Green-To-Glen Ten Recap

Thanks again to all that joined us last Sunday for a great morning on the trails!  Here are the highlights:

We had one participant in the 4-legged division.  Charlie did his best to lap the field by running from the leader to the caboose, over and over again.  I'm not sure there's anything better than seeing a dog take off down the trail.  Pure bliss.

Charlie also managed to take out one runner.  Mary fell prey to his spontaneous backtrackings and arrived at the finish line with dirty hands, asking "What's my prize?"

The Grand Prize -- a copy of Scott Jurek's Eat & Run -- went to Logan. Logan drove a scooter from Oshkosh to the finish line, then ran to the start line, and THEN ran back with us.  What a guy!

Chrissie (sorry about the spelling if it's wrong!) and Naomi joined the GTR's for their first trail run and were all smiles at the end.  Thanks for coming, Ladies, and see you at the next one!

Several participants took advantage of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale I had packed for the finish line. Considering we finished running just before 10 AM, I was a bit hesitant to bring beer along...but it's official, we're a trail running group!  It's never too early for a beer after a nice jaunt in the woods.

Dad duties called for me, so I didn't get to partake in the breakfast at Fudgie's after, but next time I'll be there!  Thanks again to everyone, and we'll see you at the next run!

Green-to-Glen Ten

Green-to-Glen Ten is this Sunday! Both runs will start at the Greenbush Group Camp at 7:30 AM. The 10K course will leave directly from the Group Camp and head NORTH on the Ice Age Trail, covering 6.5 miles to the Glenbeulah Trailhead on Hwy P. The 10 Milers will run an out-and-back along the Ice Age trail to the SOUTH, turning around just before Hwy 67, and then run the Ice Age Trail North and ...end at the Glenbeulah Trailhead.

THIS WILL BE A POINT-TO-POINT RUN! If you would like to leave your car at the Glenbeulah Trailhead (where we will be finishing), be there by 7:15, and I'll pick you up and take you to the start line!

All paces are welcome. Dan Crouse has promised to run the slowest 10 mile time in the history of the Northern Kettle State Forest, and we'll have some faster runners as well. Bring a friend!

Any Questions?  Comment away!

I am hoping to run the course this week, so look for a Garmin Post showing the route!

PS...Post-race Fudgies Breakfast is an option as well.

Glacial Trail Course, Mile .5-7

Today I spent a couple hours on one of my favorite routes on the trails.  Starting at the Old Wade House, I ran the Old Wade House Connector Trail (about 1.5 miles) to the Ice Age Trail, and then ran the IAT south to Hwy 67 before turning around.  This route of about 13 miles has a bit of everything--short/steep ups and downs, gradual climbs, dense forest, and open praries.  It's also the first and last 7 miles of the Glacial Trail 50 mile/50 k and is therefore a great training run for those interested in that event held in October.  Here are some pictures from the run today:

 My favorite tree along the trail

 Up close to the terrain.

 The uphill to the evergreens near Shelter 5.

 Tony's Tree.  Jump over it and he'll buy you a beer.  I went around it.

The Prairie.  Kind of like the scenes of Maximus returning home in Gladiator!

Green-to-Glen Ten

Join us on Sunday, July 29th for the First Annual "Green-to-Glen Ten" trail run!  There will be a 10k (around 6 miles) and a 10 miler to enjoy.  Both runs will Start at the Greenbush Group Camp (same place as the Night Run) and will finish at the Glenbeulah Trailhead. 
We are aiming for a 7:30 AM start, but feel free to get started earlier if you'd like.  Transportation will be available to get you back to your car if you want to leave it at the start line, too. 
There's no cost to run,  but by participating you'll get the chance of winning a raffle prize -- details on the prizes still to come.  It's gonna be a good run...and if you have yet to run on the northern-most section of the Ice Age Trail (North of Hwy 23) ... you're in for a treat! 
Questions, Comments, Concerns are welcome, so let us know!

GTR Night Run

The 1st GTR Night Run was a great success! We had a 11 runners join in one of the 18, 12 and 6 mile trail distances. A few of the 18 milers ran a three mile warm up to bring their total mileage for the night up to 21 miles. The weather was perfect for a night run and the bugs stayed away for most of the night.

Once the last runner pulled into the parking lot and introductions were completed we were off and running towards Parnell. At the six mile mark we refilled water at the Parnell water fountain and then ascended the hill and tower. The view from atop the tower never disappoints. On the return trip to Greenbush the headlamps showed the way along the Parnell tower loop and back to the IAT. We met up with the very patient 10kers(we were over 30 mins late for the link up) at the Greenbush parking lot. The 10kers fresh legs proved to be to much for us as they slowly pulled ahead on the 6 mile loop. Back at the parking lot we chilled with a few beers and talked of past running adventures and those adventures yet to come.

Thanks everyone for showing up! We had some great conversations on the trails and it was nice meeting up with new faces on the trails. We'll have to put together another group run soon. Happy trails!

Mile 98 - 100 of the Kettle Moraine 100

Many have experienced the last couple miles of a marathon, a 50k, or even a 50 miler...but I'm pretty sure that pales in comparison to Dan Crouse's description of miles 98-100 of the Kettle Moraine 100, which he shared below.  Again, WAY TO GO DAN!

“Go on without me. I’ll finish. But I need to slow it down.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, go on ahead. It’s only another two miles. I’ll be fine. I just need to take it slow. Go on, I know you want to run it in.”
I slowed down to a near crawl and she sped up. She disappeared over the crest of a hill and was gone. It’s amazing how complete strangers become your closest friends during the course of an ultra. Karyn and I had paced each other during the extremely difficult overnight hours. We had never met before the KM100 and 25 hours later we shared a connection that is impossible to explain. We helped each other get past some of the darkest times of this race. Tripping over rocks and climbing up and down the stairs and hills of Rice Lake. Others had joined us for a while and ran on and some had run with us for a bit only to fall behind after a few miles. After almost 98 miles it was only Karyn and I left. Not another soul in sight. And, now she’s gone. Good for her. I hope she finishes strong.   

It’s all on me now.

  I can do this. I can finish my first 100. 2 miles left. I can do this. I’ve come way too far to drop now. Still though, it’s 7:00 am. It’s starting to get hot. I’m out of water. I’ve been up since 4AM the day before. And, I’ve been running for the past 25 hours. It’s only two miles you’ve got to focus and get this done. I can’t. I just can’t. Another day, maybe. But not today. I’m sick to my stomach right now. I just want to puke and pass out! Holy crap is this entire thing uphill? Please, please help me up this hill. Oh, god, I think I’m actually starting to fall backwards now. No wait, one more step forward. We can do this. We’ve come way too far to give up now. Make it happen. Don’t give up now.  

Ignore the pain. Happy thoughts. How ef’n awesome is this? You’re going to rock your first 100. Keep it together you’ll finish sub 26! Holy shit, another hill?! Where did all of these hills come from? I barely made it up the last one. How am I going to do this. I hope Karyn finished. Please God, please dad, help me. I’m just trying to make you proud.

There it is, the mile marker. One mile left. We can do this. Let’s try to run this last mile and see what happens. I might actually, maybe be able to come in under 25:30! I’m running! Wow, this is awesome! 99 miles and I can still run! A downhill, finally! Let’s cruise this. My feet hurt so bad though. It feels like my toes feel are doubled over. My empty water bottle feels like a ten pound weight in my hand. I wish i had some water. I am so thirsty. I wish I had a beer. Oh, no. The stomach just growled at that. Ok, no beer. Just let me get to the end, please. I promise, no beer.

I can’t. I just can’t. I’m sorry, I don’t want to disappoint anybody. I’m really sorry. But this is just too much. Make it stop, please! I just want to sit down. Suck it up asshole! You didn’t do this because it was easy. Run it out. Make this happen. You’ve come this far. You can actually hear the finish line now. Run! Just run! Ignore it all and just run! There it is, the red outlines of the finish line. I’m almost there. Just a bit more and I can finally sit down. All I want to do now is just sit down. Shit, another hill. Oh god, I feel like I’ve been kicked in the stomach by Seabiscuit. Just a few more yards. You can push through. Make this happen. Do it! Run in out!

Applause. Oh, thank you for the applause. And there’s Karyn and her mom and her son. She finished and looks great! Done, oh god, I’m done. How amazing is that? Thank you. Thank you God for getting me through this! I’m done! I did it! I just finished my first 100 mile run! That was amazing! I can’t wait to do it again.

GTR Night Run 6 Mile Course

GTR Night Run 6 Mile Course by nwgdc5 at Garmin Connect - Player



Here's the 6 Mile Night Run Route.  I had a blast this morning out there -- 3 deer, 1 racoon, 2 turkeys.  Bring your headlamp and I'll see you at 9:30!