As we enter the 10-day, “stalk the weather” window before Superior 100, let’s check in our Gnarly Bandits. Following a masterful performance at Kettle Moraine, in late June they moved on to the hills and hazards of the Black Hills 100.
Although it was a good year for the BH100, with cool temperatures and an unusually high 71% finishers’ rate, we sadly lost one of our Gnarlies, Steve Barge, who was unable complete the race. But the remaining nine (YES, NINE!) Gnarly Bandit hopefuls survived the often-lethal Kettle-Black Hills one-two punch and are continuing on to Superior 100 next weekend. Along the way, Tina Johnson continued her year of ultra-domination, finishing in second place. Also still in the running are Angela Barbera, Kevin Clark, Andrew Deering, Susan Donnelly, Ty Kleiner, Jeff Leuwerke, Erik Raivo, and Carl Skustad.
This isn’t over yet. Superior’s 103.3 miles of rocks, roots and rivers still await our Gnarly hopefuls. When the moon rises over Lutsen next Saturday night and the clock counts down its final minutes of the race, who will remain in the running for the pot o’ gold? Tune in. It’s going to be a wild ride, all the way to the end of the season.