Setting up the course on the Saturday before the race (April 13) I greeted a crew of four skiers who returned from a morning ski on “some of the best conditions of the year”. There was an inch of fresh glistening snow on a firm base, bluebird skies, and beams of sunlight filtering through the towering white pines. The trail was great to run on, too. The fresh snow provided a little softness, like running on pine needles, but a decent pair of trail shoes managed adequate purchase into the firm base below. The next morning over 200 runners from six states arrived at the Iola Winter Sports Club to race on snow in full on alpine conditions. We could have held a snowshoe race if needed. Photos of all the joy are now available for viewing as are full race results. Mark Beversdorf of Wausau, no stranger to snow, took it out fast and held on, climbing the endless rolling terrain with perfect calmness, winning the 15K by over 4 minutes in 1:06:22. Nick Robertson of West Bend enjoyed the hills as well, crossing the line 2nd in 1:10:58. Great Lakes Endurance veteran, and school teacher Scott Pryzstas made the 6+ hour trip from Grand Haven, Michigan to race in the snow. It was worth the trip as Pryzstas finished third in the once in a lifetime spring snow conditions (1:12:45). Not more than 16 seconds back was Lawrence University Biophysics professor Doug Martin (1:13:01). Like Beversdorf, women’s winner Andrea Mueller dominated the women’s 15K with superb hill climbing on IWSC’s rolling glaciated terrain. Racing with Zen like focus, Mueller cruised to victory in 1:17:33. Jennifer Chaudoir, one of the top road racers in Northeast Wisconsin, finished a strong second in 1:22:19, despite recovery from a recent illness. Traveling all the way from Wayzata, Minnesota, third place finisher Kelly Johnson crossed the line in 1:25:40. Johnson may have been fatigued from running the course the day before after she and her husband arrived after the long road trip.
Masters runner and Great Lakes Endurance veteran Cheryl Corbeille competed amiably with a younger generation of trail runners, finishing 4th in 1:31:46, just about the time lightly falling snow transitioned into full on, eyelash coating, horizontal snow.

The 5K, really about 3.8 miles, due to necessary course changes, provided runners in the shorter event full return on their investment. The course normally would include ample amounts of single track, but that was buried in knee deep snow in the woods.
Nevertheless, Clintonville’s Ken Kosakowski used his strength to power through the course in less than 30 minutes, the only runner to do so the whole day. Less than a minute back David Slette of Harshaw, Wisconsin crossed in 2nd (30:39) while Manawa dairy farmer Bruce Scheller, third in 30:55. Traveling up from the Fox Valley, Neenah’s Michelle Wilson covered the course in 33:15. Sturgeon Bay’s Paula Kastenson was the first master’s runner and second overall (34:24) while Hortonville’s Joann Sutton finished third (35:58).

Clintonville’s Madison Hohn flew confidently off the start line of the Kid’s 2K with Wausau’s Ashley Straub in tow, but by 1K Hohn had built up a significant margin. Both girls raced aggressively through tough near blizzard conditions to finish 1-2, in 11:04 and 12:46 respectively. Owen Martin won the boys 2K race, followed by Ian Featherstone, both of Appleton.
The top three in each age group won 1lb. blocks of Oak Grove Dairy cheese. Oak Grove Dairy, a small family cheese house, sources its milk from only three nearby dairy farms.
Purchasing awards from local farmers is part of Great Lakes Endurance’s commitment to small scale, local sustainable agriculture. Overall winners received new trail running shoes from environmentally conscious footwear maker
Patagonia.