2026 O'Brien Trail Races 50k Race Report

 The O'Brien Trail Races 50k was held Saturday September 26, 2026, starting and finishing at William O'Brien State Park in Marine on St Croix, MN. The two-loop course goes throughout the park and around Jackson Meadows, an interesting conservation development. 2 aid stations you each hit twice per loop.

I signed up for this just 2 weeks prior as my long run in training for the Surf the Murph 50miler in mid-October (3 weeks away). It had been on my radar for a number of years and it all finally aligned. My training has been fantastic, mileage-wise, I think the best (most) ever, with averaging a hair under 40mi/wk over 9 weeks. Still a decent bit slower than previous years, but that's to be expected. Last Sunday's 23 miles was going to make this interesting as there was not really a taper involved. Prepped my UD vest with a Houdini light rain jacket, some GU and a granola bar, S!Caps, my buff, and 2 bladders, so I could easily swap out water for my grape Gatorade at the halfway (start/finish) aid station while using the same mouthpiece/tube. Oh - plus a laminated cheat sheet with a map and mileage/AS info. 

Worries for this event: Am still doing PT, since May, for my right hamstring/glute (ongoing weakness/soreness). Bought some Hoka Challenger 8's earlier this month since they finally seemed to not bother my left ankle rubbing the shoe. Have worn them three times before this event (7, 20, 23 miles) and the issue is still there, even with a 2nd ASICS insole added. After testing out a few options the night before the race, went with some gel heel inserts in addition to the added insole. 

Race day - the 35 minute drive was easy and I got there just before the 6:58am sunrise. The 8am start had temps of 58° and 95% humidity. Wouldn't have minded some cooler weather! Got my bib #20 and my shirt and some instructions on the pink-flagged course markings.

Smallish event with 44 actual starters in the 50k, but with 25k, 10k, and 5k events starting about an hour later, it didn't feel that small. 

Got into my pace pretty quickly and the runners spread out almost immediately. Course was mostly wide grassy tracks, rolling hills (only one or two that were significant). There was some good single track leading into/out of Jackson Meadows, just a little bit of pavement on the community walking path and even less on a road, and a bit of crushed gravel. Few roots and rocks, but nothing considered technical. As it was overcast, the few open areas weren't bad with sun/heat.

I generally walked most of the hills, but was able to open up my stride on the downhills which was nice, and although my legs weren't fresh, they weren't heavy either. Had a couple people near enough in front of me to help pace myself, but ran solo for the duration of the race. One guy I leapfrogged back and forth with a couple of times, and one other female I saw 2-3 times - but that was it. I always run alone so this was just fine with me. :-)

Ran thru a small tunnel about mile 1 where there was a photographer. At the 1st Aid Station, mile 4.9 were 2 (quiet) girls from probably a HS cross country team. Time was 50 min. Said my thanks as I kept moving and crossed the road and immediately went uphill. I had taken a vanilla Gu earlier, so didn't feel the need to stop. Enjoyed this 1.4 mi section as I got the 2nd AS at mile 6.3 in 1:08 overall. Kept right on moving past this without stopping, but did scope out the snacks and their orange Gatorade. Realized after seeing Oreos and Chips Ahoy that I wouldn't need my M&M's and other snacks I had brought for the 2nd half of the race.

The course had a lot of turns, but the pink flags had them all well marked. Jackson Meadows was interesting as we ran through the community with all white houses, and a few people even cheered us on as we went by. 

Mostly followed the one male runner during this section before he pulled away some and we headed back. There were a couple of spots where there was two-way traffic, and I saw the leader I guess way  too soon - he was moving! 

I did grab two Oreos as I got to the 11.9mi AS in 2:03...that section was quite runnable and was my fastest pace of the day. It's fairly short coming back as the last AS is only 1 mile further, and then only 2.6 to the start/finish. Skipped that AS again and got to the halfway in 2:46, which I was pretty pleased with for the paces I've been running this year. I did take almost 5 minutes here which is super rare for me. Swapped my bladders and was looking forward to my Gatorade. With the high humidity, I was sweating a lot, wiping my brow off repeatedly with my Afton buff, cleaning the condensation off my glasses. I did take 2 S!Caps on the first loop to replace some salt. I cleared a rock out of one shoe, adjusted both my socks, and grabbed more cookies and some coke as I walked out onto loop 2 feeling fine and confident I'd get another ultra finish.

2nd loop was more solo running, with some more walking as my pace dropped 1-2 min per mile. Also as expected. I did check my trusty Timex to see my earlier splits, so I could monitor my slowdowns. 

Skipped the first AS again (3:51 overall at mile 20.4), was the first into the Chips Ahoy and had some good joking by the 2nd AS volunteers on that (21.8mi in 4:11). That 1.4mi section had my slowest pace both laps.

As I went thru Jackson Meadow for the last time, I started doing some math on the possibility of breaking 6hrs. I knew it would be close...I also had a sense of being off course somehow. I saw the female who was way ahead at this point running on a nearby trail, and looking at the course map and Google Maps, seemed like they weren't matching. I trusted the flags though and kept going. All was good, but it did mess with me for a bit. 

At the next aid station (mile 27.4 after 5:17), I had passed my previously planned training run of 25miles and originally considered taking the last 6 miles really easy. But - if I pushed, and ran the last 2 sections in the same time as the first loop (42mins), under 6 was possible. So - I pushed. I did get an encouraging text from my wife in this time too - which helped my pace.

Finally utilized that one aid station for coke and cookies with 29 minutes to go for my new goal. Knowing I ran it in 32 earlier had me realizing it wasn't really going to happen, but I tried anyway. I felt good. I had a little twinge on the inside of my left knee that came and went. No significant hamstring/glute issues. Had a little soreness on my left foot. My left ankle seemed to have been resolved by the extra insert (under my Asics insole). I felt I was moving pretty well. 

I hadn't really had anyone around me in hours, but I knew there were people ahead of me. Once I did get within a minute or so, we had the finish in sight, it was just over 6hrs, and I was fine cruising in. 

(my 2nd loop pace did not drop nearly as much those last sections as the first few ones!)

6:04:47. 

Very happy. Continues my streak of 17 straight years completing an ultramarathon, and 19 years completing an Ultra or marathon. The rest of the year is extra. Slight chance I miss Surf the Murph (travel?), but Icebox480 is always an option.

 Had some initial discomfort sitting on the ride home with my glute/hamstring, but that went away quickly. My muscles felt well-used, but not too bad. Once I got cleaned up - realized I had a very large blister on my middle toe of my right foot, on the side - not where it even rubs the next toe. Just odd. My middle toe of the other foot - I will likely lose a nail. Again - I don't know why, I don't recall kicking anything (I lost the 2nd nail on my left foot 2 weeks ago after kicking a rock/root a few weeks earlier)

I certainly felt good enough to go out and celebrate Oktoberfest at a friend's house that night! 

Great event and volunteers. Same group that puts on the Chippewa 50k I ran a back in 2017, and got another finisher's poster for my fridge! Would definitely recommend any of their races.