Tanis Frost from Thunder Bay, ON (bib #79), and Sarah Gallo from Neebing, ON (bib #83) run the 50k Superior Spring Trail Race on Saturday, May 16. All photos by Brittany North

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - May 18, 2026

The 24th annual Superior Spring Trail Race, hosted by Rocksteady Running, took place on Saturday, May 16, 2026, along the Superior Hiking Trail in the Sawtooth Mountains. The race had three distance options for racers to choose from: the 50k, 25k, and the 12.5k, all ending at Caribou Highlands Lodge in Lutsen. 

The 25k and 50k courses are out-and-back routes that begin and end at the Caribou Highlands Lodge. This distance features approximately 4,200 feet of elevation gain and loss for the 50k, and 2,300 feet for the 25k.

50k men's division, top three winners:

• First: Kirk Dewindt, Oak Grove, MN, 4:12:04
• Second: Tyler Morey, Plymouth, MN, 4:20:21
• Third: Daniel Hufnagel, Minneapolis, MN, 4:33:32.

50k women's division, top three winners: 

• First: Naomi Nelson, Breezy Point, MN, 5:31:00
• Second: Tara Werning, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 5:35:54
• Third: Jordan Hausladen, Cary, North Carolina, 5:53:20

50k nonbinary division, top two winners:

• Anna Grace Tiede Hottinger, Two Harbors, MN, 5:17:06
• Dj Beske, North Mankato, MN, 6:36:20

239 racers started the 50k, with 228 finishing. 

 Art Bartels from Minneapolis, MN, runs the 50k Superior Spring Trail Race on Saturday, May 16.

25k men's division, top three winners: 

• First: Adam Eskuri, Duluth, MN, 2:01:46
• Second: James Sorenson, MN, MN, 2:02:28
• Third: Derek Savela, St. Paul, MN, 2:11:12.

25k women's division, top three winners: 

• First: Rychelle Denardo, Bozeman, Montana 2:11:17
• Second: Missa Morey, Plymouth, MN, 2:23:09
• Third: Katie Mcgregor, Savage, MN, 2:36:39

25k nonbinary division, top winner: 

• First: Stacia Madsen, St. Paul, MN, 4:50:25

299 racers started and finished the 25k. 

 Joseph Altendahl, St. Paul, MN, runs the 50k Superior Spring Trail Race on Saturday, May 16. 

For the 12.5K course, runners are transported via shuttle to the start line at the Cathedral of the Pines on Caribou Trail and run one way to the finish line at the Caribou Highlands Lodge. The course has 600 feet of elevation gain and 600 feet of elevation loss, and contains zero aid stations.

12.5k men's division, top three winners: 

• First: Leif Lindstrom of Grand Marais, MN, 58:55 
• Second: Alex Zupan of Lincoln, Nebraska, 1:00:46 
• Third: Brian Janaszak of Apple Valley, MN, 1:03:34
  

12.5k women's division, top three winners: 

• First: Abbey Ewald, Minneapolis, MN, 1:08:15 
• Second: Emma Spoon, Grand Marais, MN, 1:08:59
• Audrey Cyr, Duluth, MN, 1:11:15

12.5k nonbinary division, top winners:

• Cammey Cardinal, Buffalo, MN, 1:56:22
• Cc Larue, Willmar, MN, 2:16:12
  
  

251 racers started and finished the 12.5k.