Not so fast Spring: A Winter Encore!

As luck would have it, Winter was NOT done in Wisconsin.  Another dumping of about 6" of snow found Willow River State Park on the morning of May 2nd.  I love running in this state.

I took the following pictures on my morning run in the park.  With scenes like these, Spring can take its time.  Enjoy!

The path into the park; 6 inches deep!

The steps to the North observation overlook

The view from the overlook; the picture does not do the scene justice

Willow River, at the Falls Bridge

One Last Winter Gift at Willow River

I've never been forced to train through the winter.  Ever.  I've always chosen to peak for fall races, giving me the summer to train properly.  This is more about perceived limitations than toughness.  I just never considered winter  as a time to train.

When it came time to choose a first 100-miler, I wanted something fairly straightforward, flatish, close-by and familiar.  The obvious choice turned out to be the Kettle 100 in S. Wisconsin.  I know and love the Ice Age Trail in this area. Fantastic running, beautiful scenery, and (mostly) non-technical singletrack.  The trouble was though, that it runs the beginning of June.

This early race forced me to train through snow and sleet.  Through 6" of snow and very uneven footing.  At 5:30 in the morning with a headlamp.   I refused to run on the roads in training for a trail 100-miler; that would make no sense.  I am now emerging from winter pretty tough and fit, and uninjured.  Relatively of course.

One unexpected gift that came my way was "the things you see" when you run at all times of the day and year.  This morning was no exception.  It is the end of April.  Average high temps are supposed to be around 60°F.  We are expecting to see the sun and 75° by the weekend (woo hoo!).  And yet, God saw fit to give us one more winter gift in the form of about 8" of freshly-fallen snow overnight.

I was out on the trails at Willow River State Park in NW Wisconsin this morning, at about 5:45 am., and took these pictures.  Enjoy, and happy end of Winter!

Running Willow River

I’d like to share with you a wonderful running location not 10 minutes from my front door in NW Wisconsin called Willow River State Park.  This 3000 acre gem can be reached from the Cities by taking I-94 into Wisconsin, and heading north on Hwy 12 (exit 4) for a few miles.  The swimming isn't much (unless you prefer your bathwater green), but the trails are great and getting better.

From spring to fall, I can get up to 15 miles of trail without backtracking (much), allowing me to mix up my runs a bit.  In the winter, you get about 6 miles, which I’m not complaining about.  The park trails, like most up here, are limited to skiers only.  I struggle with the ethics of this: limiting park access to those with the means, or only to those who chose to ski.  But heck, I’ll take the 6 miles.  Here are some of the pictures I took on last weekend's run.

The Falls is beautiful any time of the year.  In the Winter, it is exceptionally so.  You are greeted with a fully frozen cascade with fractal-like ice formations; to totally free running free, and anything in between.  This is a great place to climb too!

Willow River Falls - partially frozen

What's nice about this falls is that you can scramble up and along (and even behind) it along both sides.  This falls was reborn recently when a dam was removed.  You can see the spillway along the right (southern) rock wall.

Willow River Falls - a closeup of the runoff

There are many hills in the park, many exceeding 250 feet or so, with lots of smaller rollers.  It doesn't take long to get 2,000+ feet of climb in an afternoon!

Running along the bluff edge

One of the many hills to climb

A view of the river along the southern bluff...

... and from the northern bluff

The park offers about 6 miles of trail for pedestrian use during the winter.  The path varies from ski-grade groomed to lightly trampled singletrack.  Fun!

Miles of some pretty interesting running

Run 1 – starts at the River Road parking lot, and runs along the southern park boundary, returning along the southern edge of Little Falls Lake.  This will get you about 10 miles.

Run 2 – starts at the same location, and runs north of Little Falls Lake.  This is a new section of trail that is nearly completed.  It started out a single track scout-trail, which was fantastic.  Now you can drive a jeep down the trail.  Oh well.  Then return to the falls along the lake, back along the southern boundary and then returning along the north side of the lake.  This will get you up to 15 miles.

Park trail map

I hope you all get a chance to check out this park during any season, it is well worth the visit!