Looking strong, Colin Hagen of San Antonio, Texas legs it to the finish line. Colin was the men’s winner in the 50- mile event. Back to reclaim her 2017 title and set another record in the marathon was Grand Marais runner Emma Spoon. Emma’s husband, Shane Steele, won the men’s marathon but he didn’t set a record so Emma has bragging rights at home. Staff photos/Brian Larsen
Ultra trail runners from across the U.S. and Canada came to the North Shore last weekend to compete in the rugged Superior Fall Trail Races that ended at Caribou Highlands on Saturday, September 8.
There were 168 entries in the 100-mile race with many of the starters not making the full distance in the 38-hour cut-off.
Neal Collick, 38, from Negaunee, Michigan, set a new record in the 100-mile event which started on Friday and ended on Saturday. Much of the course is run on the Superior Hiking Trail.
Collick crossed the line in 18:56:02, breaking the mark of 19:30:37 set by Jake Hegge in 2015.
Mallory Richard, 33, Winnipeg, Canada won the women’s division in 22:36:39. Richard broke her own course record of 23:51:01 set in 2016.
Shane Steele, 28, Grand Marais, ran a great race to win the marathon in 3:41.42. Shane averaged 8:28 per mile on this hilly, rooted, rocky course. However, Shane and the rest of the field still have a way to go to catch Wynn Davis’s record of 3:31:26 set in 2009.
Emma Spoon, 28, Shane’s wife, wasn’t far behind with a new record of 4:07:07. Emma, who won last year and established a then-new record of 4:08:30, placed sixth overall and averaged 9:28 per mile.
Dylan Dragswiek, 39, Grand Marais, 5:11:54 placed 32 in the marathon.
There were 306 entries in the marathon with 301 finishers. The last timed runner came in just under 12 hours.
Colin Hagen, 28, of San Antonio, Texas won the men’s 50-mile race in 8:43:36 averaging 10:29 per mile. Colin was just off the record of 8:38:01 set by Michael Borst in 2016.
Emily Wanless, 36, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was the first woman finisher in the 50-mile race with a time of 10:37:57. Christi Nowak’s 2011 record of 10:03:54 is safe for another year.
There were 106 entries in the 50-mile event.
Although temperatures were warm on Friday — mid-70s — Saturday’s mid-60s temps proved cooler and helped the runners as they fought to finish some of the hardest trail races in the U.S.
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