Zumbro 2025 – Photo Credit Scott Rokis
Greetings Runners,
With only two and a half weeks to go, I wanted to check in, and extend an early welcome to all 575 of you, coming from 2 countries, 15 states, and 165 Minnesota cities, that have registered for the 2026 Zumbro Endurance Run so far! I will, as usual, be sending out our final / week of ‘2026 Zumbro Endurance Run Runner Welcome’ email after registration closes, with final updates and more, but I wanted to quickly share a handful of things with you…
As a reminder, Zumbro is on Friday April 10 and Saturday April 11 2026. Registration will remain open until Thursday April 2, 2026 at 11:59 PM CST – so if you have friends or family still planning to register, you can give them a nudge.
As always, if your plans have changed and you can no longer make it to the race, there is no need to contact us. We will know you are not running when you do not show on race day. That way if your plans change, then change again, you just remain registered and still have the ability to race.
Now is a good time to study up on the Zumbro race website – everything you need to know about getting to the race, the distance you are running, and the race course can be found on our website.
The March 14 & 15 snowstorm that dumped 20 inches of snow on Zumbro Bottoms is all but gone. It has left some standing water and mud in its place but overall I am encouraged by where the trails are at. From here it could go either way; with some more warm days, sun, and wind we could have a pretty dry course come race day (think 2025 conditions), but if we get more or heavy rain and/or snow it could look drastically different. As always, prepare (physically and mentally) for anything and everything at Zumbro! Like we say, if Zumbro wants to Zumbro, it’s going to Zumbro.
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This year’s t-shirt design is a tip of the cap to the friends, family, crew, pacers, and—of course—the volunteers who support our incredible runners. Whether they’re filling water bottles, patching up a runner and sending them on their way, or taking a moment by the campfire on a cold Zumbro night, they make these races possible and special. Keep an eye out, as this character will be featured on all our race shirts this season! We will have a limited number of hoodies for sale at the race with this same design. Please remember that we accept cash or check only at Zumbro since there is no cell / 4G in Zumbro Bottoms.
Nerd’ing out if I may… This shirt has been year’s in the making. Designing and sampling / prototyping them was of course a lot of fun, but an insanely time-consuming affair. There is a reason you don’t see many 7 color race shirts 1.) it is expensive and 2.) using traditional methods it often leads to a uncomfortably heavy “bulletproof” feeling print that you just don’t want to have on a t-shirt. We solved this by sticking with the water-based inks we always use and going with a 100% cotton t-shirt and running sample after sample until we got these bright vibrant colors – our printer hit it out of the park. These shirts are the exact same cut / fit as the shirts we always use, so your normal size should fit perfectly. We hope you love em!
As always we will have all kinds of Zumbro and RSR swag available at the race, but due to no cell / 4g in Zumbro Bottoms, it is cash or check only (no PayPal or Venmo) so please plan ahead. You can always pick up things on our website as well HERE https://www.rocksteadyrunning.com/shop/
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Welcoming ACG!
We are incredibly excited to introduce ACG (All Conditions Gear) the historic Nike outdoor and trail focused brand as a sponsor of the Zumbro Endurance Run and all Rocksteady Running races! Our local Nike/ACG reps are fervent runners themselves and are no stranger to our events and our local trail community. We could not be any happier to have them on board! Look for ACG as they team up with Twin Cities Running Company at Aid Station 2 / Central this year, and at our other races throughout the season. As always, if you need running gear please support our local independently owned running store sponsors, and while you are there, be sure give ACG a look!
Welcoming Best Day Brewing!
One of the owners of California based Best Day Brewing participated in a Rocksteady Running race and were impressed with the experience. In short order they reached out to see how they could get involved and support us and our trail community. We are so stoked to announce that Best Day Brewing will be providing us with the best non-alcoholic beer (and we would argue one of the best beers period) at the finish line of Zumbro, and all of our races in 2026!
As always, a huge thank you to ALL OF OUR SPONSORS and partners, new and old. Please take a moment to check them out https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/sponsors/
Twin Cities Running Company
ACG
Vanicream
Steve Smillie Edina Realty
Best Day Brewing
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
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If you are not quite ready to get back to what you were doing, linger a few more minutes and get excited for what’s to come by checking out photo highlights from last year’s race https://www.zumbroendurancerun.com/photos-2025-highlights/
That is all I have for you today – thank you for your time. We can’t wait to see you all soon!
Gratefully,
John Storkamp
Race Director
Zumbro Endurance Run