Hiking Trail where you will follow the blue blazes and signs all the way to the finish at Bayfront!


2. Runners will be on developed trail...no more bushwhacking.  Although the bushwhacking is fun, it can't be as sustainable and environmentally friendly over the long term


3. The 50K start is sort of flat, rolling and downhill.  No more steep climbing right from the start.  The old start would have been terribly slippery and potentially dangerous if we get bad weather.  While it might be a little longer, the terrain is easier to run.


4. The new start section makes the trail almost exactly 50K.  Last year really was short by a mile or two.


5. The new start includes the Gill Creek Trail - one of the funnest, switchbacky trails in the area


6. The new start also includes the Grand Portage Trail where it drops steeply down to cross Hwy 210.  The views from this trail are amazing and it's a really cool trail!


7. The view from the point is great (you have to walk just a bit to see it)


8. The parking is good (not quite as large as Chambers Grove though)


9. There are toilets available at the site (we'll probably add a couple more)


10. No more out-and-back sections down to the zoo aid station (Kingsbury Creek) or into the Grand Portage aid station!  You stay on the main trail and don't drop down to the zoo anymore.  We've added an aid station at the base of Spirit Mountain to replace the Kingsbury Creek aid station at the zoo.  Also, you run right through the Grand Portage aid station now, so no out-and-back there either!


11. Bonus cool thing - No more powerlines!

We'll be adding new maps and elevation profiles to reflect the new start soon!

Wild Duluth Races now has a Facebook page

Visit our Wild Duluth Races Facebook page for updates, interaction with other Wild Duluth fans, photos and more!  Check it out here!

Downloadable Registration Form Now Available

A downloadable registration form for the 2010 Wild Duluth Races for you to copy, print and send is now available on the Registration page.  Online registration is available there as well.

Online Registration for 2010 Race Ready

Online registration is now available for the 2010 Wild Duluth races.  Click here to register online.

A new form to download, print and mail in will be available soon.

Date Set for 2010 Wild Duluth Races

The 2010 Wild Duluth races will be held on Saturday October 16, 2010.  We'll be posting a new entry form and updating our online registration soon.   We look forward to seeing you on the trails in October!

A Beautiful Day for the First Wild Duluth Races

A common occurrence usually takes place ten days before an ultramarathon for many ultrarunners.  They flock to weather.com to check the ten day forecast.  As first time race directors of the Wild Duluth 100K and 50K races, we did the same thing.  The ten day forecast didn’t look good.  Forty-two degrees with a rain/snow mix.  Fortunately, as is the case for most ten day forecasts, it was wrong.  Race day dawned with starry skies giving way to bright sunshine.  It would be a beautiful day for our inaugural Wild Duluth Races.

[caption id="attachment_398" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="2nd Place 100K Runner Chad Brackelsberg"][/caption]

At 6:00 a.m. the 100K runners departed from the start/finish line at Bayfront Park located right on the Duluth harbor of Lake Superior.  They would run the Superior Hiking Trail, which traverses the entire length of the City of Duluth, from East to West, turning around at Chambers Grove Park and returning the same way to the finish line at Bayfront.  For the 100K runners, the out-and-back course would begin with a relatively long climb to the top of the ridge at Enger Park where runners had the opportunity to ring the Peace Bell.  While the Wild Duluth course does not have any really long climbs or descents, the climbing and descending is relentless.  For most of the course the trail runs up and down along the ridge above the City of Duluth with many great views of the Lake Superior Harbor, Duluth neighborhoods and the hills that runners will traverse strung out before them.  Runners will find rocky gorges, waterfalls, clifftop running, open meadows above the city, boulders and rock outcroppings, towering red and white pine trees, pine needle laden trail as well as rocky, rooty trail all within the city limits of Duluth and its 80,000 residents.  It truly is a wilderness trail within the city, living up to the name Wild Duluth.

From the start of the 100K race, it was clear that Sean Andrish from Virginia was in great shape and ready to run a fast 62 miles.  Chad Brackelsberg from Park City, Utah hung with Sean through the early aid stations and was also looking strong.  As the race progressed, Sean began to build a lead that he would never relinquish, finishing with a super time of 10:52.  We figured anything around 11 hours on this very challenging course would be very good.  Sean exceeded those expectations while telling us that he absolutely loved the course.  Chad stayed steady to finish the 100K in second place and local ultrarunner Matt Long came on strong to close the gap on Chad finishing a solid third.  Julie Treder from St. Francis, WI ran a very good, well paced race and overcame an acrobatic fall off a rock to finish first for the women and fourth overall in 14:45.  Alicia Hudelson finished second for the women and Shelly Thompson Placed third.

[caption id="attachment_399" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Morning Sunlight on Trees Across the St. Louis River from the 50K  Start"][/caption]

Fifty-kilometer runners began their journey from Chambers Grove Park finishing the point-to-point course at Bayfront Park near downtown Duluth.  At the Chambers Grove start runners and spectators were stunned by the golden sunlight shining brightly on the autumn colored trees on the other side of the St. Louis River.  As the runners left the park and immediately climbed steeply up the bluffs, they were again bedazzled by the beautiful pine needle covered trail beneath huge pine trees and colorful maple trees which produced an almost unearthly glow as runners filed along the steep ridgetop.

[caption id="attachment_407" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Rick Bothwell on Trail Above St. Louis River"][/caption]

Midwestern speedster Wynn Davis immediately took the lead and, like the 100K race, never looked back.  It was clear that Wynn was going to set a solid standard for the 50K course.  Would he also exceed our expectations of what we thought would be a fast time on this course?  We felt a 4 hour 30 minute winning time would be a great time on this course.  Wynn smashed those expectations, finishing the race in 4 hours 11 minutes.  Both Sean and Wynn set the bar very high at our inaugural race.

Local runner Ryan Braun from Superior, WI ran a super race to finish second in the 50K, hanging close to Wynn for the early part of the race.  David Worley, another local runner from Duluth, MN ran a superbly paced race just edging out local Darrin Johnson from South Range, WI for third place and the Master’s title.

The women’s 50K may have been the most exciting race of the day.  Leslie Semler from Hermantown, MN led local running champion Rochelle Wirth of Duluth, MN through the early aid stations before Rochelle overtook Leslie, relying on her ultra experience to win the 50K with a super time of 5:13 and place 5th overall.  Leslie finished a very strong 2nd just over 5 minutes behind Rochelle and 7th overall.  Duluthian Anne Flueckiger placed third.  The women were really moving fast over the rocky course throughout the day and also set strong standards for others to try to match in coming years.

[caption id="attachment_401" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Climbing Ely's Peak"][/caption]

No ultra is complete without a few special stories of runners persevering in the face of adversity.  There were many stories on the trail at Wild Duluth, but two stand out in our minds.  Both involved first time ultrarunners.

Until recently, 100K finisher Phillip Watson, a 27 year old from Inver Grove Heights, MN, didn’t know what an ultramarathon was.  He had heard about the sport at some point recently and decided to Google ultramarathons in Minnesota.  This led Phillip to the Wild Duluth races.  He told me at the start that he thought he might as well go all out and run the 100K when he decided to sign up for his first ultramarathon.  Phillip chose a very challenging race for his first ultra, and despite not knowing a lot about the gear and nutrition most ultrarunners use while racing, he remained strong and cheerful all day, overcame blisters and motored to his first ultra finish in the Wild Duluth 100K.  Phillip provided a great example for all of us that what truly matters in an ultra is our attitude and putting one foot in front of the other all day for a long time.  Great job Phillip, and I might put one of those hooded sweatshirts with the big pockets in my race wardrobe soon.  You were pulling food out of those pockets all day!

[caption id="attachment_397" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Finish Line at Bayfront Park"][/caption]

In the 50K, first time ultrarunner Juliana Bertelsen finished behind everyone and took home the Taconite in Your Pants Award.  What makes her finish truly special is that she got off course for an extended period of time and still persevered to the finish.  We received a call that a runner was off course and we began trying to track that runner down.  Shortly after beginning the process of tracking the runner down, we received another call that the runner was back on course and heading for the finish.  In the true ultrarunner spirit, Juliana never gave up and ran strong to the finish despite the extra miles she ran.

Many thanks to all of our tremendous volunteers who endured a long day but remained cheerful throughout.  The runners truly appreciated your efforts.  We’re looking forward to next year and hope to see many of you at the 2010 Wild Duluth Races.

Thanks to Zach Pierce and Rick Bothwell for the above photos.

A Beautiful Day for the First Wild Duluth Races

A common occurrence usually takes place ten days before an ultramarathon for many ultrarunners.  They flock to weather.com to check the ten day forecast.  As first time race directors of the Wild Duluth 100K and 50K races, we did the same thing.  The ten day forecast didn’t look good.  Forty-two degrees with a rain/snow mix.  Fortunately, as is the case for most ten day forecasts, it was wrong.  Race day dawned with starry skies giving way to bright sunshine.  It would be a beautiful day for our inaugural Wild Duluth Races.

[caption id="attachment_398" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="2nd Place 100K Runner Chad Brackelsberg"][/caption]

At 6:00 a.m. the 100K runners departed from the start/finish line at Bayfront Park located right on the Duluth harbor of Lake Superior.  They would run the Superior Hiking Trail, which traverses the entire length of the City of Duluth, from East to West, turning around at Chambers Grove Park and returning the same way to the finish line at Bayfront.  For the 100K runners, the out-and-back course would begin with a relatively long climb to the top of the ridge at Enger Park where runners had the opportunity to ring the Peace Bell.  While the Wild Duluth course does not have any really long climbs or descents, the climbing and descending is relentless.  For most of the course the trail runs up and down along the ridge above the City of Duluth with many great views of the Lake Superior Harbor, Duluth neighborhoods and the hills that runners will traverse strung out before them.  Runners will find rocky gorges, waterfalls, clifftop running, open meadows above the city, boulders and rock outcroppings, towering red and white pine trees, pine needle laden trail as well as rocky, rooty trail all within the city limits of Duluth and its 80,000 residents.  It truly is a wilderness trail within the city, living up to the name Wild Duluth.

From the start of the 100K race, it was clear that Sean Andrish from Virginia was in great shape and ready to run a fast 62 miles.  Chad Brackelsberg from Park City, Utah hung with Sean through the early aid stations and was also looking strong.  As the race progressed, Sean began to build a lead that he would never relinquish, finishing with a super time of 10:52.  We figured anything around 11 hours on this very challenging course would be very good.  Sean exceeded those expectations while telling us that he absolutely loved the course.  Chad stayed steady to finish the 100K in second place and local ultrarunner Matt Long came on strong to close the gap on Chad finishing a solid third.  Julie Treder from St. Francis, WI ran a very good, well paced race and overcame an acrobatic fall off a rock to finish first for the women and fourth overall in 14:45.  Alicia Hudelson finished second for the women and Shelly Thompson Placed third.

[caption id="attachment_399" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Morning Sunlight on Trees Across the St. Louis River from the 50K  Start"][/caption]

Fifty-kilometer runners began their journey from Chambers Grove Park finishing the point-to-point course at Bayfront Park near downtown Duluth.  At the Chambers Grove start runners and spectators were stunned by the golden sunlight shining brightly on the autumn colored trees on the other side of the St. Louis River.  As the runners left the park and immediately climbed steeply up the bluffs, they were again bedazzled by the beautiful pine needle covered trail beneath huge pine trees and colorful maple trees which produced an almost unearthly glow as runners filed along the steep ridgetop.

[caption id="attachment_407" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Rick Bothwell on Trail Above St. Louis River"][/caption]

Midwestern speedster Wynn Davis immediately took the lead and, like the 100K race, never looked back.  It was clear that Wynn was going to set a solid standard for the 50K course.  Would he also exceed our expectations of what we thought would be a fast time on this course?  We felt a 4 hour 30 minute winning time would be a great time on this course.  Wynn smashed those expectations, finishing the race in 4 hours 11 minutes.  Both Sean and Wynn set the bar very high at our inaugural race.

Local runner Ryan Braun from Superior, WI ran a super race to finish second in the 50K, hanging close to Wynn for the early part of the race.  David Worley, another local runner from Duluth, MN ran a superbly paced race just edging out local Darrin Johnson from South Range, WI for third place and the Master’s title.

The women’s 50K may have been the most exciting race of the day.  Leslie Semler from Hermantown, MN led local running champion Rochelle Wirth of Duluth, MN through the early aid stations before Rochelle overtook Leslie, relying on her ultra experience to win the 50K with a super time of 5:13 and place 5th overall.  Leslie finished a very strong 2nd just over 5 minutes behind Rochelle and 7th overall.  Duluthian Anne Flueckiger placed third.  The women were really moving fast over the rocky course throughout the day and also set strong standards for others to try to match in coming years.

[caption id="attachment_401" align="alignright" width="225" caption="Climbing Ely's Peak"][/caption]

No ultra is complete without a few special stories of runners persevering in the face of adversity.  There were many stories on the trail at Wild Duluth, but two stand out in our minds.  Both involved first time ultrarunners.

Until recently, 100K finisher Phillip Watson, a 27 year old from Inver Grove Heights, MN, didn’t know what an ultramarathon was.  He had heard about the sport at some point recently and decided to Google ultramarathons in Minnesota.  This led Phillip to the Wild Duluth races.  He told me at the start that he thought he might as well go all out and run the 100K when he decided to sign up for his first ultramarathon.  Phillip chose a very challenging race for his first ultra, and despite not knowing a lot about the gear and nutrition most ultrarunners use while racing, he remained strong and cheerful all day, overcame blisters and motored to his first ultra finish in the Wild Duluth 100K.  Phillip provided a great example for all of us that what truly matters in an ultra is our attitude and putting one foot in front of the other all day for a long time.  Great job Phillip, and I might put one of those hooded sweatshirts with the big pockets in my race wardrobe soon.  You were pulling food out of those pockets all day!

[caption id="attachment_397" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="The Finish Line at Bayfront Park"][/caption]

In the 50K, first time ultrarunner Juliana Bertelsen finished behind everyone and took home the Taconite in Your Pants Award.  What makes her finish truly special is that she got off course for an extended period of time and still persevered to the finish.  We received a call that a runner was off course and we began trying to track that runner down.  Shortly after beginning the process of tracking the runner down, we received another call that the runner was back on course and heading for the finish.  In the true ultrarunner spirit, Juliana never gave up and ran strong to the finish despite the extra miles she ran.

Many thanks to all of our tremendous volunteers who endured a long day but remained cheerful throughout.  The runners truly appreciated your efforts.  We’re looking forward to next year and hope to see many of you at the 2010 Wild Duluth Races.

Thanks to Zach Pierce and Rick Bothwell for the above photos.

2009 Race Photos Posted

We've posted some photos of the 2009 Wild Duluth Races on our Event Photos page.  Thanks to Rick Bothwell, Zach Pierce and Chris Amley for these great photos.  If anyone else has photos of the 2009 race that we can post on our website, please send them our way or provide us the link.  Thanks!

2009 Race Photos Posted

We've posted some photos of the 2009 Wild Duluth Races on our Event Photos page.  Thanks to Rick Bothwell, Zach Pierce and Chris Amley for these great photos.  If anyone else has photos of the 2009 race that we can post on our website, please send them our way or provide us the link.  Thanks!