Run this Minnesota UltraMarathon + My Experience

I ran a Minnesota UltraMarathon for my first ultra. I have since raved about how fun – yes FUN – it was. Everything about it was awesome. The course – it was a 5 mile loop that you ran as many times as you could in 12 hours, the people, the food, the bathrooms… I had never run anything above 26.2 miles, but I had a goal of 35 miles that day.

The day was so awesome that I ended up running 40 miles. While I haven’t run any other Minnesota UltraMarathons, I am declaring The Loopet Loppet as the perfect Minnesota UltraMarathon to try. I’ll share why and talk about my awesome experience.

I often enjoy reading about someone’s experience with the extraordinary or seemingly impossible. I feel hope and come up with crazy ideas for myself, and that’s what I hope this post can be for someone. If you’re considering running an Ultra Marathon or doing a physical feat that you’re unsure you can accomplish, I hope reading about my first ultra marathon might inspire you to take the leap. We can all do more than we think we can.

**Photos in this post by Minnesota Nice Photography**

About The Loopet Loppet

The Loopet Loppet is an October Minnesota ultramarathon at Theodore Wirth Park in Minneapolis, MN. It starts at 7am. Then you run a 5 mile loop as many times as you can in 12 hours. They offer a 6 hour option, relay options, and a 1 mile loop when it’s getting close to 7pm. At the end of each loop, there’s a bathroom, food, a place to leave a bag, and drinks. Supporters can also be in this nice area as well.

What to Bring with You for Race Day

Gummies – or whatever race energy you use (this is optional; they had tons of food), extra hair ties, hat or buff, gloves, 2 pairs of shoes, your race bib, a headlamp, and an extra jacket.

Energy Provided at this Race

There’s a water/energy drink station 3 miles into the 5 mile loop.

At the start/end of the loop, there are so many options for food. Gummies, donuts, gatorade, hot chocolate, coffee, pierogies, pancakes, running guu, candy…. I honestly probably ate 17 different types of food on that day.

The Course

It’s on a forest single track trail with a bit of ups and down. 420 ft of elevation gain each loop – nothing crazy. Some of it is paved trail to get you to the actual trail again. It’s pretty, and you never get bored of it.

There are people along the course pointing you in the right direction.

Pacers

Pacers are allowed after 1pm – my mom ran a loop with me (seriously, how cool.)

Cost

The registration fee is $60-90 depending on when you sign up. Everyone working and volunteering at the race was SO nice and seemed genuinely excited for all the runners. They gave out random prizes throughout the day when you finished a loop. The food was GREAT. It was well organized and just the best experience.

Other Minnesota UltraMarathons

Here are some other options for Minnesota Ultramarathons. If I had lived in Minnesota a bit longer, I would have tried the Afton Trail Ultra. My husband and I ran the 25k route, and it’s beautiful.

My First UltraMarathon Experience

When I was in high school, one of my best friends told me he would give me $1,000 if I ever ran a marathon. To us, running a marathon was super-human, something only elite athletes accomplished.

I ran my first marathon in 2012, years after graduating high school. (To my dismay, I still haven’t been paid my $1000.)

I now know that a marathon can be achieved by more than just elite athletes. And I know that with enough training and enough determination, the marathon can be conquered.

I also know that running a marathon makes a person wonder what else can be accomplished by the human body and spirit.

Running a marathon is an incredible feat. Less than 1% of the world’s population has run one. I shed a few tears after crossing the finish line of my first marathon and have shed a few tears at other marathons since. The finish line of a marathon is an emotional place. I always feel a mix of accomplishment, pain, relief, and a sense of how in the hell did I do that?

That feeling is a little bit addicting.

I have now run 5 marathons and 2 ultra-marathons. I plan to run more.

Born to Run

At some point in the last 10 years, I read Born to Run. I recommend that every runner read it; it’s inspiring and awesome. Born to Run provides a look at a tribe of super-athletes in Mexico that can seemingly run for forever, and it makes long runs seem like the most badass thing you can do. What I gained from Born to Run was the understanding that we truly are born to run and the nagging thought in my brain of “maybe I should try an ultra marathon.” The seed was planted.

2019: My Best Running Year

In 2019, I finished the New Orleans Marathon in 3:45, and I ran a 10 mile race at a 7:30/mile pace. (This is really fast for me.) With those 2 races under my belt, I got a little cocky. I went into Grandma’s Marathon thinking I could kick that marathon’s butt, but instead, I got destroyed. 14 miles of the 26.2 were pure agony. That’s the marathon, though. It can crush you.

Sitting cross-legged on the cement at the end of Grandma’s Marathon, my thoughts ranged from “I might puke” to “I am never doing this again.”

After pizza, blueberry pie, and some recovery, I found myself googling ultra-marathons.

Why Run an UltraMarathon?

I will never fully understand. Most people can’t understand marathon runners. I can’t, and I’m one of them. How can we possibly understand the desire to run more than 26.2 miles?

From the moment ultra-marathoning entered my brain years before, I had this vision of standing at a starting line on a trail in the woods surrounded by runners sporting headlamps. I imagined an electricity to this moment – a buzz of anticipation and immense satisfaction in even attempting to finish an ultra.

That vision led to my googling. It was just too damn tempting, and I wanted to experience that electricity in real life.

Finding the Perfect UltraMarathon

I googled ultra-marathons all over the USA. I highly recommend this website for finding an ultra. You can search by date, distance, hilliness, and location.

I reached out to my crazy friends who run ultra marathons as often as I order pizza (a lot). I was given great advice: Make your first ultra a loop race. A loop ultra means you run a loop that brings you back to the start/food/drinks. You shouldn’t have to carry any supplies with you, and you don’t have to worry about being stuck in the wilderness if you can’t finish.

While googling, I had to take into account the fact that I was backpacking 110 miles through Europe in the fall. 2 years before, I backpacked 50 miles and ended up with achilles tendonitis. Because I knew there was a risk of injury, I didn’t want to sign up for an ultra that required plane tickets and hotel stays. I knew there was a chance of me having to cancel.

Luckily, I live in Minneapolis, which I have proclaimed to be the best spot for runners.

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My First Ultra Marathon

If someone were to analyze my first ultra-marathon, I doubt they would come to the conclusion that I did everything correctly. Actually, I know I had some blunders. Running involves a lot of mistakes and learning from them. Maybe you’ll learn something from this blog or maybe it will give you the confidence to know that you can attempt an ultra-marathon. You can.

Minnesota Loopet Loppet Ultra Marathon

A beautiful fall Minnesota day – I’m the one in pink

Race Day of my first ultra marathon

Minneapolis at 6am in October equals total darkness and a cranky Danielle.

I hit the snooze button and my brain wanders to what the day might bring. Snow? Sore legs? Cramps? A twisted ankle? Disappointment?

My brain tends to wander to worry.

I peel myself out of bed, put on my running gear (including a borrowed jacket from my mom because I never own the proper clothes), eat my sandwich, and brush my teeth.

My wonderful mom is here all the way from Michigan to be my support person.

She and I drive to Theodore Wirth Park in quiet anticipation. I have a goal of running 35 miles. I googled ahead of time and found that running anything over 26.2 miles is considered an ultra-marathon, but I want to make sure mine really counts. 30 miles isn’t quite a 50K, so I decided pre-race day that 35 miles sounded good.

Holy sh** can I actually run 35 miles?

I have some hope due to the fact that I completed a 110 mile backpacking trek through the Swiss Alps a month prior. I’m hoping that the daily grind of hiking 8-12 miles with a heavy pack on will help my legs to carry me through a whole day of running without a pack.

We arrive at The Trailhead. I use the bathroom like 7 times, give my mom all the stuff I don’t need on the course, and head toward the starting line.

It is exactly what I have always envisioned. It’s dark, headlamps light up the area, people are whispering in the quiet of the early morning, and everyone looks like a badass. I am so pumped. The electricity and magic I wanted to feel? Definitely there.

I have done Rock n Roll Marathons before where thousands of people are waiting in corrals to start the race. The small group of around 100 runners feels much more intimate; we’re the select few who are crazy enough to try running for 12 hours.

We get a little speech about the course, a reminder to be safe, a thank you for being there… and then we’re off!

The Minnesota UltraMarathon Course and Day

I run slowly. I know this is the only way I can succeed at running an ultra. To me, this is the greatest joy of an ultra marathon. Your only plan for the day: Run. That’s it. Unless you’re running it competitively, you get to take your time, look at the orange autumn leaves, and relish a full day of running.

I chat with fellow runners, walk when I need to, and feel incredible.

The trails are only slightly wet in places, and the uphill/downhill is doable. The course varies enough to never get boring, and the leaves are starting to change. At one point during the day, we encounter some snow/hail. Just another reason to feel like badasses.

I take a quick stop for food and a bathroom break at the end of every loop. There is something so satisfying about eating donut holes, having a bit of coffee, and then continuing a run. Re-fuel and keep going. Over and over again.

Just some of the available foods throughout the day: Donuts, pancakes, M&Ms, pierogies, bread and peanut butter, oatmeal, energy bars, gummy worms, chicken noodle soup, broth, coffee, sports drinks, water…

**Note: this could have been a huge blunder on my part. I never practiced eating real food during my long runs. Luckily, my stomach is usually cooperative, and I never had any issues eating the 17 different foods I ate during this race.**

Besides a headache around mile 25, I feel great. I luckily pass a medic out on the trails, and she gives me a couple Tylenol, truly saving me. Once the headache is gone, my brain and body don’t want to stop running.

My mom runs miles 25-30 with me, and I am still cruising. I finish mile 35, my crazy goal, and look at my mom – “I think I can run one more loop.”

40 miles.

I finish with a smile on my face, looking forward to a very large dinner.

Finishing an ultra marathon

Finishing one of the loops

You can do it. Run this Minnesota UltraMarathon.

If you have a little nugget in your brain telling you to run an ultra-marathon, you can do it.

My quick advice:

Do a loop ultra for your first one if you can.

Try to pick a course that isn’t severely hilly or difficult.

Train as much as you can. Run long distances, go on long hikes, maybe do a backpacking trip, and spend a lot of time on your feet.

Practice eating food on your long runs.

Go slow. There’s no reason to rush this experience.

Stay hydrated.

Enjoy it.

Running an ultra-marathon is one of my greatest accomplishments. It seemed like an impossible feat, but I managed to train for it, finish it, and enjoy it. I can’t wait to do more.

Update: Covid obviously wrecked a lot of races in 2020-2021. I had decided to run the Loopet Loppet again, but it was cancelled in 2020. The weekend of the race happened to be beautiful, though, so I decided to run it on my own. I managed to run 32 miles on my own that day. It was not nearly as fun and I really missed the hot food and company.

I still stand by my statement – the greatest joy of an ultra marathon is that your only plan for the day is to run. So even my solo ultra brought me great joy.

Happy Running.

My First Minnesota UltraMarathon Pin

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