High Cliff State Park

I spent about an hour running around High Cliff State Park this weekend.  I can't recommend it enough!  There are a couple options for events this summer:

The CliffRunner 10k on July 21st - More Info Here.

High Cliff 50k/25k on August 11th - This will be a FunRun/FatAss event, with a marked course and a couple aid stations.  Put it on your calendar today!

I've never seen a sign like that when running before!

That's the cliff at the end of the trail.

Statue of Chief Red Bird

Stone Fence that just went on forever...right in the midle of the woods!

Stairway Up, UP, Up!

At the top of the Escarpment

Sharing the trail with a Turkey Vulture

2013 NK 50k

This year's weather made things interesting for the 3rd Annual NK 50k.

5 very stubborn runners got it done, though, earning the highly coveted 31.6 sticker...and a Greenbush Trail Runners shirt.

Here are some snapshots of the day.  I am disappointed with myself for not getting a group shot or any shot of the food and beer that was eaten at Fudgies afterwards!

The View looking south from about 4 miles in to the run.  Sunburst Ski Hill in the distance.

No Snow...for now.  Beautiful single track was the scene for the first 5-10 miles.

The rivers are running high

Jennifer, steady as always.

Rookie Mike leading Uber Veteran Scott

Matt and Jennifer working their way up the hills

The trail transitioned from snow to dirt to ice the entire day.

This guy was crabby about the weather.

Jennifer finishes up the NK 50k!

Matt finishes a couple minutes later!

Silence.

Doesn't get much better than this, so take 7 minutes and take it all in:

Silence from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.

Also, check this one out:

Cheetahs on the Edge--Director's Cut from Gregory Wilson on Vimeo.

3rd Annual NK50k

Earn one of these highly coveted stickers on April 6th!

We're putting together quite the event for the first Saturday in April!  The "NK50k" is a end-to-end run of the Northern Kettle Moraine Ice Age Trail, which is 31.6 miles from one end to the other.  In addition to the full distance, we'll have a 15-mile run and a 7 mile run.  If you have an equipment/drop bag, it will be available to you at several locations throughout the run, so plan accordingly!

The 15-mile run will start at Butler Lake and follow the Ice Age Trail to the northern trailhead on Hwy P.

The 7-mile run will start at the Greenbush Picnic Area and finish at Hwy P.

The idea is for all runners to finish around the same time, at which point we will head over to Fudgienuckles in bustling downtown Glenbeulah (exactly one mile away from the finish line) for burgers, brats, bison, and beer...and coffee, if your name is Dan Crouse.  Who drinks COFFEE after a run?!

Several door prizes will be available for remarkable performances...like "Best Wipeout" and similar feats of human achievement.

Here's a schedule.  Keep in mind we are running from South to North this year:

5 AM -- Pick up runners who are leaving their car at the Hwy P trailhead, and drive South to the start at the Hwy H trailhead.

5:45 -- Official Start of the 31.6 mile run, from the Hwy H trailhead.  Feel free to meet us at the start if you'd like. 

7:30 -- 15-mile runners will be picked up at the Hwy P trailhead, and driven South to Butler Lake.

8:30 -- 15-mile runners start running!

10:00 -- 7-mile runners start from Greenbush!

11:00(ish) -- The runners begin gathering at the finish, and make their way over to Fudgienuckles.

Basic Aid will be available at mile 5 (for the 31 mile runners), and then at Butler Lake (Mile 15) and Greenbush (Mile 24). 

HERE IS A MAP OF THE ROUTE...Just follow the yellow dots from South to North!

HERE IS A MILEAGE BREAKDOWN...Use the right-side column for the South to North mileage.

Questions?  Feel free to comment here or email me and I'll help you out. 

- Nic

Feb 9th GTR Pancake Run
Who's down for a trail run, pancakes and beer? Come on out and join us for an 8.5 mile run followed by pancakes over a bonfire. The course will be half roads and half trails, the trail running will be done on the IAT and Greenbush connector trail. Start and finish will be at W8499 Spring Valley Dr. in Greenbush. We'll kickoff the run at 9am.

If your four-legged friend wants to join us please bring them along but you might want to bring a leash for when we are running on the roads. Bring warm clothing and boots to change into for around the fire. Looking forward to spending some trail time with everyone and hearing everyone's running plans for 2013!

I've never attached a Google Map location before so hopefully this works.

Oh, and one more thing. Nic Giebler is planning on eating bacon while running the Pancake Run................... not sure if he's going raw or cooked.

See you on Feb 9th!

It's F.C. out.

I figured I'd post something about where I am in training and what's coming up for the Greenbush Trail Runners...

I'm signed up for the Ice Age Trail 50 Miler in May.  My training plan officially started today with a 45-minute easy effort...which didn't happen.  It's really, really cold out.  I was going to head out tonight to get my time in, but instead I played with my boy and then sat in the warmth of my home.  Tomorrow I'll make up for it by pulling a double.  Promise!

I started to get back in to "running mode" over the last two weeks and am feeling that wonderful soreness of muscles that I really missed.  I had taken off the month of December of any real training, and while I really enjoyed the extra chocolate during the holidays...I'm very much enjoying the sore leg muscles that the training is bringing back.  As I mentioned, this week is the kick-off for Ice Age 50, and with Matt, Tony, and Dan all heading down the La Grange for the run, I'm excited to start the training cycle!

I've officially retired my Hoka Bondi's as of last week.  I ran one last long run in them, and the blistered the heck out of my feet.  I have a new pair of New Balance MT110's (updated version, with less lateral build-up) on the way and am excited to try them out.  Other than that, there's not much to report on training.  I feel chubby and slow right now but hope to build some serious hill climbs in the next couple months to get ready for Ice Age. 

One of my all-time favorite training runs happened in 2011, when Tony and I ran 16 miles of hill repeats on the Ice Age Trail (Glenbeulah Trailhead was the starting point). Snow was still on the trail, but we grinded out 4 repeats to Mile Marker 2 (a serious workout!) and hated the majority of it...but the sense of accomplishment was epic...and I hope to hammer out 20 miles this spring in my training.  Who's in?

As for upcoming GTR runs, we are scheduled to get together on February 9th, March 9th, ... and then the 3rd Annual NK 50k on April 6th, so plan on joining us for all or part of a great day in the woods!

That's about it for now.  Someone will be back with more info on the upcoming group runs.  In the meantime...get out to the Glen Trailhead, and let me know you're coming! 

Happy Trails!

Nic

January Group Run

The January group run will be on Saturday Jan 12th and we'll meet up at the Greenbush group camp parking lot (this is the lot with the large ski shelter) at 11am. The original plan was to run the 9.3 miles of snowshoe trails but the trails continue to get pounded with snow. Plan on running 7-9 miles but as for the course we'll probably decide that day.  IAT, snowshoe trails, snowmobile trails or roads whatever it takes we'll get a run in! Hope you can join us.

Happy New Year!