Greetings Runners!
Registration closed last night at midnight and we are just under one week out from the 2022 Zumbro Endurance Run. 130+ volunteers are coming together to put on this year’s race. We are thrilled to be hosting 637 runners from 2 countries, 21 states and 163 Minnesota cities. This email is long, but it is very important that you review it in its entirety.
NOW is also the time to review all of the information on the website again, so you are as prepared as possible come race day. I cannot stress enough how important it is to review the information associated with the distance you are running (links below) along with driving directions and course maps.
100 Mile Info: https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/100-mile-info/
50 Mile Info: https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/50-mile-info/
34 Mile Info: https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/34-mile-info/
17 Mile Info: https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/17-mile-info/
Below are some important reminders and a few updates:
Covid Considerations:
If you are not feeling well, stay home. We will have plenty of hand-sanitizer at the start / finish area, at aid stations, outside of toilets etc, please use it.
Some Bad News About the Hats:
I’m going to start with some bad news, I promise that the rest of the news after this will be good. I wanted to take a break from t-shirts this year in order to do hats, and that is what I did. I am thrilled with the way the Zumbro hats https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/2022-race-hat/ turned out (along with the hats for all of our other races). Just about every one of the hat styles we normally source to be printed or embroidered by our local vendors, did not have enough stock due to ongoing supply chain issues. As a result I decided to use one of my suppliers in China to both make the hat itself and sew on the patch that I designed. I timed it, as is required, waiting to have a critical mass of people registered for the race, then guessed on how many more people would register between the time the hat order had to be placed and registration closed. The order went in, the hats were produced and our awesome supplier got the hats to customs / FedEx… where they have been sitting, and have not moved. If you have been watching the news you have seen that Shanghai recently went into their most significant lockdown in over two years due to Covid – nearly all of the city’s 26 million residents are under a strict stay at home order. It has ground their day to day life and their economy to a halt and our hats are unfortunately a victim of this. Unless by some miracle they ship today or Monday (and even then it’s unlikely they would arrive here in time) we are going to have to mail you your hat, after the race. I will keep you posted on this. Thank you for your understanding.
If You Can No Longer Run:
If for any reason you will not be running the race, there is no need to contact us to let us know – we will know you are not starting when you do not pick up your race number.
Bib Number Assignments:
Bib number assignments have been made and are available on our website HERE https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/2022-bib-assignments/ – Be sure to use the ‘search’ function to find your name as the list is not entirely alphabetical. Knowing your bib number at check-in is helpful. Those 100, 50 and 34 milers leaving drop-bags at the start / finish area need to mark them with your name and bib number.
Getting to Zumbro:
Be sure to review the page about getting to Zumbro HERE https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/getting-to-zumbro/ – if the roads are good, you can take any route you like to the race start, if the roads are bad, we have a preferred route.
Aid Stations, Unstaffed Aid Stations, Cupless Race:
A reminder about the course layout. Aid Station 1 is 5 miles into each loop and it is an unstaffed water-only aid station. Remember we are a cupless race, so carry your own water bottle, hydration bladder or cup. Aid Station 2 is 13.5 miles into each loop and it is a full aid station.
Course Maps / Diagrams:
The Zumbro Endurance Run race course is very well marked, that said, you need to review the three maps / diagrams on THIS page https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/maps-and-data/ – they outline; a.) the overall race course, b.) what to do at the bridge / Zumbro River crossing, and c.) what to do when you get to the finish or aid station 3 for those that are in the multi-loop races.
Some Context About the Trails at Zumbro Bottoms:
I would like to provide you with some context about the trails at Zumbro Bottoms because we (Rocksteady Running) care so much about and spend so much time working on trails. The trails at Zumbro are probably unlike anything you have ever experienced. Many are deeply eroded, rutted, troughed, muddy and sandy. The majority of the trails here started as old jeep and logging roads. Many got put in without a lot of pre-planning. Most of these trails still get used for logging operations – you will see some of that in the first couple of miles of this year’s race. This is what is called a ‘working forest’, the immediate aftermath of a logging operation is not always pretty, but logging is generally responsibly managed here in Minnesota. The majority of the recreation / trail use at Zumbro is Horseback Riding, and the soils are sandy. There is a lot of deferred maintenance at Zumbro that the DNR and the Zumbro Bottoms Coalition, which consists of all user groups / types and of which we are part, are working to address. You should enjoy the trails at Zumbro in all of their gore and glory while knowing that there are a lot of us meeting, planning and working to make some needed repairs in the coming years.
Pizza:
I hope this makes up for the hat situation a little. After a really tough couple of years due to Covid, now inflation which has thrown us a whole new set of challenges, along with Cheri and my crazy work schedules outside of the races, resulted in us telling you there would be no post-race food this year. Well, we have seen a really strong turnout for all of our events, lots of runners voluntarily added on to their base entry fees (thank you!) and as a result we are going to attempt something that we have been wanting to try for years… making fresh pizzas for you after you finish the race! Making pizzas for 600+ runners and 130+ volunteers will be no small undertaking, there will surely be some bugs to work out, so be patient with us on this first go around. When you finish the race come grab a slice or two or three of delicious, nearly scratch-made neapolitan style pizza. All pizzas will be vegetarian, we will also have some gluten free crusts and will be happy to make the vegans or the lactose intolerant pies without cheese, just ask and we will whip one up. As of right now the plan is to also offer spectators, pacers, etc. pizza for a donation / fee. We will put a can out in order for you to contribute should you like to partake, cash or check only.
Coffee:
We are super excited to be serving Bootstrap Coffee https://www.bootstrapcoffeeroasters.com/ at Zumbro this year. 35 LBS of some of the best coffee you have ever had have been procured, I hope we got enough!
Swag for Sale:
We will have some t-shirts, hats, posters, stickers, sweatshirts and more for sale. We can accept cash or check only at Zumbro since there is no cell or internet at the start / finish area to process payment cards.
Sponsors:
Please be sure to check out our awesome sponsors. Besides Salomon I suppose, these are all small to medium sized local businesses. We have real relationships with all of these businesses and most of the owners and/or employees are personal friends. Kurt Decker from Twin Cities Running Company will be heading up Aid Station 2 / Central Assembly for us as he has for many years, most of our other sponsors have folks volunteering or running as well.
Twin Cities Running Company
Salomon
Vanicream
Steve Smillie Edina Realty
Performance Running Gym
Trail Transformation
Northwoods Running
Innovative Chiropractic Center
St. Croix Law
Bell Bank
Critical Connections Ecological Services
OK, that is all I have for you. If you have any questions, shoot me an email. I can’t wait to see you all at Zumbro!
Thank You,
John Storkamp
Race Director
[email protected]