Every year, these post-race emails become harder to write – not because there’s less to say, but because there’s more. More emotions, more moments, more memories that defy us to put them into writing. Every year, there’s more. We pride ourselves on being pretty good with words, but this year is leaving us fairly speechless.
Can you believe that, just three years ago, we had only 44 participants? We’ve made some very deliberate choices over these years, choices that aimed to put the focus on community rather than results, on people rather than placings. Looking around at all of you on Saturday – laughing together, racing together, sharing stories together afterward in a big mass of happy, well-fed humanity – it felt like maybe we’ve managed to do it right.
We had a goal this year to have 50 Women Run 50K, and with the help of Nora at Team Bird Training, we did it! (Or, rather, YOU did it!) More than 60 women turned out for the 50K, with still more in the 100K. In a sport like ultrarunning, where fields often have 25% women at best, looking out at the start line last weekend felt really special. We’ll be sharing more of their stories over the coming weeks on our website and social media.
From hikers to runners, from 11K to 100K, you all showed the world – and yourselves – what you’re made of.
Now for the rest: If you left clothing, a drop bag, or lost something on course (we found a couple earbuds and a headlamp), please reach out and we can do our best to get it back to you!
Race results are now on the website and at UltraSignup (let us know if something needs to be corrected)! If you’re posting about your experience on social media, please consider tagging us, or use the hashtag #firetowertrailraces so that we can see how the day went for you. Also, if you’d like to share any race reports or YouTube videos, we’ll share a link to them on the website. Just send it over!
If you took a picture at the top of the fire tower, please send it to us! We’d love to make a collage of the views that you all worked so hard to see. (Selfies welcome!)
As for other race photos, we have a page where we post galleries from our volunteer photographers. Three albums are live – go have a look!
We’ve also announced our race date for next year of October 4th, 2025. Registration will open in March, and we hope to see many of you with us again, either as a runner or volunteer!
Finally, a word of thanks to our volunteers, the people without whom races like this absolutely couldn’t happen. Because of the location and size of St. Croix State Park, the volunteer shifts tend to be long, often starting or ending in the dark – or both! Whether flipping pancakes, recording bib numbers, or sweeping the course, every volunteer was a critical part of the day.
An extra-special nod goes to our finish line chef extraordinaire and his sous chefs! It’s not every day you get to have a meal made-to-order in the woods, and Peter and his team pampered us all until long after the sun went down. We’re so lucky to have them with us!
And to each of you: Thank you. Thank you a million times over for choosing our race, for trusting us to play host to your goals and dreams. It means so much that you decided to share your day with us. No matter how your race unfolded, we hope the day was filled with lessons worth learning and experiences worth having.
Gratefully yours,
Jamison and Lisa
Fire Tower Trail Races 