2025 Zumbro Endurance Run Recap

2025 Zumbro 100 mile women’s winner and second place overall Colleen MacDonald – Photo Credit Jamison Swift

A good bit over 20 years ago now Larry Pederson introduced our group of friends to the trails just down the road from his home in Zumbro Falls. Larry was involved with Rochester Track Club as the race director of the In Yan Teopa 10 Miler at Frontenac State Park, was just about to take over as RD of the Superior Fall Trail Race, would go on to found UMTR, and was participating in trail ultras himself. Each spring a dozen or so of Larry’s friends would gather in Zumbro Bottoms for a minimally marked fun run, burgers and brats cooked over the fire, and the enjoyment of each others company. In 2009 he officially made it a race. Eleven 100 milers and nine 100K runners finished that inaugural year, running 20 mile loops starting and ending at the Central Assembly Area, home today of TCRC’s / Kurt Decker’s Aid Station 2. Fast forward to today and we have a little better marked fun run, fresh baked pizzas instead of burgers and brats, and most importantly continue to have the the privilege of each others company. Sure there are a lot more of us, but Zumbro all these years later is no more pretentious than Zumbro of yesteryear. Nothing makes us happier than sharing this special place with all of you, facilitating your Zumbro experiences and memories, just like Larry did for us.

This year we had 677 runners from 16 states and 191 Minnesota cities registered for Zumbro. Two great weather years in a row, you have to love it. While both Friday and Saturday were warm and dry (53 on Friday, 68 on Saturday) the overnight got downright cold, I suspect sub-30 in the low spots. After 100 mile lappers adjusted layers for the night they were able to run in comfort under a full moon. 50 milers brought new life and energy to the course at Midnight, and as usual the 34 and 17 milers brought even more gusto in the morning. Having been around as many of these races for as long as I have (both the ones we produce, along with others that I volunteer at, and run in), it is so rewarding to get to know so many runners from so many different vantages. Just a few months ago Michael Koppy of Duluth had given it all at the Arrowhead 135, vying to be the oldest ever finisher of the race at 74. After we finished, a group of us waited in eager anticipation of Michael crossing the finish line. As we waited we were unaware of the full extent of the battle he was locked in, succumbing to a locked up back at mile 125(ish) of the 135 mile race. While he did not finish Arrowhead this year, Michael undeterred lined up for and finished the Zumbro Midnight 50 as a training run for Western States this summer. Currently the oldest finisher of Western is 73. Michael is now the oldest finisher of Zumbro 50 by six years, inspiring to say the least. In 2016 Jacob Bauer and I finished within minutes of each other at the Voyageur 50 Miler, one of the first trail ultras he had run. In the years since we would see each other at races (he now quite a bit ahead of me), or he would participate in one that Cheri and I direct. Since that time Jacob worked quietly and diligently to achieve the performance he did at this year’s Zumbro 100. While he has run some solid races in his now near decade of trail and ultrarunning, having won a few along the way, going sub-20 at Zumbro and now owning the third fastest time behind two guys named “Michael and Jake” is something extremely special. Funny enough, I can tell you an almost identical story about this year’s 100 mile women’s champ (and 2nd overall) Colleen MacDonald. Having trained with, run in races with, had as a participant and volunteer in our races, Colleen while also no stranger to the podium ran one of her best executed races to date at Zumbro, taking the win and the second fastest women’s time on the course. While I can’t go play by play for every winner / podium at this years Zumbro here are a few other things that jumped out at me from race weekend and reviewing the data since… Sarah Billingsley took the 50 mile women’s title and set a new course record – the previous course record had stood since 2012. Collin Buck took the 34 mile win shaving nearly 10 minutes off of the previous course record, held by the aforementioned ‘Michael’. Walker Day paced 2nd to Collin and in doing so also went under the previous CR. Kirk Dewindt took his third ever (2nd consecutive) Zumbro 17 mile win. He also has two 2nd place finishes to his name. Susan Donnelly got her 11th and Daryl Saari got his 10th 100 mile finishe. Rose Biancini and John Eiden both got their 10th 17 mile finishes. A young and justifiably ‘limpy’ 100 mile finisher told me that the longest race he had ever done prior to Zumbro was a 10K – ultrarunning is still full of interesting and fringe people my friends. My friend Julie finished the 34 mile race with a huge smile on her face and said “H— F—— S— John, can you believe it, I am 60 now!” It is hard to believe, as Julie was in her late 30’s when we were running those Zumbro ‘fun run’ loops with Larry all those years ago. Sorry for so many personal tie-ins on this one, but that’s what I got.

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 or hiked, ran all your loops or did a couple less than planned – Zumbro provides blessings for all.

Finally, I will leave you with this song, written by Willie Dixon and recorded in 1962 by one of my all time favorite artists, Howlin Wolf. We look forward to seeing you next time ‘Down In the Bottom’.

Well now, baby meet me in the bottom, bring me my running shoes
Well now, baby meet me in the bottom, bring me my running shoes
Well, I’ll come out the window, I won’t have time to lose.
When you see me streaking by, please don’t be late
When you see me streaking by, please don’t be late
Well, when you see me moving, though my life is at stake
Well, I hope you’ll see me, when I come streaking by
Well, I hope you’ll see me, when I come streaking by
She got a bad old man, you know I’m too young to die
I got to leave here. Get caught in there

The woods are lovely dark and deep at Zumbro – Photo Credit Scott Rokis

34 Miler Matt Swiontek coming down the infamous Ant Hill – Photo Credit Pat Lehnherr

Volunteers:
This year 155+ volunteers covered about 275 volunteer shifts / positions 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/2025-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 didn’t get a chance to say thank you yesterday and didn’t want to miss the chance. It was a great event yesterday – volunteers were awesome, aid stations were perfect, the weather was unbelievable and the course was in the best shape I have ever seen. Thanks again.”

Zumbro OGs Brian and Dan – Photo Credit Anna Woletz

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 an incredible 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 (both during and after the race) 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/

34 Mile runner Patei Iyegha feeling the heat in Sand Coulee – Photo Credit Scott Rokis

Results and Stats:
Race day / live results (and 17mi loop splits) were / are available HERE. Official race results are available on our website [ 100M, 50M, 34M, 17M ]. As soon as everyone has a couple of more days to review results and we are sure there are no revisions, we will post results to UltraSignup and submit for UTMB/CCC/TDS qualifying points.

2025	Registered	Started	Start %	DNS	DNS %	DNFd	DNF %	Finished	Finish %
100M	66	63	95%	3	5%	21	33%	42	67%
50M	102	82	80%	20	20%	18	22%	64	78%
34M	117	98	84%	19	16%	6	6%	92	94%
17M	395	333	84%	62	16%	1	0%	332	100%
Total	680	576	85%	104	15%	46	8%	530	92%

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 inquire where you can 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.

Zumbro / RSR goodies – Photo Credit Scott Rokis

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).

Render of Wood Print Course Map and Elevation Charts hung on the wall

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
Northwoods Running
State Farm Insurance Geri Martin
Trail Transformation
Performance Running Gym
Consilience Coaching
Climb Above Endurance 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 2026 event (should be) held on Friday April 10 and Saturday April 11 (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 of friends and family, 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.

2025 Zumbro 100 mile winner Jacob Bauer all smiles crossing the Zumbro River enroute to the second fastest time ever – Photo Credit Jamison Swift