The 26th Annual Minnesota Voyageur Trail Ultra 50-Mile Foot Race was held Saturday as part of the annual Carlton Daze festivities.
The Voyageur takes place on the trails of Jay Cooke State Park between Carlton and Duluth and this year 99 runners started the race in hot and humid conditions. Seventy-seven entrants finished the race, which had them traversing over narrow, rocky, rooted areas, through creeks, across the Spirit Mountain ski hills and in and out of gullies. Runners travel through Jay Cooke and Fond du Lac and then travel to the Lake Superior Zoo and back to Carlton.
Andy Holak was the overall men's winner with a strong time of 7:30:30, while Chris Gardner was second in 7:42:22. Steve Schuder and Eric Kaitala were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Both Holak and Schuder are from Duluth and both have won the race in the past.
Kim Holak of Duluth was the women's division winner in a time of 8:14:14, while Rochelle Wirth, also of Duluth, was second in 8:29:58. Both Holak and Wirth have won the race in the past. Wirth was last year's winner in a record time of 8:15:06.
