i really want to start speedrunning this game but i also don't want to delete my current save file to do so. is there any way to store the save file on my computer and restore it at a later date?

Save file is saved in game software ,there is no way to save file to the computer.If you don’t want to delete the current saved save file, i think you need to buy new software.

hrmm i was afraid of that. thank you for your help though!

There are various devices available that can transfer save data off of a game card. I'm sure there are homebrew apps capable as well, but other than that, there's no official way to do it