2018 Superior 12.5KM Women’s Champion Bayli Maliszewski – Photo Credit (Left) Mike Wheeler, (Right) Lisa Kapsner-Swift
An Interview With 2018 Superior 12.5KM Women’s Champion Bayli Maliszewski (BM) – Interview conducted by Kevin Langton (KL)
KL: Bayli congrats on your win. That race was incredibly tight with the top three women within four seconds of each other. What were your plans or goals for the race and how did the race play out for you?
BM: I came into the race just wanting to run hard and feel good about my finish. I hoped to finish in the top 5 women but hadn’t imagined I’d finish top female. I was secretly stoked about the weather—50 degrees and rainy is my favorite race weather and it seems to help me perform a little better. This held true for me, as I felt pretty strong the entire race. I was always taught to just look ahead and focus on me and pushing myself to the max, however I think had I looked to see just how close the other two were behind me it would have given me some added motivation to push harder. Lesson learned!
KL: What best prepared you for such a race?
BM: I had trained for a road half marathon which I raced a couple weeks prior, which made this distance very doable. I can’t say I did any speed or specific hill workouts for this race, but had been hitting the trails as much as possible once that dang snow was finally gone! I’m not sure what helped me on the technicality of SHT as we don’t have anything that technical around home. However, I loved how technical the trail is, as it forces my mind to focus on footing rather than fatigue!
KL: What’s something non-running that helped you at Superior?
BM: I had a blast tent camping at a MN State Park with old and new friends the night before, and had so much fun through the entirety of the race focusing on roots, rocks, slippery bridges and awesome scenery. As we all know how mental running is, these positive vibes were a big energy burst for me.
KL: Did you have any low points during the race? If so, what helped you through it?
BM: I actually lost a shoe from getting suctioned in the mud about 5 miles into the race. A guy and I had been leap frogging with each other for the past couple of miles and of course, he passed me when I had to stop and put my shoe back on. Turns out that shoe almost cost me the race! Other than that, I’d have to say I lost a little bit of mental steam on the final straight stretch right out of the woods. I’m not sure that I actually slowed down, but seeing the daunting long road ahead when you’re already tired was a challenge. But I knew I was very close to the finish and pushed my way on.
KL: Bonus question: Please make your own question (and answer) that reveals something you think we should know about.
BM: Do you have any pre-trail race rituals? A beer! (The night before of course…I’m no beer miler.) There’s something about trail running followed by a craft brew. I guess at some point I got the order reversed, but, oh well.
KL: Bayli, thanks again and congrats on another amazing race.