I have never been a big writer or poster on social media, but I have always wanted to tell people more about my story. This is the platform I am choosing to do that from. With this blog I hope to inform people about my personal running adventures and educate on all things running from the aspect of a runner, coach, and health care provider.
As April comes around, many of us are reminded of why we suffered through the winter of training. This training is vital for us to toe the start line at various Spring races in hopes of starting our season off right. I always feel rejuvenated after making it through another long winter of training. This year was a bit different in the sense that in the midst of a cold February, I made an abbreviated trip to California to run in the Sean O’ Brien 100k. Now I would not recommend that someone from the upper midwest make a quick trip to compete in a Southern California race in February without time to acclimate, but I was intrigued by the chance at a Golden Ticket into the Western States 100 (if I had a really good day.) Unfortunately, as you could have predicted, running in below 0 degree wind chills on Friday morning, flying to LA and arriving after 11pm, sleeping for 3 hours, and then attempting to run 100k with temperatures well over 80 degrees on Saturday, did not go well. As soon as the sun came up my body started to rebel a bit, and I ended up dropping out at the 42 mile mark. However, the beautiful California weather was a nice break from the cold!
Views from our Malibu Air BNB
Now despite the long winter and winter race that didn’t go as planned, the last half of winter has been a good one for road training in La Crosse. Trails have not been runnable due to ice and mud, so I was able to stay focused on training for my next endeavor, the Boston Marathon. I ran Boston as a freshman in college in 2012 with my Dad(our 2nd Marathon). 7 years later, I am finally finishing school, so I am going back to race it with him again. However, this year, my wife, immediate family, and my in laws will also be joining us on the trip to sight see and cheer on the racers. It is crazy to think where my running has gone over my college career.
My Dad and I at the Runner’s Village (Boston Marathon Start Line 2012)
During my Boston training cycle, I have had many additional things occuring in my personal life. I finished up my final clinical rotation for PT school, and shortly after racing Boston, I will be taking a large exam that will prove whether I have retained enough information over the last three years to become a licensed Physical Therapist. I have also been working to bring more resources to the La Crosse running community. In doing so, Grand Bluff Running will now be host to group strength training classes specifically for runners led by me.
Lifting at the revitalized Grand Bluff Running
Oh, and my wife and I bought our first home in La Crosse. Needless to say this is a busy, but very exciting time in my life that is filled with a lot of opportunity for the future.
Our new home in La Crosse, and it comes with a view!
Speaking of the future I will also be toeing the line at my first 100 miler in over two years at the Kodiak 100 in August. It will hopefully be Southern California redemption for my flop at Sean O’ Brien. It will be a summer filled with training, working, house projects, and trips. Life is busy, but I sure do have a blessed one.
The month of September was a crazy month for me. To start, I traveled to Europe to run one of the most difficult and prestigious races that currently exist in trail running, the CCC. One week later I ran the Fall Superior Moose Mountain Marathon. Then I started my second of three 12 week clinicals for my final year of Physical Therapy school, ran a 10k race the next week, and two weeks later, I married the love of my life. This post will attempt to summarize the last exciting month of my life.
View of Mount Blanc from apartment in Chamonix, France
CCC
On September 1st, I ran one of the most difficult and prestigious races that currently exists in trail running. The CCC is a 100k that is associated with the UTMB trail running festival. It climbs over 8000 feet into the air within the first 10k, and has over 20,000 feet of elevation gain over the 62 plus miles. This was my first experience running in the mountains, with climbs over 4000 feet at once. It was the most incredible and challenging race I have done to date. The sights throughout the race were amazing, and the European trail culture was something to behold.
Jake Hegge and I before the race
To say this race was the hardest race I have done is not an overstatement. When the first 10k took well over an hour, I was stung by a wasp, and developed a massive blister on the back of my heel, I knew it was going to be a long day. But cresting the top of the first climb I looked around, and despite my legs already burning, I couldn’t help but smile. This was why I ran almost everyday while over there- the views were indescribable and I felt so free.
I had time goals in mind with this race, but early on, I knew that I just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other, and ignore the watch (especially when some miles were over 20 mins and required essentially all power hiking.) Between the first water point at Bertone to Bonatti, I had to stop and sit down at the side of the trail to wrap some tape around my heel blister because it was already affecting my running stride, causing my legs to cramp up slightly. While sitting there assessing the situation, I had several spectators (Yes, spectators randomly in the middle of a desolate mountain trail) ask me what was wrong- nothing that an Athletic Trainer couldn’t fix with a quick tape job ;)). The views down into the valley from this spot were something to appreciate. Once I got my heel wrapped up, I was able to pick of up the pace into Arnouvaz (plus it was downhill). Once reaching Arnouvaz, I stopped in their medical tent to rewrap my blister to ensure it would stay for the duration of the race. The climb out of Arnouvaz up to Grand Cot Ferrett is ,again, a long steep grind including a lot of power hiking. Upon reaching the top, you transition from Italy to Switzerland. When I reached the top, the weather literally changed from sunny and warm to foggy, windy, and 20 degrees cooler. Everyone around me was pulling on jackets. But being from Wisconsin, I was feeling tough and kept moving. Going down the mountain into Switzerland, there were several ladies hiking towards me, and they said, “don’t worry, it’s warmer soon”. They were right-this long descent,down from Ferrett,brings you down from over 8000 feet to La Fouly at 3000 feet where it was much warmer. Overcast skies were still present on this side of the mountains, and would stay that way for a majority of the rest of the race. Leaving La Fouly,there is a gradual descent which is probably the fastest section of the course because it is primarily on roads. This section allowed me to pass a lot of people that had passed me during the first two large climbs.
As my confidence continued to increase, I made my way to Champex-lac (55k). Champex-lac is the first time you can get assistance from your crew, so I planned to spend a little bit of extra time here to make sure things were feeling good before I left. This meant that for the first time in the race I sat down for a minute ate some food, and got to see Bruce and Eric (my Silver Star Nutrition crew). After a bit of refueling and time in the bathroom, I was back on my way. The second half of the race things started to improve for me, overall. I was feeling good, and was able to push myself a bit more. Slowly, but surely, I started to catch some people on my way to Trient (70k). Coming into Trient, the rain started making the course a bit more slick in some areas.
Once hitting Trient, I had no doubt in my mind that I would be finishing the race. There were two big climbs left, and my legs were holding up fairly well. I was in and out of the aid station, and started picking off people on the climb up to Les Tseppes. This was also where I started to chat with Mat from Hong Kong. Him and I had been passing each other on and off all day, but we were finally going the same pace at the same time. We both talked about how much we were sick of climbing, and he asked how I wasn’t cold, because at this point, I was still in just my singlet. Once I told him I was from Wisconsin, he was like “oh that makes sense- that is where the Packers are from right? I watch some of their games, and it looks cold with snow.“ 🙂 Coming into Vallorcine, I had to pull out my headlight, and turned it on right before reaching the aid station. Vallorcine was the first time I asked my crew how Jake was doing, and they said he was struggling a bit, but had about 45-50 minute lead on me at that point (at the 50k mark, Jake had over an hour and a half lead on me so I knew I was making up time!)
I left Vallorcine on a mission. I felt good, knew I would finish, and knew that it was essentially one climb to the finish line. So after leaving the aid station, I passed a few people as the first few miles were very runnable steady uphill grade. Then you go through Col Des Montets,cut across a road, and really start climbing. Headed up to Flegere, I again found myself right behind Mat from Hong Kong. We were picking people off and his headlamp was brighter than mine, so I was very comfortable behind him. At this time, the rain had really picked up, temperature dropped, and the fog was getting denser the higher you climbed. It made seeing your footing very difficult, which I think slowed a lot of people down. With about 10k left in the race, Mat said, “you should probably go”. And I took this as an invitation to make it hurt. I pushed up the final 2k into Flegere passing another handful of people. Entering the small Flegere aid station, the temperature had dropped enough that for the first time, I pulled out my jacket to put on, had a bowl of warm soup, and started the final 8k descent into the finish in Chamonix. During this descent, I passed a few people, but was also passed by two guys about half way down. As we approached the final road section, I heard a set of footsteps behind me, and another runner came up behind me, and I latched on to him. We started pushing together. When I hit the road,I laid down the hammer. I passed the few guys that had passed me on that final descent, and then caught one final runner about 150 meters from the finish. After I finished, I asked where I was place wise, for the first time all race, and found out I had hit my goal of being in the top 100. I had finished 99th. I had no idea where I ended up and closed the gap between Jake and I to about 20 minutes.
Me just after finishing the CCC
I was so happy to have finished such an epic race. It was just before midnight when I finished, so after about an hour of reflecting on the race, and eating some food, I fell asleep. Waking up the next morning Jake, Tyler , and I had some breakfast then walked over to the finish, and got to watch the top 10 finish what was an epic UTMB (the 100 mile distance). It was inspiring to watch and I hope one day I can race in the 100 mile too.
My entire trip was such a great experience and filled with memories that I will remember forever. Silver Star Nutrition went above and beyond to make sure that my trip was supported and helped out with whatever they could throughout the entire experience.
Video of pictures taken by my Silver Star Nutrition crew
Moose Mountain Marathon
Having survived Europe, my focus then turned to competing in the Moose Mountain Marathon. I had signed up for the marathon before I knew about CCC; otherwise the smart part of me probably would have never signed up. But since I was, I decided I would give it a whirl. I had no idea how my legs were going to feel post CCC. I spent that week in recovery mode. I took three days off from running, but did a lot of hiking and walking (We were still in Europe, so had to enjoy it).
Post CCC hike
Then once I was back stateside, I had four days of super easy low effort runs leading up to Superior. When I got to the start line, my game plan for the race was to go hard from the gun, and just see how long my legs could hold on. I fully expected to blow up around mile 15 or 20, and have to walk/jog it in.
Allyson and I before the MM marathon
When the gun went off I stuck with that game plan and took off. I had one guy (eventual 2nd place finisher James Sorenson) on my heels to the first aid station at Temperance. I knew that following Temperance, there is the long climb up to Carlton Peak, and if I put in a surge, I could probably create a gap between myself and James. So again I went for it fully expecting to blow up, but during the Carlton climb, I just kept telling myself that compared to CCC, these climbs were nothing. This cycle continued for the Moose and Mystery mountain climbs as well. I kept pushing expecting to blow up, but also kept reminding myself that this wasn’t the Alps. The mental shift in how I thought about the climbs on the SHT must have been enough to convince my legs that they could keep pushing because I never hit that wall I expected. Instead, I finished first overall in 3:36 about 4 minutes off the course record. I was thrilled to say the least that my body cooperated after the struggles I put it through in Europe. I definitely did not expect it, but I had a good day.
Finishing the MM Marathon
Marrying my Best Friend
After all of this running fun, it was back to business. I started my second PT school clinical. Then, it was time to get back to the most important thing in my life, my now wife Allyson. We got married on September 23rd, and all that needs to be said is it was a perfect day with so many close family and friends. I had looked forward to this date on the calendar for a long time, and I could not be any happier with how it went. I am damn lucky to have Allyson as my partner and best friend.
Thank you for all of your support Allyson because, without you, none of this past month would have been possible.
When I first began ultrarunning 6 years ago, I would research races all over the country. I was always taken aback by the amazing races that are out there and different places I could run. The night before running my first Voyageur 50 (my 2nd ultra ever), Jake Hegge and I watched Unbreakable, a documentary on the Western States 100 from 2010. I still remember going to bed that night thinking that it would be so cool to get to do races in mountains. It didn’t really matter what mountains they were, but I was craving that adventure. In just over one week I will be boarding a plane on my way to Chamonix, France to really scratch that itch. I have put a lot of hard work into getting to this point, and I can’t help but think how each step has been important.
My training over the last 6 years has varied a bit. For a long time, all I cared about was how many miles I was putting in each week. I would hit many 100-120 mile weeks (once even hitting 150). But now through my own research, education, and listening to my body, things have changed a bit. I now realize that the importance isn’t just in the amount of miles you run, but it is about incorporating varying amounts and intensities of speed work. Adding the intensity has allowed me to run less miles during the week, but I make sure that the miles I do run have a purpose. At times, I do still hit 100+ mile weeks, but these weeks are very strategically planned into my training cycles. As ultra runners, we sometimes get too caught up in how many miles we are running, and tend to forget that it is important to have balance in life and our overall training. There are only so many hours in the day and eventually with a sole focus on mileage, there is a loss in return on investment.
All of my training year round has been important, but over the last month I have gotten as race specific as possible. This summer I have been living in the Twin Cities for a Physical Therapy school clinical. CCC has over 20,000 ft of elevation gain in 62 miles and overall the Twin Cities is pretty flat. So in preparation, I have done many hill workouts including a peak of 1 hour 45 minute continuous hill repeat that was up and down the Hyland park ski hills (continous hill meaning that even on the down I pushed it hard). I have also increased miles with back to back weekend long runs of 20 plus miles all finishing this week with a 33 mile long run on the Superior Hiking Trail. For this training run, I focused on pushing climbs and descents to again get my legs as ready for the mountains as they can be (for living in the midwest).
Me on the top of Enger Tower in Duluth
The other piece to my training that has switched since running ultras is my nutrition. I ran cross country in high school so it used to be carbs, carbs, and more carbs. But almost three years ago, I made a shift to a high fat low carb (HFLC) diet. (For more info on HFLC diets: http://www.artandscienceoflowcarb.com) My interest was first peaked during a conversation with Zach Bitter at the Kettle Moraine 100k about this new to me diet. During my first three years of running ultras, I had a decent amount of success, but I often had GI upset during races and hated eating while running. Due to the constant GI issues, I knew I need to change something up. Since shifting how I look at food, I have been able to consume less during races and feel better overall.
During the early phases of my switch, I began researching more about nutrition. I was caring more about what I putting into my body and how it can influence my training. In this process, I was approached by Silver Star Nutrition to be one of their athletes. Silver Star is a small company based out of New Lisbon, WI. The company was created in hopes of providing a cleaner product for athletes to use. Silver Star essentially takes all of the junk out of normal products, and keeps things as clean as possible. ( http://silverstarnutrition.com/our-story/) After Silver Star and I chatted, I felt that we had similar visions, and they fit with my goals for my future. They offer several products, including a variety of clean protein products without all of the added sugars that I was trying to avoid with this new way of eating. These protein products were great for my training and I enjoyed adding them into my lifestyle. Since I have become one of their athletes, they have also developed their Endurance Formula, which I use in training and races for my liquid calories. The Endurance Formula contains only 24g of sugar per serving as well as some protein and natural fat sources. The fat and protein serve to rebuild during long intense efforts as well as aid in avoiding gut rut. (http://silverstarnutrition.com/products/endurance-formula/)
My nutrition over the last few weeks has been targeted at CCC as well. I have ensured that I consume enough calories for the amount of training I have been doing. I continue to consume a variety of natural fat sources such as avocado, fish, coconut oil, olive oil, etc. Then during high intensity efforts, I use some carbohydrates as my high energy quick burning fuel. For example: if it is the night before a big workout, I may have some extra fruit or maybe a sweet potato to get those extra carbs in. Then during long intense efforts, I will be sure to add in a little bit of the Endurance Formula to keep my energy up. The most important thing for me, leading up to this race, has been to just be conscious of what I eat to make sure I do not negatively affect all of the hard physical work I am putting in.
I feel confident that I have put in all of the physical, mental, and nutritional work that I can to this point. Now it is time to taper, pack, and get ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Many people have asked what my goals are for the race. My goals are to finish and to do my best in a new environment. I have no real expectations of what my placing will be or where I will rank compared to the other elites running the race. I am excited that I can enter into the race as one of the elites invited to attend, but with a different mindset than usual. I won’t be going after any course records. I won’t hear any “Oh, that’s Michael Borst” like I am fortunate to in the Midwest. I will just run the race and enjoy the ride.
Follow the race: http://utmbmontblanc.com/en/page/363/follow-the-races.html
As I look back on yesterday at the Voyageur 50 mile race in Duluth, MN, my mind goes in many different directions. The Voyageur 50 has and always will be an incredibly important race to me. It was my first 50 miler now 6 years ago, and the race has so much rich history to it. Over the previous 5 years I managed three first places, one second, and one fifth. Last year was my best performance to date as I managed a 6:47 for the third fastest time in the race’s history 6 minutes behind Ultrarunning legends Scott Jurek and Jarrow Wahman. After last year the record truly felt attainable. So this year I had every expectation that I was going to go for it from the gun and finally break the 19 year old record.
However, early this Spring I received an email from the organizers of the Ultra Trail Mount Blanc (UTMB) with the opportunity to run their prestigious race. I was ranked high enough in the International Trail Runners Association (ITRA) ranking system to be considered “elite”, and therefore I could bypass the competitive lottery system and enter the CCC 100k for free. Now UTMB is one of those bucket list races that myself along with many other ultra runners consider a must do. This is one of the first opportunities I have had in my running career to do such an amazing event, and my first opportunity to go overseas to Europe. The only downside to the race was that Voyageur was a month before and the Moose Mountain marathon was a week after. Both of which were firmly on my race calendar, and I had set goals to accomplish at each. But I wasn’t about to let this opportunity pass so I pulled the trigger and signed up.
With all of this in mind I have put a lot of effort in this summer training, and feel as if I am in great shape. So when race day came around for Voyageur, my mind was still on CCC, but I still had every intention to go for my original plan and shoot for that record. Leading up to the race, I was feeling good and I felt like I was ready to compete. However, very early in the race I could tell that my legs weren’t there. I was less than 10 miles in and had the urge to walk hills. That is a feeling that I normally don’t feel until much later in the race and I knew something wasn’t right. When that feeling crept in I knew that it wasn’t going to be my day. However, I kept pushing expecting things to turn around. After getting to the Seven Bridges Aid station following the powerlines, a mere 13 miles in, I felt like I had already ran a 50k, but my crew/fiance Allyson urged me to go onto the next aid station to see if I could shake it. Between Seven Bridges and Becks Road aid stations there are a few small river crossings in which I laid down to try to cool down and reset. By this time I was power hiking most uphills, and my pace on downhills and flats had slowed drastically. After getting out of the rivers instead of feeling recharged when I tried to start pushing again my legs felt like lead, and mentally I was pretty crushed. My gut was aching and I had a pounding headache. I always have high expectations for myself, but to be this dead at mile 16 of a 50 mile race following a great summer of training was a tough pill to swallow. Once arriving at Beck’s aid station about 18 miles in, I saw Allyson and said I’m out. It took me a solid 20-30 minutes of talking with Allyson to finally take off my bib number and admit my defeat to the Ham radio operator. By that time I had seen many friends and my dad head through the aid station. The plan then changed to supporting my dad through the rest of the race.
With each aid station, I continually got asked what happened and had to explain this major personal disappointment of a race. It was hard to come up with a tangible reason as to what happened. Yes I have been training hard, yes I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform, and yes I took the race out hard but ultimately I just think it wasn’t my day.
It is always a phenomenal race, and silver lining I was able to see things from the other side traveling to aid stations to crew for my Dad and helping other friends along the way. The people at every aid station are so generous to every single runner no matter how slow or fast. That is truly what ultra running is ultimately about. Not the times or places, but that sense of community and comradery. The weekend was what I made of it, and I wasn’t going to let the DNF take over. This is one of my favorite races each year and while this year looked a little different, I enjoyed being there. I got to see and chat with many people I don’t often get to, I got to crew my family and friends to help them achieve their goals, and I got to experience other runners’ races with them, which is an incredible feeling. It took the pressure off me and showed me why I love running in this community.
This year was especially fun, because there were new people to spend the weekend with. This is my first year of coaching and a few of my coaching clients went out and accomplished their goals. It was awesome to be able to see them at aid stations and out on the course continuing to push through the heat and struggles. We also had a few new runners from La Crosse join us for the weekend. It was fun to have them along as the La Crosse crew in the ultra scene continues to grow each year.
Pictured Left to Right (My Dad, Me, Tyler Heinz, and Jake Hegge) at the start line
La Crosse crew camping at Jay Cooke State Park
Looking forward to the next month and the adventures in Europe. My head is high and my goals are set. I am ready to conquer a month of training for the experience of a lifetime. CCC, here I come!
Where it all began:
I am Michael Borst, I am a 24 year old ultramarathoner. However, I didn’t start there. Running is a such a big part of my life now, but it is hard to imagine that I haven’t been a runner very long. My dad ran in high school, but we weren’t a running family growing up. I started running when I was in middle school when I experimented with middle school track. It was okay, but running didn’t go beyond that one track season. It wasn’t until I got into my Sophomore year of high school when I really started to realize how much I enjoyed running. I decided to go out for cross country instead of playing football like I normally did in the Fall (Weird to think that Football was my sport of choice for a long time.)
That first summer before my first cross season I was motivated to run by a T-shirt… I was told that if I ran 300 miles over the summer, I would get a shirt that said 300 mile club on the back. So that is what I set out to do. I remember how difficult it was for me, but on the last day of summer I ran 16 miles to hit 301 miles for the summer (my Dad said I couldn’t stop at just 300). That Fall I ran my first cross country season, and I was Slinger High School’s second runner that year with a PR of about 18:20. My Junior season did not go as well as I never hit my Sophomore year PR. This was a low point in my young running career, and I came close to giving up running. I devoted my Junior track season to off season wrestling (my winter sport), but that summer I decided to again ramp up the miles to prepare for my senior year of cross. I hit just over 500 miles that summer in preparation for the season, and I finally broke my old PR in the 5k hitting 17:40. Now this time is not spectacular by any means, but it meant a lot to me that I broke 18 in the 5k. However, I was still not convinced that running was my thing. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to run my last year of track, but my coach (Coach Krall) made a deal with me. If I ran track, he would help me reach my new goal of running a marathon. So I went out for track and I devoted myself to training for a marathon. Now that I had a plan to follow and a direction to go, I was having my best running performances to date, hitting 4:50 in the mile and 10:10 in the two mile. But none of that mattered to me anymore with my new goal. All I really cared about was getting across the finish line at my first marathon, The Madison Marathon.
Senior Year of cross country
Role Model:
Now at this point I feel it is important to bring up my father. I have always looked up to my Dad. He is a hard working man that has shown me the importance of dedication, finishing what you start, and how hard work can pay off. My Dad was a great runner in his high school days. He held his school’s 2 mile track record for over 20 years, but he never did run in college. Then after entering the workforce, owing his own company, and having a family, running took a bit of back row seat. But I knew he still enjoyed it, so when I decided I wanted to run my first marathon, I convinced him to run it with me. He wasn’t quite sure about it, but we continued training. (He will come up again later, but this is what got him hooked.)
First marathon experiences:
Fast forward, a month or two, and the marathon was here. I remember toeing the line at the race so excited and nervous. I also remember thinking that no matter what I would finish, (but hopefully in under three hours since that had been the time I visualized myself finishing in.) So when I crossed the finish line in 2:57 I couldn’t have been happier. I had finished three minutes under my goal in my first attempt at the famed distance, and to make it even better my Dad also finished well allowing us both to qualify to run the Boston Marathon. We went on to run Boston that next year (the year before the horrific bombings.)
Allyson and I at the start line of my first marathon.
Boston 2012 was an incredibly hot upper 90 degrees day. My dad finished well, where my Boston situation was a little stickier. The heat got to me and I had to get checked into the medical tent. I rested and started to feel better, but the medical personnel told me they would get me a ride to the finish. There was no way that I was traveling all the way to Boston to not finish the race, so I got up and left the tent to finish the last little bit of what I started. I ended up finishing in 3:40, which was far off my PR but I finished what I started. The stickiness came after when I couldn’t find my dad, the medical personnel told him that I was in the tent and not doing good, and my mom got calls back home about needing personal information in case it was needed for me to be admitted into the hospital. It was a MESS, but all in all, I found my dad eventually and we were able to move on after the race.
My Dad and I at the start line to Boston 2012
The trails grew on me:
Now, most people reading are probably wondering, I thought you were a trail runner that ran ultra marathons. But that is the next step of this journey. With my first marathon under my belt, I went off to college at UW La Crosse. I was going to school to study Athletic Training with hopes of going to graduate school in Physical Therapy. An Athletic Training degree from UW-L requires that students in that program do not participate in sports because during practice times you must be working with the athletes instead of being one. So I made the decision that my focus would be on my career instead of collegiate athletics. The nice thing was that being in such close proximity to athletics I was able to meet many of UW-L’s cross country and track athletes. Through this connection, I heard of Jake Hegge. Jake was a year ahead of me in school, but he had competed in cross country during his first year of school. Jake had decided not to go out for cross anymore and was looking at a different kind of racing in his future. Some of the cross country guys I met gave me his contact info to allow us to connect and go on some runs together. Jake and I started emailing and set up a time to go for a run. Our first run together in the Spring of 2012 was the first time I truly experienced the trails in La Crosse. He took me up the bluffs to a bunch of trails that I had never been on to that point. I was instantly hooked and the running obsession started. So after I competed in the Boston Marathon with my dad that year, my eyes were set on the trails. Jake and I signed up for the Dances with Dirt 50k for that summer. 50k didn’t sound to bad; I mean it was only like 5 miles further. How bad could it be?
For my first ultra I was a 19 year old kid with no idea what he was getting into. All I knew was it sounded fun and I would be doing it with Jake. So when I toed the line, I had no idea that I would end up winning the race and Jake would take second. Other than slight GI upset due to being new to GUs, the rest went smoothly. We were so elated by this success that we signed up for the Voyageur 50 mile just two weeks later. Again, I trained hard but just continued to stay positive and just add those few more miles onto the last race. This race, however, truly challenged me not only physically, but mentally. I remember hitting about 32 miles and thinking “Holy Cow, did I really just run this far?”, but I was feeling pretty good so I kept going. Then mile 35-45 hurt like hell. Luckily I had a third or fourth wind to finish the final 5 miles. Jake won this race and I was second. I realized this ultra thing might be for me so I set my eyes on a new goal and continued to train.
Jake and I running our first Voyageur 50 mile
A couple of firsts:
With Voyaguer under my belt Jake and I were looking for the next challenge, so we decided to sign up for the Wild Duluth 100k that same year in the fall. This race brought about a few new first for me besides the distance. Number one: it brought my first big wrong turn. About 12 or so miles into the race, Jake and I left an aid station and took a trail we thought was marked. Five miles later we hit the next aid station, and they said, “You’re supposed to be coming from the other direction.” We had gone left instead of going right at the previous aid station, and we were told we would have to run the 5 miles back to take the right trail. So we turned around, and did as we were told. Once back at the original aid station, Jake dropped out of the race. His hamstring was bugging him and given the circumstances he didn’t want to push it. But at this point I was determined to not give up, so I took off from the aid station in 30th and on a mission. With about 12 miles to go in the race another first happened, I had a pacer. After resting up for most of the day Jake decided to hop in and pace me to the finish (a few beers and brats had also helped him feel better). Then from the last aid station the next first was needing a light. We had only done races in the daylight, but the sun was setting so we didn’t have a choice. I ended up hitting 72 miles total and coming back for a 5th place finish.
After two years of competing in ultras, I decided to do my first 100 mile race. I chose the Zumbro 100 as the venue. I had done the 50 miler before, so figured I knew the course and could finish. However, I didn’t respect the distance. I flew through the first three loops or 50 miles, actually breaking my 50 course record that I had set the year before. Soon after that point I began to struggle, and I had to walk the entire 5th lap (thankfully with Doug Kleeimeier and he was the only thing that was keeping me going-great guy!) I took a nap after Loop 5, hoping it would help. I woke up an hour later and dropped out of the race. Yes, I could have dragged myself around the last loop and finished before the cut off, but in my mind, that was not appealing nor what my goals were at that given moment. My first DNF was just the fire I needed for my next adventure. I went on to run Superior 100 that fall and it was much more successful. I finished in 22:52. I also returned back to Zumbro 100 the next year (2015) as I had some unfinished business. It no longer was just 6 easy loops, but I had more respect for the challenge it would be. My race was more successful under this mentality and I went on to win that year with a new course record of 18:04.
(Left- finish line of Zumbro 100 after finishing in 2015)
(Right- Finish line of Superior 100 after finishing my fist 100 in 2014)
Where I am now:
Fast forward to now, I have been involved in the trails for the last 6 years and I have loved every minute of it. I have run 37 total races, ranging from half marathons to 100 milers. Every race has been a new challenge for me, and I enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to toe the line each time.
Besides running, I am currently in my third year of the Physical Therapy program at UWL. I am a running coach for Trail Transformation. I also now direct my own trail race the Hixon 50 with Tyler Heinz and Jake Hegge. I currently live in Onalaska, WI with my beautiful fiance (wife come September 23rd,2017 :)) I love everything outdoors, learning new things, and being with my family and friends.
My Fiancé Allyson and I at the finish line of Grandma’s Marathon this year
2017 race season:
Chuckanut 50k: 4:13 (18th overall)
Grandma’s Marathon: 2:54
Voyageur 50 mile: July 28th
CCC 100k: September 1st
Fall Superior Moose Marathon: September 9th
Past race results:
https://ultrasignup.com/results_participant.aspx?fname=Michael&lname=Borst
Stay tuned with my journey through the exciting 2017 ahead.
Michael Borst 