2024 Zumbro Endurance Run Recap

2024 Zumbro 100 mile winner Mike Asmus and Pacer Kyle Palmer. Photo Credit Scott Rokis

I happened to be near the finish line on Saturday morning when Mike Asmus completed his final 17 mile loop, and won the 2024 edition of the Zumbro 100 Mile Endurance Run. His victory was made even sweeter after having finished second last year. Mike is a friend. We have traveled to and run out-of-state races, crewed friends, schemed Arrowhead strategy and gear over coffee, and shared training miles at Afton State Park together. Knowing what I do about Mike, I shook his hand and congratulated him on ‘winning his favorite race’. Mike got a big smile on his face and said, “you know it, Zumbro is my favorite race”. How about that… little old obstinate Zumbro, and its Mike’s favorite race. Look up Mike on UltraSignup, he has done some epic races. But that is Zumbro for you. It’s not the biggest or the loudest, yet it has a faithful following among a really special corner our trail running community. A huge thank you to all of you that come each year with the right vibes and continue to support it.

This year delivered something special. Unseasonable weather (to the good this time), desert dry humidity, warm winds and correspondingly dry trails. Wow, what a year. As a race organizer, the forecast warm temps had me on alert. It is a physiological fact that it takes us a good few weeks to acclimate to the heat coming out of winter here in the North. So, a couple of days before the race I was pulling together the hot weather race provisions normally not necessescary this early in the year; garden sprayers for ice water, buckets with towels for dousing overheated runners at the med tent, more coolers, and plenty of extra ice. Turns out, most everyone ran incredibly smart, and most of this was not used. I cannot tell you how impressed I was with how our local (non heat acclimated) runners handled the temps, and themselves. If you are from the south / southwest, and there were a number of you, I know this sounds like madness to you – we saw you, still running in your long-sleeves on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday morning at setup, and Friday for the 100 mile race start we had a special visit from my friend, race founder, and former race director Larry Pederson. Zumbro started in the early-2000’s as an intimate, annual group run with friends in Zumbro Bottoms – I was fortunate to attend a number of them. In 2009 Larry converted it to an official race and I was there as a volunteer, and even paced the women’s 100K winner. That first year the total number of runners and volunteers was less than what we have for volunteers at a single aid station today. I took over as race director in 2011, and while the number of folks who like to run it has increased, little else has changed. Zumbro still serves as that important point of reconnection for our trail community after a long Minnesota Winter.

This year we had 673 registered runners from 19 states and 186 Minnesota cities. From the athleticism of those training big mile weeks and going for a win, or a top 5 or 10 finish, to those that only lace up their shoes a handful of times between each race, we all come for our reasons and we all get what we need. Thank you all for being you, and brining only what you can to the event.

As always, there are way too many stories to tell, so please share them among yourselves and celebrate together, at the next race, in our online community, or wherever and with whomever you congregate to run. Congratulations to those that ran fast, got the win or a CR, ran slow, ran all your loops or did a couple less than planned – Zumbro is a gift no matter how you slice it.

Former RD Larry Pederson left. Author of this recap and current RD John Storkamp right. Photo Credit Kevin Langton

Volunteer and Race Sponsor (coach) Jeff Miller handing out a finishers medal – Photo Credit Anna Woletz

Volunteers:
This year 140+ volunteers staffed over 270 volunteer shifts in order to make Zumbro possible. On Friday there was about a 1:1 ratio of volunteers to runners. On a loop course, each aid station is open for a long long time – a lot of folks get little sleep in order to support the runners and the race. I strongly encourage you to take the time to read the volunteer recap / thank you HERE https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/2024-volunteer-thank-you/ – if you want to see what it takes to staff Zumbro and all the time that your fellow runners/volunteers give (its impressive) see THIS https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/volunteer-assignments/ A large percentage of the trail running community routinely volunteers. If you have not yet, give yourself the gift of doing as much… with RSR or at another race, either would be great.

Kind Words:
After each race we receive dozens of kind emails, I make sure to pass some of these on to our volunteers who are integral to the success of each race.

“I wanted to say thank you for the Zumbro experience! Everything was so well organized (not that I expected less after seeing how Superior runs), the course was extremely well marked, and absolutely the best team of volunteers caring for us. This was my first 50 finish, my first time with more than 2 hours at night, and my first time being there. I loved all of it (including the weather, so whatever pull you have to make that happen again). All of your races I’ve done have been excellent, and I’ve made some great friends doing them. Thank you and your organization for adding so much value to the community and bringing people together.”

Finishing with friends. Photo Credit Mike Wheeler

Photos:
All of our volunteer photographers have submitted their photos from the race. For those of you that are unfamiliar with how much work it is to post-process photos (especially the number that they shoot) that is a great turnaround. Please keep in mind that some of our photographers sell their photos, some make low res images available for free and sell the high res versions, some will accept tips and some give away the high res images for free. Please look for notes and prompts from each photographer. All of them put a ton of time into it and have a pile of expensive gear that makes this possible. As always it is good form to credit (by name) and thank photographers for the photos you are sharing on your social media or elsewhere. If you want to use photos for commercial purposes please contact the photographers directly or contact me if you are unable to find their contact information. If you are a photographer or aspiring photographer and you would like to come shoot some time, please contact us, we would love to have you. https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/photos/

Zumbro finisher medals. Photo Credit Mike Wheeler

Results and Stats:
Race day / live results were / are available HERE. Official race results are available on our website [ 100M, 50M, 34M, 17M ]. Results have also been uploaded to UltraSignup [ 100M, 50M, 34M, 17M ] and have been sent into UTMB [ 100M, 50M, 34M, 17M ] so qualifying points can be awarded to those that wish to apply for those races (UTMB, CCC, TDS, OCC).

2024	Registered	Started	Start %	DNS	DNS %	DNFd	DNF %	Finished	Finsh %
100M	68	64	94%	4	6%	20	31%	44	69%
50M	110	96	87%	14	13%	16	17%	80	83%
34M	112	95	85%	17	15%	11	12%	84	88%
17M	384	334	87%	50	13%	7	2%	327	98%
Total	674	589	87%	85	13%	54	9%	535	91%

Sweatshirts, T-Shirts, Hats and More for Sale:
Zumbro is tough in that there is no cell / internet at the start / finish area so we cannot take credit and debit cards for merchandise. Many of you asked about where you could purchase something after the race, you can do that on our online store HERE https://www.rocksteadyrunning.com/shop/ – you can use the “filters” on the side of the page to sort and search for specific items. We ordered extra Zumbro hats and they are available for purchase, along with the coordinating beanies and ball caps from the last couple of years.

Zumbro / RSR Swag. Photo Credit Lyric Kochendorfer

Zumbro Cool Operator Hat – Dark Brown

Zumbro Beanie – Dark Brown

Zumbro Mid-Pro Trucker Hat – Dark Brown

Wood Print Course Map and Elevation Charts:
Beyond the pre-orders we took for in-person pickup at Zumbro, we were able to produce some extras. Maps, Elevation Charts, and a couple of the RSR Logo prints are available on our website (more of the logo prints will be stocked soon).

Rocksteady Community:
The Rocksteady Running Community is an online forum designed for community members to have civil conversations about all things pertaining to Rocksteady Running events (Zumbro, Superior Spring, Afton, Superior Fall, ESTRS), trail / ultrarunning in general, and more. This online forum has been built on our own platform and is not tied to any social media platform. It is free from advertising, invasive algorithms, tracking, etc. We intend for this to be a safe place to connect. Feel free to discuss registering, training for and racing our events. Discussion about the race courses, terrain, training, gear, challenges, triumphs and more are welcomed and encouraged. If you would like to create an account and participate you can do so HERE https://community.rocksteadyrunning.com/login For safety and transparency we ask that you provide both your first and last name when creating an account.

Sponsors & Partners:
Please be sure to check out our awesome sponsors and partners. Most of our sponsors had folks volunteering or running on race weekend.

Twin Cities Running Company
Vanicream
Steve Smillie Edina Realty
Bell Bank
Northwoods Running
Trail Transformation
Performance Running Gym
Consilience Coaching
Mile in My Shoes
St. Croix Law
Critical Connections Ecological Services

Next Year:
The Zumbro Endurance Run is always held the weekend before the commencement of Spring Turkey Hunting. By Minnesota Rule “The spring turkey season opens the Wednesday nearest April 15”. The 2025 event (should be) held on Friday April 11 and Saturday April 12 (DNR will give us final confirmation this Fall). Registration will open on January 1 2025. Please keep in mind that Zumbro will Zumbro, and if history is a guide it could certainly get cancelled again some day. I have covered in depth many times in the past why early April is the only time it works to hold the race, if you want to learn more check THIS out https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/zumbro-why-early-april/

In Closing:
I have said a lot here, so simply, thank you. Thank you for being awesome individuals and an awesome community. Thank you for putting your trust in Cheri and I, our core team and our volunteers. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to serve. As always, if you need anything, please reach out. John Storkamp – Race Director.

2024 Zumbro 100 mile winner Andie Bennett. Photo Credit Cary Johnson