Marquette Trail Running: Fun In The Forest
Summer trail running series bringing folks together for fun in the forest!
Marquette’s gotten a lot of recent press and notoriety for its ever-expanding network of trails. At the center of the limelight tends to be beer-drinking, bearded guys on bikes. Quietly though, a different group make their way through the forest with an ancient camaraderie and connection; trail runners.
Runners on the south Marquette trails in July 2015. People of all ages come together to enjoy some healthy exercise and competition in the summer Marquette Trail Running series.
Along a dirt road south of town on a Thursday evening, a group of two dozen people smile, joke amongst themselves and exchange friendly greetings. There are children as young as eight years old, adults pushing seventy, men and women alike. It’s an assemblage of locals that might seem to lack connection were they not all wearing running shoes.
A folding table is strewn with socks, snacks, t-shirts and assorted sports supplements. There’s a huge box of bananas. A water cooler. Beside the table a colorfully hand-painted board. Next to the board, a roll of tape. A new runner arrives, hurries to the table and writes his name on a piece of tape, affixing it to his shirt. The man behind the table moves to draw a line across the road in the dirt with his heel. This is our signal things are about to get underway, and the crowd’s murmurings die down as we move to the line together. I position myself next to a woman about my age. I recognize her, and give her a friendly chiding about having blown past me in the last mile of a race earlier this year. I decide I’ll pace with her, to avoid that same fate this time. The director offers a humble thanks to the crowd for coming and explains the evening’s course. We’re going to run about 4 miles, taking a route up to the top of Mount Marquette and then down again to the finish. With a brief countdown we’re off through the golden forest-filtered light.
Participants gather for the start of a Marquette Trail Running series event in July 2015. (photo by Ron Caspi)
This is the Marquette Trail Running trail series. Started in 2009, the annual summer trail series consists of fun, family-and-friends-oriented events around the Marquette area each summer. Unlike larger more publicized events, these races are volunteer-led, donation-based events bringing together a variety of ages and personalities who all share a love of trail running. Informally organized and marketed only via Facebook, word of mouth and a handful of small flyers, the events draw a colorful cross-section of Marquette’s running community and hum with a vibrant feel of friendship and togetherness.
The man who drew the starting line – Andrew Rickauer – is also the man behind maintaining the trail series. What started as a self-described “selfish” effort to create opportunity for him to fit training into a busy work and family life wound up becoming a labor of love that would see him investing a lot of time and effort organizing volunteers, soliciting give-a-ways from sponsors, setting and clearing courses and keeping up enough grassroots marketing to ensure there were runners at the start each race. A long-time runner himself, Andrew’s father was a race organizer with whom Andrew put together his first event as a kid; a triathlon. Starting a trail series in the Marquette area had been on his mind for some time, but when a group of local trail runners began organizing the area’s first Trail Ultramarathon, Andrew realized the timing was right to put his vision to action. From that time he has kept the trail series going much like he approaches his own trail running; strong, solid, steady and fun.
Andrew Rickauer runs an event for the Marquette Trail Running series in July 2015. Rickauer is responsible for starting up the annual summer series as well as organizing the events and maintaining the trails. (photo by Ron Caspi)
The series consists of eight races each year. Runners nominate one another for race prizes and many take a turn at helping set and clear courses, helping to offload some of the effort required. At the series end, the year’s award winners are presented with season awards which have been uniquely hand-crafted by Andrew in materials and motifs that echo the forested UP setting.
On this cool summer evening, I cross the finish line and stick my piece of tape to the board, fifth place in the men’s division. I’ve managed to stay close with my chosen pacer and have some enjoyable conversation along the way, so I’m happy with the training and the time I’ve turned in. I join the other runners as we all cheer on the remaining finishers. The smiles are broader and the eyes brighter still than they were at the race’s start, and everyone is offered a friendly farewell to go with their post-race banana. Whether you’re a seasoned trail running veteran or a total novice to the trails – the Marquette Trail Running trail series is a fun way to get out on the trails this summer. Upcoming races are August 6th and 20th, with a final trail championship race on September 10th. For more information on running or volunteering, follow Marquette Trail Running on Facebook.
Kids run during a Marqette Trail Running event in July 2015. (photo by Ron Caspi)
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