News & Stories

Loopet Loppet 2021 Recap

Hey Loopet participants, volunteers, and everyone else who came out to watch and cheer!

Thank you so much for coming out to the 2021 Loopet Loppet and making the event such a
success.

Together you ran or helped people to run 942 laps totaling 3,869.4 miles on a spectacular day at
Wirth Park. The buzz was alive with runners, families, friends, and spectators in the start/finish
area all day coming to a crescendo as the sun dipped and the runners switched to the shorter
one mile loop.

With a field of 157 total runners (106 running solo, and 51 running as part of a relay), 66
individuals went further than a marathon earning themselves the coveted “Ultra Finisher” sticker.
9 runners went further than 50 miles with the longest run of the day topping out at an incredible
63.1 miles. The leading team knocked out 87.4 miles. Full results can be found on the event
website. Runners ranged in age from 19 to 65 and came in from 8 states including as far away
as Alaska.

As a running coach and race director, my favorite thing in the world is seeing the smiles and
occasionally tears on people’s faces when they tell me that they have pushed themselves
further than they have ever gone. The thing I love about the Loopet is that the smile (even if it is
hidden behind a grimace of pain from the day’s activities) is no less whether it is someone who
ran 5 miles on trails for their first time as part of a relay, someone who has just completed their
first Ultramarathon, or an ultramarathon veteran who has just put in 50+ miles.

Runners went through at least 3 Gallons of pickles, 12 pounds of bacon, enough Halloween
candy to supply an entire neighborhood of kids, and countless pancakes, grilled cheese,
quesadillas, and wontons. Kids in the start/finish area were no less productive helping to carve
15 pumpkins for our awards and going through over 6 gallons worth of bubbles.

A huge thank you to everyone for helping keep our park clean! Going for a run on the Loopet
Loop yesterday, I only found less than a handful of garbage that had fallen out of folks’ pockets.

This event would simply not be possible without the amazing set of volunteers that we have. There were some volunteers who spent more than 14 hours out there on Sunday showing up to
get things set up in the dark and making sure that everything got cleaned up after the finish in
the dark. 30 volunteers put in hundreds of hours getting everything set up and cleaned up and
fueling, timing, and tending to the medical needs of the runners throughout the day.

A huge thanks to the Loppet Foundation and the Loppet Staff for hosting and supporting this
event. The Loopet would not be what it is without the incredible Loppet staff and an amazing
venue like the Trailhead and the gorgeous trails that are maintained throughout the year by the
foundation.

Thanks also to the folks from HealthSource Chiropractic in Edina for being out there to help
provide massage and other aid to help our runners get ready to go out for yet another loop or to
recover after their epic efforts.

Come back out to the Trailhead on Thursday, October 14th to learn more about the work of the
Loppet Foundation at the Loppet Community Celebration. Get one last running event in before
the snow flies and the skis come out at the Turkey Traverse 5k Run/Walk on November 20-21.

I look forward to seeing you all out on the trails!

David Bitner
Loopet Loppet Race Director