Start Slow, then Taper: 2025 Crater 50k Race Report

The 2025 Crater 50k trail race was held Saturday June 7th in Decorah, IA. Started and finished at Van Peenen Memorial Park. It was my first race in Iowa, and I drove down from St. Paul, MN the night before as it started at 6am and was a 2:45 drive.

My training wasn't too bad for this, not as good as for the Black Hills race last year, but I felt good going into it. The first 3 weeks of February was spent on the rowing machine as we had constant lows around, and below, zero. Felt good once I did get back outside and quickly/carefully ramped up to 20+ miles per week in just about a week. I got in 6 good runs at Afton State Park, but only 2 with the extra campground loop. Had a rare uneventful taper (timed well with Canadian wildfire smoke)!

Pre-race photo

Course/Elevation

Race morning - got there ~5:10, so plenty of time to get my bib, have my pre-race bagel and get ready. The temp was 60°, and stayed in the 60's - but the humidity (and a very light rain initially) was going to be around all day. I did not have a good sense of the course even though I had looked at it plenty. Knew it was a double loop, and we'd hit some aid stations multiple times. I really should have asked more questions when I went to leave my drop bag at the start so I could hit it at the halfway mark. When they answered that a vehicle would take it the short distance, I didn't question it. I really should have! (There was nowhere obvious at the trail entrance or the check-in)

Sign-in area

Entry road and near race start (in woods)

Start line!

So we started just in the tree line and I had just a handheld with water and a few chocolate GU's in my pockets. I lined up at 6am in a pretty accurate spot as I didn't really pass or get passed much. In the initial slow climb, I was able to alternate a fast hike with some faster shuffling on the single track. Seemed a little slow overall as I went past the first aid station (Death Valley, ~0.9mi) without stopping in 12mins. The steeper climb immediately following it though...that was going to be more/less fun the next time! There were some very technical spots, but also a good mix of less-technical trails.

After running along the River Trail, came into the next aid station (Palisades Park) after 3.1 total miles and 36 mins. Topped off my water and got right back on the trail, again, right uphill! The next 3 miles were in the Palisades Park area and alternated with short straight sections and sharp turns. Could often see/hear others heading opposite me on a different level of the hills. With ~5500+ feet of climbing, the course was often up or down. Just before 10k, I had been running a little behind a group of three for a while, and caught them once we hit the long flat stretch on Ice Cave Road. We chatted as we headed to the aid station and it turned out 3 of us had birthdays on three consecutive days (one was that day!)! Talked races/training, refilled again and had my 3rd GU just after the aid station (again at Palisades Park ~7.4 miles in, in 1:32).

Ica Cave Rd

Continued down that road (that section closed to traffic) and had a nice climb that I kept up my normal/fast pace hike. You come off that road with a sharp right straight up - with use of a rope to help get up the rocks. That was a first for me, and not an issue even with a handheld! I was already looking forward to the halfway and my drop bag, as my vest was filled with iced gatorade and I could refill my GU. The humidity was draining. Glasses would get too sweaty to see, and even fog up at times...

Can see the rope to the right of the red-flagged tree

The 2nd quarter of the course had more hills than the first, and got into the aid station at mile ~11.3 (Death Valley again) in 2:20 needing something....If I remember correctly (now that I write this 7 weeks later - I am not sure this station had anything yet?...), they had a pancake station there, so I downed some syrup, stuffed my mouth with a pancake, grabbed some chips and headed out. That was something, but not enough...by mile 13 or so, I started getting threats of cramping in my legs - calves, shin, thighs/quads. Every time I kicked a root, a stabbing pain would shoot through my legs. Slowed down, tried to be more careful, but it was not avoidable in my situation. I was just counting down to my drop bag.

Made it to the halfway, call it 15.5 miles, in 3:14 (those ~4.2 miles took me almost 54 mins), but there was no drop bag, and no aid I had any interest in. It seems my drop bag was driven to the Palisades Park one (down the road/hill). That did not put me in a good space and I practically walked to the next aid station (Death Valley, 3:30 and ~16.4 mi), with another 2.2 miles to my drop bag. I wasn't worried about finishing, even with being on the constant verge leg cramps. I had slowed down and was walking a lot, even the flats. Had another syrup-shot and pancake and trudged back up the steep hill.

Finally - at Mile ~18.6 in 4 hrs (almost 30min for those 2.2 miles), came to the Palisades Park aid station that I had gone through twice before, and there was my vest. Sat and took 3 minutes to get situated before the next steep hill. If only I had realized at Mile 7.4 that my vest was in reach...may have changed things up quite a bit (by that, I only mean I'd have gone faster with less cramping issues, not like negative split or anything!) . Oh well.

The next 4.3 miles was at a slog of a 17 min/mi pace. Got back to the Aid Station in another 1:13 (total 5:16 for 22.9 miles) - 4min/mi slower than on the first lap. Walked much of the Ice Cave road this time and made the rope climb unscathed. I did run much of the middle 20-25 miles basically solo. Never an issue for me, and somewhat typical for my events. There was one new thing this year though. When I packed up the previous night, I forgot to pack my compression shorts. Can't recall the last time I ran anything 'long' without them under my running shorts. Wasn't much I could do at 10pm the night before when I realized it. Now I know I start to chafe in a very 'sensitive' area. I noticed around mile 20, and all I could really do was stuff my buff down my shorts to help alleviate the rubbing. Much later realized I could have pulled my shorts up higher, but again, I wasn't thinking well then.

What also messed with my head was my phone health app... at around mile 21 (per the map, course, etc), my phone said I was at mile 24.5. The time between the aid stations seemed much longer than I expected, I didn't think I had slowed that much - and I really thought I had run some extra miles...which was disheartening.

So the last aid station was at ~26.8 (at Death Valley again) - 59min for that 3.8mi section (6:16 overall), and 4.3 mi left (even though my mileage showed 31 miles at that point)! Continued moving, met up with another runner for some of the last mile, and finished in 7:11.

That wasn't quite the end though...my drop bag, that had my car keys. Wasn't where I thought it was at the start/finish, so started walking down the hill/road the mile or so to the aid station. Thankfully - got a ride down there from some runners I had met, and once we got there and realized they had taken them back up - drove me back up the hill to get it. So thankful!!

Then the drive back home, clean up and then head back out to drive another hour north for a Heart concert (front row). Was a good day overall!

Photo dump!