Above: The Fisherman’s Picnic trail run is always an adventure. It features lots of hills and some beautiful scenery on Pincushion Mountain. Louise Ramberg, a CCHS freshman, is shown here running with the lead pack as the race begins. Far left: Wearing bib number 27, Will Loew-Blosser of Bloomington just edged out Grand Marais’ Braidy Powers in the 5-mile walk. Left: The kids’ mile race is always fun. Kids start out running pell-mell before settling down into a comfortable stride or a more comfortable jog-walk.
A field of 165 runners took part in the annual trail run and walk sponsored by the North Superior Ski and Run Club on the Pincushion Ski trails. The weather was perfect and the trails were nicely mowed and in excellent running condition.
Shane Steele formerly of Rochester and now living in Grand Marais won the race for the fifth time, clocking a fast 28:59 for the hilly, five-mile event. He was pushed all the way by Matt Volz of St. Paul, who finished 30 seconds behind. Both Shane and Matt had distinguished high school and collegiate running careers, as did third-placer Greg Hexum. Greg is a many-time winner of the Tofte Trek, and a tough competitor even at 46 years of age.
Other top 10 finishers in the men’s division were former CCHS runner Gavin Danfelt-Martin in seventh, Mayor Jay Arrowsmith- Decoux in eighth, and current CCHS runner Leif Anderson in 10th.
Thunder Bay Nordic skier Sarah Peters, age 40, led the women with a solid time of 38:06. Four teenagers, Grace Shockman of Fort Atkinson, Wis. in 38:25, 13-year-old Lindsay Young, CCHS runner Lousie Ramberg, and Anna Watson of Marina, Calif. followed Sarah, all in under 41 minutes.
One of the most exciting finishes of the day was in the men’s 5-mile competitive walk. Will Loew-Blosser of Bloomington just edged out Braidy Powers of GM by three-tenths of a second in an excellent time of 54:49.
In the kids’ race, both the boys’ and girls’ competitions were close and fast. Joanna Martinson of Thunder Bay ran 6:11 for the hilly three-quarters mile event, trailed closely by Danielle Meyer of GM in 6:19 and Lizzy Harnell of Proctor in 6:33. Thomas Lewty of Andover led the boys in 6:25, then Chancellor Perry of New Richmond, Wis. in 6:29 and Jacob Skelly of St. Louis Park in 6:45.
Other notable accomplishments included 72-year-old Denny FitzPatrick of Grand Marais finishing the 5-mile run in 57:04. Larry Sochackey of Thunder Bay kept his string of over 20 races going. The Van Diemen family from Amsterdam, Holland, including father Erik, mother Saron and sons Jack and Luke all ran well in the adult and kids’ races. August Gulstrand, at 6 years old, the youngest competitive runner, did well in the three-quarter mile race.
Due to the many generous donations of the merchants in Grand Marais, this event is a major fundraiser for NSSRC youth running programs, including the CCHS Track and Cross Country programs.
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