If you will be in the Twin Cities on Easter weekend this year, please consider joining the Minnesota Freeze Australian Rules Football Club at their 5k Run/Walk at Lake Nokomis on Saturday, April 11th.  A portion of your registration fee will go to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund (JDRF), which is a charity near to my heart.  Ultra friends could even run to the start and finish to get in required miles?

Just hearing the name of that club brought back fond memories of playing “Australian rules” football in the yard when we were kids.  Of course, we had no idea what it really meant – we just took it to mean that we could cream each other, no holds barred.  Maybe I should check out a game and see how close we were?

Good luck to the Minnesota Freeze and thanks for support this great charity!

I have been re-reading many of the fabulous race reports from the Superior Sawtooth 100, as I contemplate running it next year.

Julie Berg’s post is the one that I keep going back to.  It’s full of fantastic course details for one thing, which I am soaking up.  But the best part is that it is full of positive energy.  She has a great explanation for why someone should think about running 100 miles:

You know what it is all about? It’s about stretching yourself. It’s about reaching out of your comfort zone, doing something that you are not sure you can do, trying as hard as you can, preparing as well as you can..and if you are able to reach that goal..it’s magic. By reaching that goal you build confidence within yourself. You feel good about yourself. You begin to complete more tasks that are out of your comfort zone..you build more confidence. It’s not all about running. It’s about life. Sometimes it is tough and you don’t succeed at your goal but that is good practice, you’ll succeed next time, or the next. You will learn and you will do it. Oh yes, you will. If I can, we all can.

Well said.  Too many race reports are full of the agony and the anger when things don’t go as planned.  Julie’s is full of upbeat energy and a continual focus on solutions after she identifies a problem.  That’s a success strategory for ultras that I need to adopt.

Report from Twin Cities Marathon now posted.

Since I have my eye on some ultramarathons for 2009, I’m going to run a 50k on race day. I’m running 4.8 miles to the start, and then running the marathon. Here is my route: http://www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/mn/falcon%20heights/824566673912

I’m also planning to only visit aid stations that match up with the aid station placement at the Spring Superior Trail Races 50k, so I get a feel for that distance between stations. If anyone I know is at these stations, I will probably take a 1-2 minute break and chat.

The aid stations names, approx location, and approx time I will be there are (you can Notes –> View Notes at mapmyrun to see these):

– mile 9 (Nicollet and Minnehaha Parkway), 9:15-9:25
– mile 17 (West River Road and around 35th), 10:25-10:45
– mile 24 (Summit and Oxford), 11:25-11:55
– finish, 11:50-12:30

Of course, anything can happen out there and I will chuck this plan in a heartbeat if I need to! But it’s fun to have some targets.  Most importantly, I genuinely do not have a pace goal for this race.  I have a distance goal, and that’s it.