Rebekka and I flew in to Marquette, Michigan for a mini-vacation and to add one more marathon state (44) and high point (44) to my list. The high point, Mount Arvon, 1929' was an adventure in itself that took us on logging roads some seven miles. That was the just the start of it though, as I tried to take a "short cut" back. 30 miles of tortuous worse-than-4W-drive roads later and we wound up where we had started...

The next day we took a ferry from Munising to Grand Island for the race start at 0700. Grand Island, mostly private until the 1990's when most of it was purchased by the Park Service and turned into a National Recreation Area, is a 23,000 acre mostly uninhabited island. There are a smattering of summer cottages along the southern shore.

The course was outstanding. Up and down on wagon roads and single track and even a couple stints along the beach. At mile 10 I had to make an emergency stop and lost five places. I gained four of them back by race end, but the one I didn't catch was the winner of my age group. I took second in 50-54 and eighth overall.

This is one of the most enjoyable trail marathons I've had the pleasure of running and recommend it highly. This time of year on the U.P. is delightful, with minimal bugs and cool temperatures. Take the boat ride along the Pictured Rocks National Seashore to round out your visit. Spectacular scenery!

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