Wild Duluth 50K race was gnarly and beautiful and challenging and fun (at times). Before signing up, I looked at the course and was a little bit concerned about the elevation gain: 5,000 ft. Living in a flat area with not a lot of trails around, I knew this was going to be a challenge but not impossible.
Two weeks before the race, after a fantastic 23-mile run, I started to feel plantar fasciitis (PF) pain. I immediately cut out all speed, reduced mileage from 50 to 11 the following week and threw everything at my foot to get to the start line.
Going into the race I had hoped to run a new 50K PR which would have been sub 6 hour 45-minute finish.
Standing at the start line I started to feel the familiar sharp PF pain. It radiated three times in my foot and all I could think was, “Great. I haven’t even started running and my foot already hurts.” I knew I wanted to at least try and if I had to stop I would.
After starting, it was a bottleneck to get around a gate and the uphill started almost immediately. From my previous ultras, I knew climbing was my strong suit. I settled into a comfortable pace and slowly ran up the first few hills.
After mile 3, I ended up power hiking almost all the hills and that is one decision I don’t regret. Single track made this challenging because you could get behind someone who wasn’t moving as fast on the uphill, but they would create space on the downhills.
The downhills were my kryptonite. I felt so slow and cautious because of the rocks, stumps, and navigating a course that was hard to see. They announced at the beginning that a lot of leaves fell in the past week and they weren’t kidding.
Before I knew it, I was at the first aid station. I made a very quick stop to refill my water and was surprised by how much I had taken in during the first hour. I already felt thirsty. Shane and I noticed there were Twizzlers, which are my son’s favorite snack, so we grabbed a few and took a picture to send to him. We were in and out of the aid station in less than 2 minutes.
I also ditched my arm sleeves at this point. I tend to “run warm” and was wondering if wearing a short sleeve was a mistake.
I found myself looking down at my feet the whole run, but I stopped a few times to take in the view because northern Minnesota is beautiful, especially in the fall.
Mile 10.5 was my favorite part of the course. We stopped here to enjoy the view, and I wish we could have sat down and really took it in. Lots and lots of climbing up rocks and boulders in this section. There was even a part where I thought, “These are just rocks. That can’t be the trail, right?”
Although I was feeling great, this is where things took a turn. I had tripped a few times and fell on my knee once, but then I fell. And then I fell again within a minute. I fell three times between the start and the third aid station at mile 14.4. I was mentally down. I cried and Shane told me we were going to walk for a bit. One of those falls came from trying to descend too quickly because I knew there was a line of people behind me. Shane reminded me that it’s ok to go at my own pace.
At the third aid station, Magney-Snively Trailhead, I refilled water, which again was almost gone. I was really taking in the water, which I was happy with, and was alternating between plain water and a highly concentrated mix of Skratch.
At this aid station I also grabbed a few ounces of Coca-Cola, which in my opinion is trail magic because it has the three C’s: caffeine, carbs, and cold! This was the mental pick me up I needed after the last stretch.
Although I wasn’t moving as fast as I wanted and my goal time was not going to happen, I started moving a bit faster, even if I was still very cautious on the downhill. There were a few people we kept playing leapfrog with. We would pass on the uphill and they would pass on the downhill.
I ended up running out of water before the next aid station. I still had some Skratch but not much. Shane ended up stopping so I could take a few drinks out of his pack. I also noticed how swollen my fingers were. The swelling seemed to go up into my hands, which hasn’t happened before. I took a few salt pills, but in my experience, the swelling is usually more related to climbing and gets slightly better once I hit a downhill section.
Around mile 19, we got to another rocky section above the trees with more gorgeous views of Duluth. The course also was on the road for a few blocks, which felt weird to run on with trail shoes and after being on trail for almost 20 miles.
At the fourth aid station, which I desperately needed, I filled up on water and even added more water to my Skratch bottle. I also stocked up on pretzels. The pretzels were going down easy and I like to eat them while climbing. I had taken in a few gels at this point but when I climb I prefer solid food, munch on a pretzel and Swedish fish while moving at a slower pace.
Mile 21 was another rough downhill section. Whoever told me the downhills were the hardest part of the course was correct. One of the hardest parts of this race was finding a groove. It would be running for 1/8 of a mile, then downhill, then uphill, and repeat.
At the final aid station at mile 27, my Skratch was gone so I ended up filling half the flask with Coca-Cola. I also refilled my water, which was almost gone. I think I took in 6 flasks of water throughout the course and most likely would have taken in more if I didn’t have to ration a few times. I also grabbed more pretzels because even with four miles left, I wanted to finish strong.
We were in Duluth at this point and running on more groomed trails. Holy downhills in this section, but I think I had gained confidence from not falling in a few hours so I was moving a lot faster. The last ~2 miles or so were on blacktop and boy did that feel awkward to run on. The last mile was about 9:15 pace, which after 30.5 miles and 5,000+ ft of elevation gain I would say is pretty good.
After the last aid station, I knew we were going to be cutting it close to finish in under 8 hours. Crossing the finish line in 7:57, even though it was over an hour past my goal time, felt like an accomplishment.
Wild Duluth is known for its post-race soup, so I grabbed my finisher’s mug and went straight for the Chicken Wild Rice. Soup has never tasted so good.
Even so, disappointment in my time set in quickly. I knew I had done my best given the conditions and the way my foot felt going into the race, but it still stung.
The craziest part about running Wild Duluth was my foot. Even with that sharp pain at the start line, it didn’t bother me once during the race.
I said never again to running Wild Duluth, but now I want redemption. I want to become a stronger trail runner, especially on the downhills.
I also met a few people who follow me on Instagram and shared quite a few miles with one of them! Trail races don’t feel as much like a competition. They feel more about enjoying the trails and working together.
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Hi, I'm Amy aka the Running Dietitian. An expert in all things running and nutrition.
