Blame Danny and Todd - The Marji Gesick 100 Race Report
MARQUETTE (Ultra Running Magazine) - After hearing about this epic race, I begged my husband to support me to run my first 100 (and running race period) in eight years. A lot has changed since podiuming at Leadville 100 in 2011 – a name change, three kids, and even a career change. And it was worth dusting off my shoes.
The Marji Gesick is better known as a mountain bike race but soon will be well-known in the ultra running world, offering 100 mile and 50 mile runs. It also features “the worst of both worlds” with a 100 mile duathlon. As no surprise, the 100 mile run starts with a LeBike – a ½ mile bike ride! I survived on a borrowed bike from my pacer – my first time on a gravel bike. Needless to say, I’m glad a fellow racer advised me to pick a good line for the loose sand on a blind downhill.
Ellen kept me motivated throughout the race.
With no official aid stations this race takes a self-supported ethos. However, there are plenty of access points for crews to assist along the course (my crew had 13 places where they gave me support). Plus nearly all the other crews were offering assistance (which was a life-saver when I ran out of water). Pacers are allowed, although most runners decide to tackle solo.
Andrea (left) and crew Ellen (right) pose next to a sign blaming the race director for the tough course.
The course goes through the heart of the largest city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Marquette, as well as the mining towns of Ishpeming and Negaunee, passing several mine remnants including a sidewalk in the middle of the forest. Nearly the entire race is on trail, mostly singletrack with spurts of doubletrack. The scenery was outstanding with countless vistas, rock outcroppings, and lakes but it’s hard to take in when you need to make sure you don’t fall flat on your face on all the technical trails or miss a turn. The apple trees along the back half of the course provided a much needed pick-me-up many times, especially since I struggled to eat anything dry without consuming large amounts of water.
This was the fourth year of the run (the race started a year earlier as a bike race) with a grand total of 13 belt buckles awarded for sub-30 hour runners. This year only a quarter of the field finished. Don’t blame the weather or trail conditions – it couldn’t have been better – overcast most of the race with a high just over 70F yet mild with an overnight low of 60F and only a handful of avoidable soggy spots on the trails. In fact, I was surprised to keep my shoes dry the entire day. So what’s the reason for the low finisher rate? As the signs on the course say: Blame Danny. Blame Todd. Danny and Todd designed a course to test one’s limits. And it’s only fitting that the actual course was 106 miles.
How can a race in the Midwest compare to the legendary mountain races? It felt like Todd and Danny found every climb in the county for us to climb, totaling over 14,000 feet of elevation gain, mostly back loaded in the second half of the race. As Danny puts it, “It's fun. In a sadistic sort of way.” The biggest climbs according to the elevation profile up Mount Marquette and the ski hill weren’t even notable compared to constant climbs in the last 45 miles of the race. It made the last 15 miles of the Leadville 100 seem like a cake walk. The worst part was dreading the downhills more than the uphills. Sore quads aside, the technicality of the downhills required nimble footwork to avoid a digger – quite a task in the middle of the night. My favorite (actually not at all) was when I had to come to a dead stop on the signed work around for the actual feature about 5 miles from the finish line. I stood there trying to figure out how to handle the four foot drop off – but at least I didn’t have to carry a bike!
So if you want to avoid the crowds yet find an epic challenge attempt the Marji Gesick...we’ll see if you have it in you to be one of the few to get to the finish line
Related: Read blog post on the race