Iron Horse Ultra 100 runs through the Lakeland

This weekend 140 runners will be participating in the Iron Horse Ultra 100. Trail boss, Ben Poulin says these runners are the ultimate athletics, “they have 27 hours to complete 100 miles.”

It was a great year for registrations, says Poulin, “we have 12 that are running solo for the 100 miles and 30 100 kilometre soloists.” The remaining runners take part in a team relay, where runners tag each other out at various checkpoints to complete the 100 miles. Teams can be as large as four.

“The main thing is to watch for the flags; they’re there for a reason,” Poulin says the Iron Horse trail and surrounding run paths will be marked for the runners and asks the public to respect the flags and not move or disturb them. “The flags keep the runners on track. We have our volunteer crew that’ll remove them, after the fact.”

The race starts at 7:00 am at Reunion Station in St. Paul on Saturday. From St. Paul runners head to Lindbergh/Heinsberg area, then to Elk Point, back towards St. Paul via Stoney Lake, then through Elk Point again and eventually in St. Paul. Runners must reach checkpoints within a certain time or cannot continue on the race. “They come through Elk Point twice, for the 100 miler.” The first around 1:00 pm on Saturday and then runners pass through between 9:00 pm and 3:00 am.

Runners must return to St. Paul for 10:00 am on Sunday to complete the race. “Come out and support the runners. The runners always appreciate the support,” Poulin says there are still some volunteer positions to be filled. Anyone interested in donating some time to the race come visit the page on Facebook, @ironhorseultra100 or online at ironhorseultra.com.