By day, Andy Carlson ’07/M.S. ’10 is designing a net-zero bioenergy plant that will produce 45 million gallons per year of jet fuel and renewable premium gasoline. 
By night, the ag engineering graduate left a human footprint throughout Brookings as he trained for the Hennepin Hundred, a 100-mile race along a canal in Illinois.
The corn-based isobutanol plant is to be built on 240 acres east of Lake Preston along Highway 14 in east-central South Dakota. It is being developed by Gevo, a publicly traded company headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, whose mission is to transform renewable energy and carbon into energy-dense liquid hydrocarbon fuels that when burned have the potential to yield net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.
Groundbreaking on the $750 million plant is planned for the spring with it to be in full operation by the first half of 2024.
Carlson, a Lake Preston High School graduate and an Erwin native, joined Gevo in June as plant engineering leader. He had been at South Dakota Soybean Processors in Volga since 2003, starting while he was a college student and was the project engineer when he decided to join the green energy firm.
But Carlson’s running career goes back even farther. “I’ve always been a runner. I ran cross country and track at Lake Preston and running was my preferred form of exercise in college.”
First marathon was in 2009
Carlson, 38, ran his first marathon (26.2 miles) in 2009. He has run four since and for a long time considered the marathon to be the ultimate distance. About four years ago, a friend asked him to join a Ragnar trail relay run through the trail system at Rib Mountain, Wisconsin. Carlson was one of four runners and logged a total of 36 miles over 24 hours.
That led him to run a 50K (31 miles) race in the Black Hills a couple of years ago. It left the father of four looking for a bigger challenge.
“I had read about Hennepin Hundred in Trail Runner magazine, how it was a flat course on a nice trail. I thought, if I’m going to do this, I don’t need to be dealing with a lot of elevation changes,” said Carlson, who registered for the Oct. 2-3 race as soon as registration opened in early February. It quickly hit the cap of 300 runners.
He had about a 40-mile per month base when he started ultratraining in January, logging 125 to 150 miles per month.
Spouse support a big key
One month he ran a 5K (3.1 miles) every day. One month he ran a 10K every day. In addition, he did some bicycling for cross training. Not being a morning person and having four kids ages 1 to 8 meant Carlson recorded many of his miles after 10 p.m. Nonetheless, his wife, Staci (Duffy ’10), did a lot of solo parenting. “She is not disappointed the race is over,” joked Carlson.
However, Staci was a “rock star” in supporting Carlson’s training and his 100-mile quota.
“One of the things I love about Andy is his ability to set and achieve goals. When he signed up for the 100-mile race, I wanted to give him the time he needed to be successful,” Staci Carlson said.
She was a one-person support crew for Carlson during the Hennepin Hundred. There were 20 aid stations on the course and Staci was able to meet him at most aid stations. She carried some supplies, but mostly she carried encouragement. Staci was posting Carlson’s progress on Facebook and reporting favorable comments.
“One person told me, ‘I stayed up until 2:30 a.m. and when I got up, the first thing I did was check on you,’” Carlson reported.
Such encouragement feels pretty good when you’re running hour after hour, basically by yourself. In a Facebook posting after the race, Carlson wrote, “Thanks for all of your interest and support surrounding my recent race. Staci did a fantastic job crewing for me and keeping me up to date on your comments. I thought of you all often as I pushed through the miles.”
Staci Carlson added, “It was thrilling to watch him accomplish such an amazing feat. The kids and I are so proud of him!”
One buckle not enough?
He never thought of quitting. “I had a ton of endorphins flowing and a bunch of determination. My muscles were tired but my mind stayed sharp.”
Carlson could run sub-7-minute miles for a 5K, but his goal in the Hennepin Hundred was not to exceed an 11-minute pace while the body was fresh. By going easy on the throttle early and minimizing time stopped at aid stations, he was able to reach both his goals—foremost finishing and secondarily finishing under 24 hours. His time was 23 hours, 27 minutes and 15 seconds.
All finishers receive a Hennepin Hundred belt buckle, but sub-24-hour finishers get the “fancy” model. Carlson was 47th out of 136 finishers.
Carlson gave himself two weeks to recover before going on a 2½-mile jog. He said it felt good to get a shot of running endorphins after the two-week withdrawal and
is considering another 100-mile run.
“By completing this race, I can now register for the Western States 100. When registration opens, I’ll sign up for that lottery. I consider that the mecca of ultradistance racing in the United States. If I should get drawn for that, I would want to do that. And I really like the Black Hills 100 races. If the right person came up to me and asked, ‘Would you train with me for this 100-miler?’ I probably would.”
When Carlson mentioned to Staci about competing in another 100-mile ultramarathon, she teased, “Let me get back to you on one.”
–Dave Graves
