How This Came To Be

          My original idea for this run was to just do it on my own.  Next I thought I would include as many people I could convince to run sections with me.  I received such rousing support that I thought maybe strangers would be convinced to do it too.  Here is the original letter sent to about 100 friends of mine.

 Hello friends,

As most of you know I have recently lost a good deal of weight through diet and exercise.  This has really been life-changing and has altered the way I look at the world.  Mostly it’s been fun and extremely rewarding.  The main thing I’ve gotten from this lifestyle change has been a furious love for trail running.  There is something amazing about putting a previously unthinkable number of miles under your feet in the beauty of the forest.  However, the thing that really gets me excited is the risk involved in bombing through the woods fast.  Picking your way through rock fields, jumping root systems, and pointing your body down hill just hoping for the best  are not things you will get in road running and are all a lot better than putting one foot in front of the other.  Trail running is just really, really FUN!

So what is the point of this letter?  Well, I want to do something special with this new-found talent and I want you to be involved.  Next running season I intend to run the length of the Superior Hiking Trail (about 280 miles)  in increments of 18-26 miles.  It will take me 14 or 15 individual runs to accomplish this goal and this is where you come in.  COME DO IT WITH ME!  I’m looking for people to run single or multiple sections with me.  Why? Because it will be awesome.

Some of you are thinking “I can’t possibly run that far.”  I say bull-shit.  Not one person I am sending this letter to is in worse shape than I was or hates running as much as I did when I started this journey.  You have a minimum of six months (April) and as many as twelve months (October) to train for this run. That is plenty of time. I am not an elite athlete I am a middle-of-the-packer so there isn’t much pressure for you to “perform”.  

Everyone has individual running styles and things they love or hate. For example some people have to run with music in their ears…fine.  Some people love to talk when they run…fine.  Some people run slow and others fast…fine.  We’ll figure it out.  If you want to train with someone I’ve never met, bring them along.  If you are in a running club that all want to participate, great. They are all just new friends in my circle of runners.  You can choose the time of year and the section of trail you would like to run.  I will do whatever it takes to make this a successful experience for all involved.

I am planning on taking good notes throughout the runs and would like to submit an article to Trail Runner Magazine about the experience.  I am also hoping to figure out a way to raise money for the Superior Hiking Trail Association.  I’m doing this either way so I might as well try to raise some money for the organization that is making it possible in the first place. I don’t need to know right away but the sooner you say yes the longer you have to train and the better prepared I will be, so everyone wins.

If you don’t know anything about trail running there are some great motivation/learning tools available at a fairly low cost.

• Get a subscription to Trail Runner Magazine.
• Buy a copy of  Born To Run by Christopher McDougall (it really makes you want to run).
• Sign up for a trail race next spring or summer.
• Get a copy of Guide to the Superior Hiking Trail (sixth edition) and individual section maps (which have the elevation charts).
• If you are feeling really ambitious buy a new pair of trail running shoes (seriously it makes you want to run).  T.C. Running Co. in the cities is a great spot and I’m hoping to get them involved somehow.
• Sign up for a cross country ski race this winter.  Some of the best prepared trail runners in the spring are skiers.

If you choose to run a section with me I will guarantee that it will be hard.  This trail is difficult in the easiest sections and down-right brutal in others.  But that is all part of the fun of trail running and part of the point for me to do this entire trail.  I have no idea if this has been done before (I assume it has) but I’ve never been a part of something like this and it sounds great.  If you are looking for a reason to get in better shape or are looking for a new hobby I encourage you to consider this offer.  All I ask is that you take it seriously and do your best.  You can do this!  If you couldn’t I wouldn’t have sent you this letter.

I am super excited about this adventure and sincerely hope you choose to join me on it.

Joe