More About the Book

The longest winter ultra-endurance race in the continental United States stretches 80 solitary miles on an abandoned, remote Wisconsin railway bed when this region would indifferently be called Tuscobia’s hinterland.

The frozen Tuscobia trail pounds athletes, particularly at night, when one sometimes becomes mesmerized. Just surviving to finish becomes the only goal in mind.

Acting like a magnet for lovers of beautiful trails through some of the country’s most forested areas, the snow-covered trails follow history along the Tuscobia miles.

The annual Tuscobia Winter Ultras sport the winter monster, where each endurance athlete pulls their survival gear out and back 160 miles on a sled (called a pulk). No outside assistance is allowed. You are your own best friend.

While stressing the physical element to the max, the mental complex an athlete endures may make one crazy tough. Competitors will suffer out there, providing a foundation for creating wild mental scenes while dreaming dreams along the way.

One fantasizes, hallucinates, and accepts cruel mental trips there, so much so their relevance may seem humorous looking back.

But at the time, they played realistic. They are so real. You can touch them. See them. Be them.

Phillip Gary Smith authored Ultra Superior, the original book on the Superior Forest Trail Ultra Races Events.