The expo was in a local hotel, so I booked our room there. The place was nuts with people when we arrived. It seemed like way more than the race could hold, but perhaps the tiny hotel played into it. We got settled then headed over to the pasta feed. They had a nice simple meal with plenty of food. I chatted with a few other runners. Everyone was really friendly. We were so far north that sunset wasn’t until close to 10 PM – that kept me up later than I planed, but I woke up early before catching the boat.
This is easily the most scenic marathon I’ve run. The course is on an island in Lake Superior just off the coast of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just off the coast means we took a 10 minute ferry boat ride to get to the run.
I met up with a bunch of Marathon Maniacs before the race. Once again, I had run the fewest marathons in the Maniac crowd with my 15 marathons. We posed for pictures with a group including Chuck Engle – the eventual winner of the marathon (he also won the Hatfield-McCoy race that I ran in June). There were lots of people from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. I settled into a good pace with Brian running his first marathon and a fellow Maniac named Eric. I explained that my boys shared their first names, so they should feel free to act like 11 and 10 year olds – and I’d feel right at home.
The island has a few cabins and several campgrounds connected by trails and dirt roads. The first 5 miles of the course is mostly flat and runs through the forest. When we emerged from the forest, we had about a 1 mile run on the beach – which is gorgeous, but not very good for running. We re-entered the forest and I felt a slight need for the bathroom. I didn’t realize that at mile 7, I was passing the last pit toilet that I’d see for nearly a fifteen miles. Because this was a trail run, the aid stations were pretty far apart. I asked about a port-o-pot at the next aid station and they had no idea. I eventually stopped in the woods, sending my running companions ahead without me. I felt so much better after the pit stop. Unfortunately, my head and body weren’t in great shape.
At the expo, we listened to a talk by the park ranger. She had suggested stopping at a number of overlooks to take in the view. I’m not normally such a tourist, but the view was spectacular and I did stop about five or six times to just soak it all in. At mile 15, the course took us for another run along the beach. Coming off the beach, we had a challenging hill climb. Everyone had to walk this hell, er, I mean hill. Once I got up the hill, I had the sense that rest of the course was all uphill. I stopped at an aid station and took my time choking down some HEED – that stuff is awful. A woman came in walking who looked pretty bad. I asked if she wanted to run and she mumbled complaints about falling down – I didn’t think she’d make it more than a mile or two and this was before mile 18. I left her with good intentions of running the rest of the way. That lasted for about 2 miles then I just fell apart. I tried walking at regular intervals. By the time I got to the last aid station at mile 22, I was a mix of running for ¼ mile then walking for ½ mile. A photographer hollered out that we might want to run for the photo op – probably a wise move since I was among the walking wounded. I hit the last turn and saw my family – talk about a total adrenaline rush. I finished out the last ¼ mile in less than 2 minutes.
My son and I headed straight for Lake Superior for a post run refreshing dip. The lake is usually in the upper 40s, but after a mild winter, it was in the low 70s – not quite an ice bath, but it was very refreshing. I tried to get fully immersed, but I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stand up again.
On the course, I recognized Jerry Boone – he was at Hatfield-McCoy (Williamson, WV) and Blue Ridge (Roanoke, VA). Jerry wears a shirt that says “Marathons won’t kill you. You’ll pass out first.” on the back. The shirt always generates a lot of attention. Jerry won his age group at this race – he’s over 60 and runs all the time. This routine of a marathon a month has introduced me to a lot of new people … and now I’m starting to recognize them.
This is probably my favorite marathon, but I doubt if I’ll go back for another one. It’s pretty far away. We flew into Detroit, rented a car, and then drove for about 7 hours to get there. The run was the first day of our two week Michigan vacation – a great trip, but not likely to be repeated.
Grand Island Trail Marathon
Time: 5:01:10
Course: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/42905826
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