Marji Gesick was a Chippewa Indian chief who lived near Negaunee, Michigan. In 1845 he led Philo Everett to the site where Iron Ore had been discovered in the range south of town. Three things are important about Marji Gesick in relation to this post: 1) He was promised a stake in the mining company but never got what was promised to him. 2) His name translates to Bad Day. 3) The toughest single day bike race in America was named after him.
In ultra running, horse races turn into foot races (Western States) and “people wear shoes to bike races.” “The Marji” (as it is dis-affectionately known) added running to a mountain bike race a few years after its inception.
Almost a year ago, Patrick and I signed up for a bad day, hoping the Marji would make good on its promise of adventure on the trails and mountains of iron ore rich Marquette, Negaunee, and Ishpeming.
In the year between signing up and toeing the line a lot happened, but blogging about those things didn’t. Really all of the running that happened over the last year was training for the Marji 50 that we knew would be over 60 miles and therefore the longest run we’d ever done. Here’s a recap of the adventures that led to Marji:
- I ran the Yankee Springs Winter Challenge 50k. Pat was supposed to run it but got Covid the week before. I ran it in around 6h20m and felt good through it all. No stomach issues. My goal was to eat food at the aid stations and I did. It was about 15 degrees out and some fat bikers came through and groomed most of the snow the night before, making it runnable.
- In May, Patrick and I ran the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore trail unsupported (filtering water and carrying all calories on board). This was about a 9.5 hour effort. It was the first warm day of the year and we both struggled with the heat a little. But that was mostly due to some misinformation about water being available.
- I had a two week vacation in the UP in July and got a lot of trail miles and elevation training in. It was glorious to wake up and have the 4 peaks be my Burchfield. I got to meet Marquette runner Bill Nolan which was a plus.
- Patrick and I both put in well over 1200 miles in training in 2022. Pat ran a double Poto in August like a total stud.
- I got Covid in August and it knocked me down pretty good. It was about 7 weeks before the race and I feel like I never quite got my highest gear back. But I fought hard to be as ready as I could be and I toed the line feeling like I could finish.
There were other things that we did to be ready as well. Patrick went full Patagonia on preparation for Marji. One of the draws to the race in the first place was his enjoyment of logistics and figuring this race out. Marji is self-supported. This means that if you want aid you need to have people in the right places at the right times to give you water, food, headlamps, trekking poles, etc… There’s no map to help with this. Pat did amazing work. He studied the course and did research on past runners. We came up with a great plan and a great crew. Jon, Franco and Tom helped get us through by meeting us at 8 spots throughout the 17 hour event.
Last year for the Marquette 50 miler we stayed in Sue Blackrock’s basement. This year we stayed at the closest possible AirBnB to Blackrocks Brewing. When we got into town on Friday we zipped around to familiarize our crew with the aid stations we’d planned and then headed to the house and across the street to packet pickup which was conveniently located at the brewery. Our crew received matching shirts (like Jack White roadies) and we had mostaccioli according to tradition before we hit the hay.
Morning stuff went well and we headed out at 6:15am to walk 6 blocks down to the start at the downtown Marquette ore dock. As we walked out the door we ran into another runner who was staying below us. It was Michelle Pede. She was one of the runners Pat and I had followed on Strava. Her training had been super impressive and we really thought she was poised to win the race. She was the only runner we knew who had run more miles than us and it was all in elevation because of where she lives. How crazy to run into her of all people and be staying in the same house.
We talked as we walked down and waited for the start. She mentioned some things that we hadn’t even thought of like gaiters to keep sand and rocks out, having a coach, and practicing with trekking poles. Welp!
The gun went off right at 7am (which must bring the average start time down – inside joke). We were off. We ran the first couple of miles on the paved NCT south along the lakeshore. We talked to Paul James who we had met on our Manistee River Trail (mis)adventure. We got to the steep grade of Marquette Mountain – or is it Mount Marquette – we hiked up and then took care not to blow out our quads in mile 3 on the way down.
We wondered if our crew would be where they were supposed to be and they were! We had a successful hand off and tried to run at “Ice Cream pace” for the first 20 miles. That’s the pace you’d run if you were running to the ice cream shop. Why are you running to the ice cream shop? I’m not sure.
The first 20 felt pretty good for both of us. Like MQT last year, it was hotter and more humid than average. We were both being good hydro homies and drinking all the fluids we onboarded at each aid station and we were eating too.
I love running with Pat! We committed to do the whole race together since the only aid was what we had set up for both of us and if we got separated it would be too tough for our crew. Before the race I had this thought: The chances of both of us having a great day are slim. Turns out I was right and around mile 30 I was the one who stopped having a great day. Unfortunately for Pat, that meant sticking with me. I’m grateful!
Here’s what happened: I was drinking all of my fluids plus bonus fluids even though I had minor stomach issues. Yet, I wasn’t sweating and I hadn’t peed since about 10am. I wasn’t sloshy either and I just couldn’t figure it out. Looking back I probably should have drank even more. At the same time, around mile 35 I started to develop blisters. I’ve never had that problem before and so I didn’t really know what to do besides keep shuffling. I tried to work on them at the mile 42.5 aid at Jackson Mine Park (where Marji Gesick gave away the ore deposit) but it was too far gone. Looking back I wore socks that I had worn in many 20+ mile training runs but they weren’t as thick as what I usually wear for ultras. With the lack of hydration came more stomach issues and a lot of leg cramping. Luckily, “cramps aren’t real” is an effective thing I tell myself and I just keep going till the pain stops. It was a lot of pain.
On top of all of that, one of the unique features of Marji is that it is still a bike race. Mostly, a bike race really. So all day we had to move out of the way of bikers and often we’d yo-yo with a group as we’d hike up the hills faster than they could and then they’d coast down faster than us. Almost all of the bikers were great and I’d say it added to the craziness of the adventure.
After mile 42.5 we grabbed headlamps and trekking poles for the last 20 which would be hilly and dark. It was a slog, especially for me. PATRICK WAS A TOTAL ROCKSTAR and put on an ultra running clinic. It was a thing of beauty. He drank fluids, he peed, he ate, he ran, he stuck with me.
At mile 52 we met our crew for the last time. Stopping made my stomach go crazy. I think my body thought I was done. I gripped the top edge of my van door and told Pat I thought I was done. When you drop out of this race you have to text #QUITTER to Todd Pocquette, the race director. I was so close. I sat on the edge of my van and after a couple of minutes the stomach pain subsided enough to stand and we headed up into the darkness.
The last 10 miles took 4 hours. It was so tough. In the last 5 miles I even recovered enough to scamper a bit. We kept bemoaning that it felt like it was all uphill. The evil mastermind behind the course is Danny Hill (only more appropriate last name would be Hell). When we looked back at the elevation chart we realized that it was indeed all uphill. The downhills offered no respite or reward and then it was back uphill. The whole race was somehow uphill (topographically) and downhill (physically) at the same time!
We collected the last of 3 tokens on the last hill in the town of Ishpeming and jogged triumphantly toward the finish at 12:45am. It felt so good to be done. My body held up long enough to present my tokens and be counted as a finisher. Pat went back to our place with Jon. I sat on the edge of my van and dry heaved for about 5 minutes. It was the loudest and grossest sound I’ve ever made and it echoed across the night near the finish. All in all, Marji Gesick was a bad day and it kept its promise of being a race where you “find your limits.” I definitely found my limit.
The Details:
- 63.45 miles
- Longest run
- 1st 100k
- 7,408 ft of elevation
- Pat and I tied for 8th! (although appropriately I was listed as 9th)
- 80 people signed up, 38 showed up, 22 finished, 16 #quittered
- We both got 50 mile Pr’s by about 30 minutes
- A woman took 1st place overall and 3 of the top 4 places (Michelle Pede took 4th)
- Pat fell and has an extremely bruised rib
- I don’t think I can pursue a 100 miler – I truly found my limit. But I’m excited about staying trained for “ultra” pursuits in the 50k range
MI Trail Challenge 