RacesUpper Midwest
Superior 100
Demand
4 out of 5
How much it asks
Worth
4 out of 5
Worth the flight + fee
Finland to Lutsen, Minnesota, United States
Scorecard · is it worth it?
Worth the flight if the mountains match what you want.
The card
Superior is the argument that a mountain 100 does not require a fourteeners poster. The Superior Hiking Trail along Minnesota's North Shore is rock, roots, mud, and constant climbing next to a lake that behaves like weather. Demand is 4 because a hundred miles of that surface, in September, with cold nights and a point-to-point that does not let you learn a loop, is a mountain-trail 100. Altitude is a 1. Technicality is a 5. Those two numbers together are the point of the card. Feet fail here for reasons that have nothing to do with thin air, and we are not going to dock the race because it sits next to a Great Lake instead of a fourteeners parking lot.
Worth is 4. Destination, not regional: people do fly to Duluth or drive overnight from Chicago for this trail, and the lake-and-boreal weekend justifies it if you wanted this sport. It is not a 5 because the logistics are Upper Midwest rather than a once-in-a-lifetime island, and because fall color is not the San Juans. Vermont is the regional 100 in this batch: historic, rollers, worth it if you already live nearby. Superior is the one we would tell you to travel for if the ask is rock and roots. Organization confidence is medium. superiorfalltrailrace.com is the public face.
The next edition is September 11, 2026. If you wanted a Midwest 100 that is actually a dirt-road tour, this is the wrong race. Superior is the technical North Shore 100. Bring shoes that can think. Leave the altitude narrative at home. A destination 4 with an altitude 1 is the catalog saying Minnesota can be a mountain-trail weekend without pretending it is Colorado.
Who it is for
Technical trail 100-mile runners who want rock and roots on the North Shore and do not need 10,000-foot passes to call it a mountain race.
Who should skip
Runners who think Midwest means runnable. Superior will punish that assumption for 100 miles.
Weekend
Official handbook facts
Superior 100 2026 participant guide · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Field
Last editions · 100M scored distance
Field evidence: who showed up, who finished, how long. DNF is that evidence, not a difficulty score. Public results, scored distance only.
2025
- Starters
- 255
- Finishers
- 176
- DNF
- 31%
- Win
- 20:13:02
- Median
- 33:17:52
2024
- Starters
- 238
- Finishers
- 163
- DNF
- 32%
- Win
- 20:54:03
- Median
- 33:29:27
2023
- Starters
- 233
- Finishers
- 163
- DNF
- 30%
- Win
- 19:40:16
- Median
- 33:18:42
Starters/finishers/DNF from official RD recaps. Win and median from the official finish list on superiorfalltrailrace.com.
Overall field only. Not a pro or sponsored subset.
Climate
Typical September at the start area · historical race-week weather
- Typical high
- 65°F (18°C)
- Typical low
- 54°F (12°C)
- Typical precip
- 3.4 in (87 mm) / September
- Days with rain
- 33% of days
- High point
- 2,297 ft (700 m)
BewareRain on race weekend in 2 of the last 3 years.
2015–2024 September means at the start / massif. · Open-Meteo ERA5 / climate · retrieved 2026-09-06 (repo record)
Map
Dimensions
Ten 1–5 scores with a one-line why. Organization has a separate confidence tag.
Supporting dimensions · organization confidence medium
A 100-plus on the Superior Hiking Trail. Point-to-point, roots and rock, not a loop party.
Constant North Shore climbing. The vert is in the repeats, not a 14er.
Rock, roots, technical SHT. This is a technicality 5 without altitude as an alibi.
September on Superior: cold nights, rain, mud. The lake makes weather.
Sawtooth high points, not the Rockies. Lungs are not the limiter. Feet are.
North Shore drive from Duluth or Twin Cities. Not a default intercontinental flight.
A Midwestern mountain-trail 100 with a serious field. Not an icon.
Long-running Superior Fall Trail Race. Public, practiced, medium-high from the public record.
A destination if you want this trail. Regional logistics, destination terrain.
Lake Superior, boreal, fall color. The lake is the scenery product.
| Dimension | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
Distance & format How much does the advertised distance and format actually ask? | 4 out of 5 | A 100-plus on the Superior Hiking Trail. Point-to-point, roots and rock, not a loop party. |
Vertical How serious is the climbing, not just the mile marker? | 4 out of 5 | Constant North Shore climbing. The vert is in the repeats, not a 14er. |
Technicality Hands, poles, route-finding, or just a long dirt road? | 5 out of 5 | Rock, roots, technical SHT. This is a technicality 5 without altitude as an alibi. |
Climate Heat, monsoon, ice, or a friendly summer afternoon? | 4 out of 5 | September on Superior: cold nights, rain, mud. The lake makes weather. |
Altitude Does the air change the race, or is it a talking point? | 1 out of 5 | Sawtooth high points, not the Rockies. Lungs are not the limiter. Feet are. |
Logistics How hard is the weekend around the race: travel, crew, lodging, rules? | 3 out of 5 | North Shore drive from Duluth or Twin Cities. Not a default intercontinental flight. |
Prestige & field Does the start list and history change what the weekend feels like? | 3 out of 5 | A Midwestern mountain-trail 100 with a serious field. Not an icon. |
Organization From public evidence, does the event look competently run? | 4 out of 5 | Long-running Superior Fall Trail Race. Public, practiced, medium-high from the public record. |
Value Entry fee, travel tax, and lottery friction versus what you get on course. | 4 out of 5 | A destination if you want this trail. Regional logistics, destination terrain. |
Adventure & scenery Would you fly for the place even if nobody kept score? | 4 out of 5 | Lake Superior, boreal, fall color. The lake is the scenery product. |