by Amanda Leightner
The Marquette Trail 50 has it all: challenging climbs, lakefront scenery and possibly Sasquatch. The race is run on parts of the Noquemanon Trail Network in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in mid-August with 100k, 50 mile and 50k distances.
The course itself is arranged into two lollipops. There is a shorter loop of about 10.5 miles that is run first, leading back to the start site. Runners then travel along the “stem” to the bigger loop of about 20.5 miles. Finally, runners travel along the stem again, making their way back to the finish line at the Forestville Trailhead. The route has four significant peaks: Sugarloaf, Bareback, Top of the World and Hogsback. Three out of the four are after mile 22. Clearly, they save the worst for last.
The first loop can be summed up in a few statements: Dark. Downhill. Definitive Sasquatch knocks.
Everyone knows that Sasquatch lives in the North Woods. I’ve seen it on Animal Planet, so it must be real. There may have been Sasquatch knocks during this part of the race. Or it could have been runners thumping over a rickety foot bridge, but who can really judge that early in the morning?
After the first loop, the terrain gets pretty technical, quickly becoming rutted and rocky. Near the 14.5-mile mark, runners arrive at the first peak: Sugarloaf. This steep slope is lined with a series of stairs, offering beautiful views at the top of the surrounding trail network.
After Sugarloaf, the course flattens out for quite a bit, although it remains fairly technical, winding near Lake Superior. It is a great point to just ease into your stride and make up for some time. Because after the flat portion, it gets real.
Three out of the four peaks, and the ones with the most elevation, occur after mile 22. The first of these beasts, Bareback, is not actually a hill with a steep, wooded dirt slope. It is basically a rock face. We were climbing up a rock. There was no running. Just climbing.
Next is the third peak, Top of the World. Again, more rock climbing than running. Then, you think you’re almost done. It’s mile 28. What more could be thrown at you? Hogsback, that’s what. These other hills were babies, only mere dwarves compared to Hogsback. The hill starts off with a steep grade of highly rocky, rutted but dirt slope. This quickly transitions into pretty much sheer rock face that runners had to climb up and then maneuver down.
After Hogsback is defeated, it’s almost over. Just another 1.8 miles of plodding to the end. Someone even had the foresight to place a poster board on the trail with these numbers, probably to encourage people not to give it all the finger and surrender themselves to Mother Nature.
The extremity and beauty of the Marquette Trail 50 is difficult to describe. The peaks were challenging, but there were enough flat portions and un-runnable, technical portions to even it out. Strenuous climbs were rewarded with breathtaking views and stretches along beautiful Lake Superior offered cool breezes. The race is a top-notch event with great organization and running company, even if it is Sasquatch.