I ran the inaugural Pound the Mound 30 mile run at Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, MN mainly as a tune-up for a longer run the following weekend. The … MORE
I ran the inaugural Pound the Mound 30 mile run at Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, MN mainly as a tune-up for a longer run the following weekend. The park is located on top of an escarpment of pink, 1.7 billion year-old, Precambrian Sioux Quartzite rock which appears as a dome along the top of the park. The course was a 10+ mile loop around the perimeter of the park and consisted mainly of wide, smooth, grass-covered trails with a few sections of rocky, technical single-track trails going up and down the escarpment. It was fun listening to the Canada Geese honking along the creek and the songbirds singing along the trail. There were two well-stocked aid stations along the 10-mile loop, so you never had to go more than 4 miles before reaching aid. Among the snack food items, they had delicious home-made breakfast burritos with potatoes, sausage, and egg, and chicken cordon bleu sandwiches at the finish. For hydration, they had water, Tailwind, and Coca cola at one of the aid stations. The low entry fee included a t-shirt and a home-made finisher pendant made out of Sioux Quartzite that can been seen all over the park. The only disappointment was that the buffalo were calving, so were in a different part of the park away from all of the people.
Pristine prairie trail run
I ran the inaugural Pound the Mound 30 mile run at Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, MN mainly as a tune-up for a longer run the following weekend. The … MORE
I ran the inaugural Pound the Mound 30 mile run at Blue Mounds State Park near Luverne, MN mainly as a tune-up for a longer run the following weekend. The park is located on top of an escarpment of pink, 1.7 billion year-old, Precambrian Sioux Quartzite rock which appears as a dome along the top of the park. The course was a 10+ mile loop around the perimeter of the park and consisted mainly of wide, smooth, grass-covered trails with a few sections of rocky, technical single-track trails going up and down the escarpment. It was fun listening to the Canada Geese honking along the creek and the songbirds singing along the trail. There were two well-stocked aid stations along the 10-mile loop, so you never had to go more than 4 miles before reaching aid. Among the snack food items, they had delicious home-made breakfast burritos with potatoes, sausage, and egg, and chicken cordon bleu sandwiches at the finish. For hydration, they had water, Tailwind, and Coca cola at one of the aid stations. The low entry fee included a t-shirt and a home-made finisher pendant made out of Sioux Quartzite that can been seen all over the park. The only disappointment was that the buffalo were calving, so were in a different part of the park away from all of the people.