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There’s a new cross country ski race coming to Minnesota this winter. And it’s not for the faint of heart. 

 is scheduled for March 8, 2025 along the North Shore of Lake Superior. It offers three race distances — 22, 46 and 100 kilometers, which makes it by far the longest race geared specifically to cross country skiers in the region. 

The race begins and ends at Cascade River State Park, and 

combines three interconnected trail systems

 near Lutsen, Minn. — the Norpine, Cascade River and Bally Creek trails. 

A couple winters ago, Allie Rykken of St. Paul was skiing those trails, and was blown away not only by their beauty, but how they were all connected, offering miles and miles of skiing. 

She felt like she wanted to ski them all in a day, but knew she couldn’t without some support. 

“So I kind of thought like, why not put together a day where people can ski all of these trails, and if they want to race it, cool, but otherwise you’ve got 12 hours to ski the 100K, so hopefully people can do it.”

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Rykken works for the Loppet Foundation in the Twin Cities, and is an endurance athlete herself— she takes part in long-distance trail running, canoeing and bike races. 

The Ski North Ultra, she said, is in the same spirit as ultra marathons in those disciplines. 

“I’ve just seen a lot of other endurance sports really take to heart the concept of finishing a race— where it’s more about the experience and the adventure of the day, than speed,” Rykken said. 

The race joins a couple other ultra races along the North Shore — the Superior 100 Mile Trail Race, and the Lutsen 99er mountain bike race. 

It’s significantly longer than other major cross country ski races in the region. The American Birkebeiner, Mora Vasaloppet and other ski marathons are all around 50 kilometers. 

The Arrowhead 135 is longer, but isn’t specifically a ski race — most participants bike or run. 

The classic-style Ski North Ultra begins and ends at Cascade River State Park. 

Rykken said she’s heard positive feedback since first publicizing the race about a week ago. Her goal is to have 100 people sign up this first year.

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The new 100-kilometer Ski North Ultra scheduled for later this winter along the North Shore of Lake Superior will be the longest race specifically for cross country skiers in the region. 

New 100-kilometer ski race scheduled for northern Minnesota this winter

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