Thank you SO much for today. I wasn’t super excited about running out and back hill repeats, but it ended up being so much more fun than I could have imagined. I love the normal solo hours during the normal course, so I was shocked at how much I absolutely loved getting to see all the people over and over. Maybe after all the isolation of the last couple years, this race was exactly what we all needed. Just took the universe forcing us all into it? I had a blast and was still left with the post hard effort exhaustion bliss. It all worked out perfectly!
First off thank you so much for pulling off the Trail race on Saturday. You truly pulled a rabbit out of your hat! I’ve signed up for this race for 4 times and was finally lucky enough to be selected this year. I will say when I found out we weren’t going to be able to run the SHT, I was pretty disappointed. And when I read the update/announcement about the loop race, I was pretty uninspired, but still grateful to be running. I wasn’t sure what to expect at the starting line on Saturday, but after running the first loop, I loved the format! I’ll get to run many more trail races in the years to come (hopefully) but this was truly a unique and awesome race and one I will always remember! I enjoyed it so much, even though I only signed up for the 25k/4 loops, I decided to run an extra loop for fun. You should be really proud of what you and your team accomplished, what a great event. Can’t wait to sign up next year, hoping for your sake its back to the “normal” routes!
Thank you so much for the hard work you did to make sure this race happened. You can’t control the weather and its repercussions but you sure made the best of a bummer situation. Everyone I talked to who ran had a great time!
I just wanted to thank you again and tell you how much we appreciate you! You have been put through the wringer these last couple years and given every reason to just throw in the towel yet you keep on doing this for us. Your ability to persevere and just roll with the punches with humor and class is admirable and something I wish I was better at. I’ll be honest, I was not excited to run this year when the first course change was announced. I’m sure the plan “C” was not initially received well by many but I think that everyone that still showed up had more fun than they imagined and maybe even more so than they would have with plans “A” or “B”. I witnessed so many more smiles, cheers and high fives by runners on Saturday than I have in any other event. As a personal bonus it turned out to be the perfect training run for my upcoming 100. My mom always says everything happens for a reason and it’s true. Thank you for all your sleepless nights and the stress you take on to give us the best possible experience no matter what gets in the way. We love you!
I think the coolest thing about Saturday’s route was being able to see fellow runners multiple times! You got to see everyone in different stages of their run – fresh, quiet, struggling, then a surge of motivation on the final lap. We got to know each other more than any other race I’ve done. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to making it happen. Please extend my gratitude to the volunteers for their relentless energy on the course.
Thanks for a great race! Tough choices to make along the way but you put together a nice challenge.
I just wanted to thank you for another great, albeit very different and a little weird, event. When I arrived at check-in on Friday evening, and learned of the final course change, I almost bagged it and headed home. It didn’t take to long to remember that Rocksteady always works hard to make every race the best that it can be, and I figured, as I’m sure many others did…”it’ll just be a training run with a couple hundred of my best friends”. There’s an old saying that seems very appropriate here: When life gives you lemons, what do you do? You make lemonade.” It was excellent lemonade on Saturday. The course was challenging, and knowing it a little better with each lap was actually pretty cool. Seeing familiar faces was new, and the smiles, knowing glances, and words of encouragement were multiplied by the fact that the usual small group that you run with in some cat ‘n mouse on the SHT expanded ten-fold. And of course, as promised, the view at the top was spectacular. Overall, a great experience, and one that you rightly summed up at the start…the 2022 Superior Spring Trail Races, the Gravel Pit Hill Repeat Race, will NEVER be forgotten! I’d prefer not to do it again (or at least PAY to do it again), but it will remain as another fantastic day on the trail.
Thank you so much for making this event happen after all the changes!! Your group did an exceptional job! Best race I’ve ever been a part of.
I hope that you are sleeping in or at least take a break this week and enjoy some rest. The trail race yesterday was not anything I expected but we had a blast. To be able to see the 50k runners fly by, to cheer certain ones on (136 i think had his bib upside down) and to meet Alison who was challenging herself to just make the cut by lap 8 and we helped her get up her 6th uphill, it was just great. My husband and I wanted to do 17 on our 17th wedding anniversary. So we did 4 laps and then felt so good we did an extra. I can’t believe this 45 yyear old body did 21.3 miles yesterday! the views on top were amazing. That cliff! I didn’t get muddy enough but only tripped once on a root (i found the lone root on the road). The food and help at the turn around was perfect. My soul is refreshed by the people and the smells and the woods. The weather was perfect. I need to come volunteer sometime soon. It was just such a grand day. God bless you and all you do for us.
I just wanted to send you a huge heartfelt thanks for putting this together. My first year scheduled to do this was covid canceled so I have been itching to try it. I normally don’t travel for races but this just has always sounded like the trail running experience to have with people. What an experience it was yesterday! The best! I would hands down do this again every year. The positivity that came with each and every loop from people was phenomenal. Being able to cheer people on and talk and still see them again along the course was so awesome. Absolutely loved it. The volunteers were amazing at every loop. And so many! There was even people out there taking great photos! Oh I forgot to mention the view at the top! Spectacular! I am hoping to sign up again next year and I am looking forward to the true superior race experience but if this happens again or anything else similar-just know that you and your team did an amazing job and no one will feel shorted out of the event. Thanks a bunch and enjoy your day.
I have done the Spring Superior 50k once before. And, yes, i loved running on the SHT. BUT, today’s alternate course was awesome! I soooo appreciate that we did not mess up the SHT today. I also enjoyed running out and back and being able to cheer on every runner. And, yes, that view from the top was awesome! So, thank you. Thank you for being a thoughtful race director who cares not only for the safety of the runners, but who cares just as much for the trails that we run on. That means so much to me. I know (well, not really because I am not a race director) that these last few years have not been kind to you as a race director with all the unexpected weather and pandemic events. But I hope you are not discouraged. I hope you get some well deserved rest, and I hope you know that you are so appreciated. Your race volunteers are the best also.
First time running in this Superior trail race today and a race you have organized. Wanted to let you know how impressed I was with you keeping us all informed through your e-mails. I can tell you are very passionate about these events and the runners. Thank you for all your hard work! I enjoyed today!
I wanted to take a quick minute to offer a virtual high five and thanks to you and the crew for a great day on Saturday. Even with all the curve balls you were thrown with the course conditions and the logistics, you were able to turn lemons into lemonade. So many others would have just punted on the event. Ultimately, it ended up being a great day to share with everyone on the trails, even though it wasn’t the trail that we were all hoping to be on. Ultimately, you still got a great trail running community together, which was awesome and no small feat this year! Please know that all the hard work you and the crew put in did not fall on blind eyes and deaf ears and was greatly appreciated by all of us runners. Hopefully you can take a breather and get some rest now!
I just wanted to thank you and your team for pulling off such a fantastic event this past weekend. You gave the opportunity to once again show how amazing this community is. Race related, I thought the format was incredible. Spectating ability. Seeing and supporting everyone all day. I’d do it again that’s for sure! Thanks again for doing what you do. Cheers to more adventure ahead.
I just wanted to say you and everyone on the team did a great job this past weekend. Well done in crazy circumstances.
While you were given increasingly difficult hurdles to clear – I as a first time participant kept my knees bent for whatever next update you sent. It was not the trail run I was anticipating back in January, but it was an adventure, and a challenge I won’t soon forget. I want to give you and the entire crew that made the event occur massive kudos. Kind volunteers, facilities, lots of smiling, supportive people, and the level of communication throughout the spring- thank you for all that you managed to do!
It has been hard to explain to others how cool this ‘Plan C’ was, how connected everyone was in an endless loop of struggle, support, age, youth, strong, less so, but mostly committed and dedicated. You guys pulled it off and we, the runners, were all in. As one of the proverbial old farts (65) and not having trained enough, 3x around seemed like enough, but it was a cool 3x. What a great group to be part of, what an honor.
Thank you.