Superior Performance athlete Meg Rubesh was mentioned in Snowshoe Magazine.  For the complete arcticle Click Here.

Also this past weekend Superior Performance athletescompeted in the Northwood’s Snowshoe Championships at Lester Park in Duluth,Minnesota.  Elite Team member Chris Rubesch finished 5th in the halfmarathon race with a time of 2 hours 7 minutes.  With this time Chris placedfirst in his age group.  Also racing was Meg Rubesch.  She competedin the 10km race and finished 4th.  Her time was 1 hour 9 minutes, withthat she placed second in her age group.  After the race Chris said thathe felt strong and that with his focus in ultra marathons he was very happywith his performance.  "I could feel that if I was going to focus onsnowshoeing I would like to be more powerful, but since my goals are in runningI feel that my performance was very strong," said Chris after the race. "Running in snowshoes is definitely different than justrunning."  Way to go Chris and Meg on a great weekend of racing!

This weekend Superior Performance Elite Team member Jennifer Houck raced in The Aramco Houston Half Marathon.  She finished with a time of 1:15:52 over the 13.1 mile course finishing in 16th place.  "As ateam we are extremely excited to have Jen on board for this season," said Jason Kask.   "Her results this weekend were very exciting; it should lead to a great season!  I spoke with her Chad Salmela, (Jen'scoach) about her race; he was quite impressed with the result.  He said her training is coming along as planned and that Jen should be ready for another great season once summer rolls around." 

Today Superior Performance's High Performance Director, Jason Kask, landedin Australia.  He is about to begin his Master's Degree in HighPerformance Science.  Classes will commence January 18th at BondUniversity.  "I am excited for this experience," saidJason.  "The opportunity to study in such a hotbed for sportsperformance will be a great asset to Superior Performance in it's goal inbringing world class coaching to it's athletes."  Jason went on tosay, "I was both honored and a little surprised to learn of my acceptanceto the program.  Initially it was limited to Australian Citizens. The program is confined to only eight students which will make it exceptionallybeneficial.  I am sure the ability to interact with the professors willprove to be extremely valuable.  It is an exciting opportunity to bothlearn about and live Australian sporting culture."

To follow along with Jason's adventure down under long on to www.jasonkask.blogspot.com.

Jason will be blogging his adventures in sport, academia, and life.

Windy but dry conditions greeted the participants of the 2009 HalloweenHustle. On Saturday October 31st 96 dedicated souls braved the cold tocomplete the 5km course. Many dressed in costume that added to the festive spirit of the day. The winning man, Eric Hartmark, dressed as a ghost clown, set the stage with a time of 16 minutes and 15 seconds. Onthe women's side Jennifer Houck bested the field with a time of 18 minutes and 15 seconds. She was dressed as a ballerina. The most coveted trophy of the day went to Loren Janson for best costume. He came dressed as the man that caught Spiderman and scored extra points for creativity and originality. With all the great costumes it was hard for race organizers to pick a favorite. Some of the standouts that deserve honorable mention were the crazy cat lady, hot pink pit crew, ketchup and mustard, Minnie Mouse, flying pig (swine flu), dog, jogging grandma, and a host of others.  Thanks to all who participated!  For full results click HERE .  For photos click HERE

Sunday, Superior Performance Elite Team member Chris Rubesch ran to 8th place in the Glacial Trail 50k. As with most races this is not the end of the story, the 5 hours 8 minutes and 51 seconds were filled with a mix of emotions that is common in running. Rubesch ran strong but conservatively for the first 40k. His grueling pace had propelled him to second place and with 10k to go he made an impressive move and took the lead. "I was running strong and it felt that it was time to go for it," said Chris. "The race was unfolding as well as anyone could have hoped, the move Chris made was perfectly placed and he is in the best shape of his life right now," said Jason Kask, Rubesch's coach. "I am continually impressed with the tactical instincts Chris displays on the trail. It is easy to train muscles to respond the way one would like, but the mind is much more difficult. An athlete must embed the correct race plan and be able to change it on the fly as the race unfolds during a time when mind is trying to block out what it is feeling," said Kask. After this Rubesch’s races started to turn sour, while his body was still responding superbly he got on the wrong course and he (and 12 others) ran approximately 13 extra kilometers. “This was unfortunate”, said Kask. “ I know Chris was disappointed about how the race ended. With the way he has been running I am sure he would have finished the race with a commanding lead, but we will never know. While it would have been easy to start pointing fingers, Chris was very grateful to the event coordinators for putting on the race which goes to show that Chris is not only a great runner but also a model of sportsmanship.”

It was a glorious weekend for Superior Performance!  In Stillwater on Saturday Jen Houck won the Lumberjack 10 miler to begin the weekend in a time of 57:51.  She came through the 10km mark in second place, five seconds down.  Jen then put down the hammer and closed the gap before opening a 9 second margin by the finish. Later that afternoon Chris Rubesch ran his way from 7th at 25 miles to finish 4th in the Voyager 50 Mile Trail Ultra.  With a record number of participants it was an impressive feat in his debut season as an ultra marathoner.  "Its impressive to see a 23 year old race with these seasoned veterans in an ultra" said Jason Kask, Rubesch's coach,  "Ultra marathoning is not a sport that one can just jump into, experience definitely counts when you have to push your body to the limits for almost eight hours. Especially to have a strong finish that is amost unheard of for a rookie."  To round out the weekend Jason Kask, Superior Performance's High Performance Director, won the Borealis Sprint Triathlon in Kenora, Ontario.  "I was in town coaching at the Tops and Bottoms (rowing) Regatta and decided it would be a good finish to the weekend," said Jason.  After coming out of the water in third position he posted a stellar bike time and came into the second transition, 100m in the lead.  This lead grew to almost two minutes at the finish line.  "It was a good race, I was especially happy with the bike, the 3km climb was tough but made for a fun descent," he said.

Jen Houck, the latest addition to the Superior Performance Elite Team, won the Park Point 5 miler in Duluth, MN in record time Friday evening.  Houck broke the current course record that has stood for over a decade by 6 seconds.  Her time of 28:30 bested the rest of the women's field by almost two minutes. 

Superior Performance Elite Team Member Chris Rubesch breezed to a 5th place finish in the Half Voyager Trail Marathon on Saturday.  Under sunny skies and breezy conditions it was a fast day for the Half Voyager.  "It was nice that it was dry, every one's times were much better than last year", said Chris.  Chris used this race as a training run in preparation for the Voyager Trail Ultra marathon July 28th.  While previewing the corse Chris felt good as he eased across the finish line.  "I had no intention of worrying about my place", Chris said.  "I was taking it pretty easy and was surprised by my place at the finish.  This bodes well for the full in a few weeks, hopefully that goes as well."

Superior Performance Elite Team member Chris Rubesch finished fourth at the Trail Mix 50k ultra marathon on Saturday.  The race consisted of four 12.5k loops at Highland Park in Bloomington Minn.  After running in forth Chris made a valiant effort to close the gap to third place.  In the final lap he made up five minutes on third before being narrowly beaten to the finish line.  He finished in a time of 3 hours 52 minutes and 42 seconds.  Congratulations Chris!

Chris Rubesch, Trail Mix 2009 (Mizuno #22)