The Marji Gesick 100 is a 100-mile mountain bike race held in the Marquette area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula every September. It’s not a normal 100 miler — the course is brutal, the cutoffs are tight, and the buckle is legitimately hard to earn. You’re riding through the RAMBA trail system and surrounding terrain, which is rocky, rooty, and relentless. A lot of people don’t finish. The race has a real cult following in the endurance MTB world and the UP in fall is a good place to be. I’ve done this one three times — 2016, 2017, and 2018 — and missed the buckle all three times. Got close in 2016 but 24 minutes short. That one still stings. marjigesick.com
At a glance
| Location | Marquette, Michigan |
| Discipline | Mountain bike race (ultra-endurance) |
| Distance | 100 miles |
| When | September |
| Official site | marjigesick.com |
Results and Race Recaps
2018
Results
| Worst Marji Ride I had | |
| Steve (100 mile) | 81st in 14hr 42min |
Bike setup
| Steve | Bike: Trek Procaliber 9.8 · Wheels: Bontrager Kovee Elite 23 · Tires: Bontrager XR3 (front) / XR2 (rear) · Drivetrain: Sram Eagle |
Strava
2017
Results
| Super hot year and best finish placement | |
| Steve (100 mile) | 23rd in 14hr 5min |
Bike setup
| Steve | Bike: Felt Edict NINE 3 · Wheels: Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro SL · Tires: Conti X-King · Drivetrain: 2 X 10 Shimano XT |
This was my second attempt at the Marji Gesick 100 and definitely not my last. The course was tougher this year and unseasonably high temps made for a brutal day out on the trail. The report is a little long, so you might have to bookmark the page and come back to finish reading. Enjoy!
Marji Gesick 100 Course Layout
It’s a point to point course where the final elevation is above the startline, so it’s all uphill… The course is really awesome actually and is a 100+ miles that connects all the trail systems of Marquette County. You’ll find just about every type of trail that you might expect in a mountain bike course, plus some…
There are barely any flat sections of trail within this course. There is only a few very short flats sections throughout the course and the downhills are not sit back and coast. Many of the downhills will have you out of the saddle and a few off your bike, just like the uphills. There is very few long sustained climbs. They are mostly punchy and many full of rocks and roots. There is about 12,000 feet of climbing and it’s packed into a window of elevation somewhere between a low of around 600 ft and a high of about 1,600 ft.
The Marji Gesick 100 Race
Start back to Forestville Trailhead
I didn’t completely slow roll it out, but I left the start with what felt like a fairly conservative effort with a plan to stay steady and ease up the pace over time, depending how I felt. You see me write often about going out to hard or setting different goals in a race that might hurt my overal finish goal, but this race plan was to race smart, to finish with the best time possible. I was chasing a buckle, but I also was quite aware that the level of difficulty might have been increased over last year and that buckle might be a stretch.
I left the run from a few rows back. Shortly after the start of it, I noticed Jeremiah Bishop running next to me and heard him say he wasn’t ready for that. I don’t hink he was up to the front of the start line when it started. I was running next to him for a short period and then he eventually worked his way forward. I really don’t know what type of placing I was in when I came out of the run.
On the bike, I just rode steady, but was passing people on each rolling up hill through the ski trails. I wasn’t pushing the effort, but just carrying my speed up the hills well. I made the descent down the gravel road, to the small opening and then the hard left up into the trails that would begin the climb toward “Top of The World”. I made the climb up, using the little switchback to the right, but found a steady line of hikers going down the other side and jumped off and fell in line. I was relieved… I really want to ride it, but the rocks were wet and I’d rather ride it for the first time when it’s dry and no other riders to dodge.
I had some weird knee pain with the hike down that freaked me out. I actually had this come up 2 days earlier when doing some lunges with a client during a training session at the gym. It was painful and I picked my way down the rocks, but never felt the pain again once I got back on the bike. I headed down the trail and it felt like the traffic was thin now.
The trail drops out on to a gravel road intersection and then you get a chance to feed as you spin down an old railroad bed. This is one is actually smooth, unlike the one coming in the near future… Anyways, I took the opportunity to eat a waffle before making the u-turn and bringing the singletrack back. The singletrack dumps you right back out at the previous gravel intersection. Last year we took a short section of gravel to the next old rail trail, but this year there was some new singletrack that led us to what is literally an old railroad bed with the old railroad ties still in place. It didn’t feel as harsh as last year, but maybe that was because I was expecting it…
At the end of the rail trail is some nice singletrack that dumped us out on Harlow Lake Rd. This year we were not riding the Angry Bear trail and would take Harlow Lake Rd. to the next trail section. I caught up to the guy that I had seen drop down “Top of The World” and gave him some props for cleaning it. He appreciated the kudos and said that’s what he was here for… Good stuff.
The next section of trail was the same from last year and was rooty with lots of little ups and downs. There is nothing there that flows, you work through all of it. Plus it was all wet from the previous day rain. It eventually turns into a long rocky section, which I believe comes prior to dumping out into a little opening. I think this opening is where I remember seeing the guy in a kilt playing bag pipes. I’m assuming Todd had something to do with that. Nice touch!
There’s some more tough singletrack that mellows out before bringing you to the bottom of Beagle Rd. that we descended to hit the first section of trail leading to “Top of The World” earlier in the morning. I seemed to be feeling ok, but I wasn’t recovering from the short hard efforts that were required to get up and over some of the little rock sections or rooty little hills. I just felt a little weak afterwards and attributed it to the head cold that was still lingering a bit. I just kept a steady pace up the climb and didn’t push it. I think I went up it slower than last year. Once at the top, we took ski trails back up to Forestville instead of Forestville Rd.
I ended up coming back by the barn at the Forestville trailhead about 9 minutes faster than I would have passed by here on the adjacent Forestville Rd. last year. This wasn’t because I was going any faster, but more due to the fact that Angry Bear had been removed and I had not yet hit the trails that would make up for that change. I was about to hit those new trail additions to make up for the absence of Angry Bear…
Forestville Trailhead to HWY 41
The first section of trail, known as Ramblin Man was fast and flowy. I wasn’t in a good flow and rythm though and probably could have ridden through it faster. I was just feeling a little bit off and my head was a little foggy. However, I hit them with no other wheels around me as riders were now getting spread out at this point of the race. Not that I was completely alone, as I could hear riders out in front or behind and also catch a glimpse of them through switchbacks, but nobody was jammed up wheel to wheel at this point.
I crossed over Forestville Rd. to hit Wildcat Trail. I want to say the first part of it carried the spirit of the previous Ramblin Man Trail, but then got more rocky with really steep punchy climbs the deeper I got into it, that forced me into a couple hike-a-bikes. I came up on another rider at some point that was racing the Marji Gesick for the first time and we started chatting as we were hiking up one of the short steep sections. I remember mentioning to him that this was added section and that the trails were definitely much easier and less technical last year once we came back by Forestville.
I also remember coming by a guy sitting out there playing an instrument as well. I can’t remember what he was playing, but I remember him being right near a split in the trail where things were getting tight and rocky. We made some joke together about the rocks, but I could tell he was having a good time watching the riders out there.
The trail eventually turns into Pine Knob Trail, but I can’t remember the exact change in trail. I just remember things getting rockier, steeper and more technical. There were also multiple riders fixing flats through this section. This was definitely not a trail to be running lightweight sidewalled tires. There were some really steep technical hike-a-bikes and some really steep, techical and rocky drops that you had to pick your way down. None of them were really long ups and downs, but just constant work.
I also remember coming out to a spot that I thought I recognized from a picture that Todd had posted a few days prior, saying something about this is where reality check #1 will set in. He was right… I was starting to think that if this new trail addition was any indication of what changes might be ahead later in the course, that I might be throwing lights on to make to Ishpeming.
Once out of Pine Knob, I was on some easy riding trails that are part of what is considered the North Trails loop. I eventually came to the sandy section of trail that weaved up hill and remembered that this was the point that I had commented on last year about hitting a nice flowy section, but later realizing it was actually up hill…
There was some new trail at the end of this that was actually downhill, fast, flowy and included a few jumps or berms. I almost hit the dirt over one of them when I landed with my front wheel turned a bit. It would take us out to Forestville Rd near the bottom by the railroad tracks, versus crossing at the top onto a ski trail like last year. We had to climb back up Forestville Rd to the gravel road that would take us down to a parking area where Lowe’s Trail would start.
I had been riding with Kyle Brierley since leaving the Pine Knob trail and hit the Lowe’s Trail right behind him. He was riding the hills strong, so I just made it my business to stay on his wheel and work up through Lowe’s Trail. Lowe’s Trail is tough old school trail. It’s really much more reminiscent of an old hiking trail than an actual mountain biking trail. It’s work, the entire way with some switchbacks and some real steep punchy climbs. Last year, I had to hike up a couple sections and dab my foot down a couple times. I road every hill in Lowe’s Trail this year and think I only dabbed my foot maybe 1 time. I was definitely riding stronger through this section vs last year.
For the last few miles I was feeling the leg cramps coming on and they were now coming on stronger. I’ve been dealing with this in just about every race I’ve done this year, whether I went out hard or conservative. It’s something that I’ve got to get sorted out. Anyways, I ended up downing one of those shots of pickle juice once I came to an opening that I could hit it while I was riding and not have to stop. Lowe’s trail is a pretty busy trail.
There was one spot that I think was near a power line opening where there was huge thick mud hole with no other way around it. 25 miles into the race and I had thick soupy mud up past my ankles already. I came by some folks that had a little water station set up and recoginized some of the trail from last year as nearing the end of this section. I knew I was close to the HWY-41 crossing at this point.
I found myself weaving through the construction area behind Lowe’s and then found my wife, along with quite a few other SAG folks parked along the side of Lowe’s waiting with bottle and hydration pack hand-ups. I had finished my entire 2L reservoir of CarboRocket and a large bottle of water at this point. That was my plan as well. Whether I needed it or not, I had intended to force the fluids in early since I felt dehydrated going in already with my head cold. I figured I would force the fluids in early to try and stay out in front of the heat driven dehydration, that would come later in the race with the forcasted higher temps on the day.
I was about 15 minutes slower in this last section vs the previous year, which now put me about 6 minutes off my overall pace of hitting this same point at the HWY-41 crossing last year.
HWY 41 to South Trailhead
I swapped out my hydration pack for a freshly filled one, or well it was about 2/3s full. I had 2 packs and had prefilled the other one so it was ready for my wife to hand up to me. I knew I didn’t need a full one to get to the South Trailhead, which is why it was at about 2/3s. I grabbed a fresh water bottle, a couple of waffles and another pickle juice shot to throw in my jersey pocket.
I told my wife that if the new trail additions that I had hit after Forestville were any indication of what some of the new trail might look like in Negaunee, that I might be finishing in the dark. I gave one of my nephews a fist bump and then got going again. My mother in-law was there with my sister in-law and 2 nephews… My mother in-law had been out to a race before, but that was the first time my nephews had seen a bike race and seemed to be grinning about it. Maybe some future mountain bike racers there…
I crossed HWY-41 through the drainage ditch tunnel and headed up the road to the rail trail. There were still folks parked out like last year with a few offering water, but I had just filled mine up. I felt really good heading down the rail trail after crossing under HWY-41 and the leg cramps seemed to go away. I think I ate another waffle or 2 while at it. I didn’t take it lazy on the rail trail, but I didn’t hammer on it either. I just needed to spin my legs out as there really wasn’t much break again for another 30 miles after this section.
This next section of trail was really great riding trail. There is a little connector trail that pops you out on another short road section before really getting into the south trails. There were some folks that had an aid station with water and gatorade set up at the road in front of their house on this short road connector section. I was riding good again and caught 1 rider in the connector trail and then I think another one on the road section. I could tell the rough trail sections at this point were starting to get to people, much like it had myself. The heat was also starting to pick up a bit as well.
I think I rode completely solo from that last road section all the way to the South Trailhead. I really like this section of trail. It’s fairly easy riding with a mix of flowy bench cut trail, switchbacks, a few bridges and a couple jump lines. It wraps around the outside of a golf course and then switchbacks over what I believe is an old dump site. I remember the leg cramps coming on again over the old dump site. I can’t quite remember, but I think I did hit a shot of pickle juice again. The trail climbs up what is called Smiley Trail, which is not a bad climb, but not nearly as much fun as going down it.
I think Smiley dumped out on a wider path, before going into the more technical and rocky section of the Pioneer Loop that would connect to Eh Line. I was slower through Eh Line this year. I had actually been riding this entire section since the HWY-41 crossing stronger than last year, but my head was still a little cloudy and I took it fairly easy on all the table tops coming down Eh Line.
I ended up covering this last section about 7 minutes faster than last year and hit the South Trailhead about 1 minute ahead of when I hit it last year. So, I was still on pace with last years time. But, I would have to pick things up if I wanted a buckle and the heat was definitely starting to set it.
South Trailhead to Ski Hill Parking
I swapped out my hydration pack again with my wife, grabbed a fresh water bottle and another shot of pickle juice to fight help off the cramps that were likely to come back at some point. There was a big aid station here, but I was all set with my wife leap frogging me along the course with fresh supplies.
I set out again, knowing that I was heading into a tough section of trail. There was no easy flowy stuff until the bottom of Scary Trail and it would take some work to get there. The first section of trail is what I believe to be known at Blue Loop that dumps into a trail known as Doctors. The first part is rocky, both up and down with some switchbacks. I should have been faster here than last year, but I think I was just as slow as last year. I was feeling weak at this point. My head was foggy and I just didn’t feel good. I walked quite a few little rocky sections as I just wasn’t feeling comfortable.
Once to the mostly downhill section that I think is Doctors, I got into a better rythm and starting letting loose a little bit. That downhill section is a lot of fun and steep enough to keep you on your toes for sure. It was a mix of loose stuff, rocks coming up out of the ground and rooty. It was a good idea to try and pick a good line as I think there were definitely some bad lines that could get you in trouble.
I eventually popped out onto the Marquette Mountain Rd climb. It’s steep and can have some loose gravel. It’s steep enough in spots that I watched a front wheel drive vehicle start to lose traction on a few spots as it was driving up past me. I was slower on it this year. I could feel the leg cramps coming on again and about halfway up, my legs just locked right up on me. I ended up off my bike and trying to stretch and walk them off. I got back on eventually and slowly finished the climb up to the Scary Trail entrance.
The rocks were wet and slippery, but I rode down most of it. I did get off though in a spot or 2 as I just didn’t think it was worth the risk on the wet rocks. It’s really not that bad of a trail and I really didn’t think it was as Scary as I thought it was the previous year. It just has some really steep spots over some rocks without much of a line to follow. This year, they happen to be wet. Which made it a bit more sketchy in my opinion.
Somewhere along the way… Peyton Randolph came by on a single-speed and I’ve learned that those single speeders know how to be efficient in the downhills. So, I did my best to stay on his wheel, knowing that I’d make good time down the trail if I did. I was suffering a bit, but I could tell by our exchange of conversation that Peyton was having some fun and truly enjoying the ride. This was good and helpful, as it rubbed off on me a bit and I started to relax and forgot about my fatigue for a short while. We had another rider with us from RBS bike shop, I think by the name of Jay. There were some folks that were coming through Scary back behind us, but I think we ended up putting a bigger gap on them by the time we hit the switchbacks and made it all the way to the bottom.
There is short break at the bottom where the trail connects over along the river to the bridge before hitting what I believe is probably one of the toughest sections of climbing on the course. After crossing the river, you still have a little bit of flat trail, but it doesn’t last long. The first uphill is steep and just gets steeper near the top. I’ve rode through here a couple of other times in the past few years on top of the 2 Marji Gesick races, and I’ve never made it all the way up. It’s a little wet, slippery and steep. This is where you start wrapping around the backside of the ski hill.
This is also the same spot that really got to me last year with some massive knee pain. This spot hit me again this year like a ton of bricks, but it wasn’t my knee this time. It was the heat now. It was getting hot and there was just no airflow through the trees. Peyton was riding strong and eventually rode off out of sight. Jay was still with me and I think we came up on another rider that was starting to struggle with the heat and the rugged climb around the backside of the ski hill.
There was one spot where the trees opened up and I specifically remember it because the wind shot through the opening and I got a few seconds of quick cooling. I almost wanted to stop there for a bit, but kept going. This is where I was really starting to question why I carry a hydration pack as I just couldn’t get rid of any heat off my back.
I eventually made it to the top and started the descent down around to the front side of the ski hill where my wife would be waiting for a another hand up. The great thing about the Marji Gesick in comparison to other NUE races that I’ve done is that there are a ton of spots for your SAG folks to access and meet you. Some of the other NUE races that I’ve done can get real remote with very limited road options to get out on course. Plus, many of them do not allow SAG support. My wife doesn’t ride, but her driving SAG for me makes the race something that we’re doing together. Me getting to the finish line is a team effort with me on the bike and her making sure I’ve got what I need. Me crossing the finish line is something that we accomplished together.
Anyways, I found my wife at the ski hill parking lot and she was already helping another racer out with water. I pulled in and asked the other guys around me if they needed anything and they stopped as well. We had cold water and some cold Cokes in the cooler, so my wife dumped some cold water over a couple of us to help us cool down. I downed some Coke and then passed another one around to the other guys. Everybody was hot and over heating. We had got to talking while out on the trail, so they knew I had done the race last year which was leading to the big question of where we stood in regards to buckle claiming pace…
The last section from the Trailhead to the ski hill parking lot actually took me about 10 minutes longer than last year. That’s even with me setting PRs coming down Scary Trail. A big section of that loss was going up Marquette Mountain Rd. and having the leg cramp issues. Anyway, we were about 9 minutes off my pace from last year and I kind of knew in the back of my mind that the buckle might have been slipping away at this point. Based on the course changes, I knew the climb out of the South Trails after leaving the ski hill was going to be tougher than last year…
Ski Hill to Negaunee
I took off from the ski hill once I felt like I had cooled off a bit or at least wasn’t overheating anymore. I was also right about the climb out of the South Trails being tougher. I had to get off and walk up over a few sections that on any other normal day, I’m pretty sure I would have climbed right up and over. I started getting hot again right away and my head was in a cloud from the cold still. Around here is when I ran into another single speeder, Joe Stroz. I didn’t catch his name till hours later, but we would ride off and on together for probably the next 5 to 6 hours.
Just looking at the elevation profile doesn’t really help you understand the climbing part of it. If you are used to other NUE races, you might be used to really long and huge climbs. It’s only about a 600 foot overall change in elevation from the ski hill to Negaunee, but the elevation gain is over 1,300 feet and a bunch of it comes in short punchy climbs in some of the first trail as you leave the ski hill. I think it was the trail called Off Grade that we took out of the ski hill after crossing under the road next to the river.
There is section called Pipe Dream after Off Grade, that I believe must be remenants from the mining days maybe. That’s a total guess, I’m not really sure what it is from. It’s a large pipe that is mostly covered by the ground, but you go downhill on it. It’s fast and fun, but there is one spot where the pipe is exposed with some bolt heads sticking out of it. It might not be the same spot I’m thinking of. Maybe it’s where some trees get close on one side or something. Anyway, you just got a be a little careful, because you mentally want to float to the side, but if you float over too far… you’ll find yourself dropping off the side into the woods and it’s at a point where you’re carrying some speed.
After that, I think we dropped out on the Easy Street Trail which was more familiar to me from riding up there in the past. From that point, there was some bermed flowy stuff that was a riot. This entire trail system is actually really amazing. There is so much variety of trail to ride in one location and if you never make it to this race… You still need to get up there to ride.
Eventually I came to an atv type trail and knew I was going to drop out on a short road section. This road section is really short before you head left onto a live atv trail. This is that sandy atv trail that you hear people talk about. I had to walk some of it and I think Joe and I had joined back up around this point again. I could feel myself having some hydration issues coming on. I just couldn’t get fluids down. I think they were too warm in my hydration pack and maybe my CarboRocket mixture was to concentrated with the heat. At this point, I just needed some really cold and plain water.
There were a couple other riders as well, that had been riding off and on with me. I don’t think at this point we were nessecarily riding together, but more just off and on with the same pace. I actually think the sand was easier to deal with this year as it was a little firmer from the previous day rain.
I was close to where I remember the Worst Aid Station run by the Quick Stop Bike Shop in Marquette, being at. I was happy to see them again this year! They filled my bottle with cold water and then diluted my CarboRocket in my hydration pack with more cold water. Even though I wasn’t feeling great, I still grabbed a half a grilled cheese sandwhich just for the heck of it. It went down a little rough, but I was able to get it down with some cold water. To be honest, I regretted that about a half hour later. I never got sick, but could feel it just sitting there and I was still struggling to get my water down.
Somewhere along the paved bike trail, there ended up being 4 or 5 of us that joined up and rolled into Negaunee together. They were asking me about timing compared to last year and I knew we were off pace. I told them we’d have to have a heck of loop around Negaunee to get back on track. I knew in my own head that the buckle was most likely gone at this point. I wanted to push, but I was feeling the dehydration at this point and happy to hit my drop bag in Negaunee, where my wife would also be waiting.
It ended up taking me about 12 minutes longer to get to Negaunee from the ski hill this year, which now put me about 22 minutes off my pace from the previous year where I had missed the buckle by 25 minutes. Things weren’t looking good at this point, unless I could get things together and have one heck of a ride through the Negaunee Loop.
Negaunee Loop
I took a few minutes in Negaunee to figure out what I needed. I slammed some cold Coke, maybe even ate a few Pringles. I can’t remember now. I also grabbed a fresh water bottle, but instead of grabbing a fresh hydration pack… I topped off the watered down one that I already had with the full mix that was in the new one that my wife had ready. I was worried that I had mixed it a little heavy and combined with the heat, it was making it a little harder to get down.
I headed out on the trail to start the Negaunee loop and one of the single-speeders that I mentioned earlier, happen to head out about the same time. The trail headed out differently this year. I was really struggling with fighting off the cramps. I had the power to get up the climbs, but ended up walking quite a bit to mitigate the cramps. The climbs would instigate the cramps…
The trail details that I remember at this point in the race start to blurr together a little bit as the Negaunee loop is all very similar riding and hard to seperate out in my mind the different sections, but maybe it’ll come out as I keep typing…
We of course still had to ride up the short flight of stairs that was only 10 feet over from a perfectly ridable trail. This is very early in the loop, where the course weaves through old roads from what must have been left from an older mining town or mining property. We also rode down a couple flights of stairs where both Joe and I lost our water bottles and had to stop and pick them up.
After riding down the flight of stairs, the course would take us out on a 2 track type of trail toward an old fence line. I remember the fence line from both this race and the Polar Roll. There is a climb up along the fence line and I’ve ridden through here a few times, summer and winter. It’s usually not a problem, but I could feel the cramps coming on as I worked my way up it and decided to hike the rest.
I also remember the fence line on the north side of the trail system, much like the old rail line (at least I think it is an old rail line) on the south side of the trails. Anyways, It’s nice and fairly easy riding until you turn south inside the fence line or turn off the old rail line and then things get twisty, punchy and many times… rocky and rooty.
There is one spot in the trail that is a really narrow and rocky benchcut that twists around an edge. I think it’s built around a massive pile of rocks that were pulled out of the ground during the mining days. With my fatigue, I actually unclipped my inside foot while I rolled around one of the edges.
The pace was getting really slow, only a few miles into the Negaunee loop. I would ride on and off with Joe for much of the Negaunee loop. It seemed like when one of us started to waiver, the other would keep a little push going, which kept the other guy moving. We were both aware of the clock ticking down on the buckle and mentally going into a bit of race survival mode to make sure we finished this thing up, at least that’s where I was at.
I was struggling with hydration. I just had a hard time taking in fluids. I started feeling like I was going to get sick if I drank too much. I had to dial it right back and walk more climbs than I wanted, in an attempt to avoid letting the heat completely obliterate me. The leg cramps were also completely unavoidable at this point with any mild effort. I’ll admit, there were a few moments where the fear of having to text #QUITTER, kept me in the game. I wasn’t going to do it and would walk every hill from here on out to avoid sending that text message if needed.
I knew I couldn’t stop drinking all together or my day would end whether I wanted it to or not. I forced small sips of water in. I couldn’t get large amounts of fluids down, but continued forcing in small sips out of my bottle every time I got off to push my bike up a hill or over a rock. When riding, I just kept forcing in small sips from my hydration pack. Too frequent and big of sips, or to hard of efforts would make me feel like my stomach was going to turn over, so I just dialed the efforts right back for awhile and focused on forcing fluids in a little bit at a time. The buckle was gone, but I could still finish if I played things right.
I actually finished my bottle and came across somebody handing out water that filled my bottle up when I came out to one of the street crossings in town. The water was cold and much easier to get down. I think this must have been at the North 3rd St crossing in Ishpeming.
You have to weave through a couple city streets and then hit a trail around the outside of a ball field that puts you into the next section of singletrack. It’s really impressive actually, how these trails have all been laid out to get so much singletrack packed into the available land. Within this section of trail, there is a really steep switchback climb. It comes up shortly after coming up alongside of a railroad. The trail turns south and then starts switchbacking uphill and the climb continues up a ridgeline. I walked most of it.
I think Joe and I caught back up together somewhere around here or shortly after and where we came to a fork in the trail with no arrow… To the right looked easier and to the left looked harder. It was hike-a-bike to the left, at least in my current condition of my withered body and fatigue. We stopped quickly to make a decision of which way to go and I remember saying something like… “It looks harder to the left, so that’s probably the correct way”. As it turned out, it was just an A and B line that joined back up shortly after.
I came out at another road crossing, Lakeshore Dr and then into some short two track type of trails that would eventually get me over to the bike path in Negaunee. This is where you get the teaser of being near the finish line, but still have another 25 miles to go. I believe it was that atv trail prior to this, where I came up on somebody offering out handfuls of ice. I took the ice and ended up just dropping it down the front of my bibs. I thought it would help cool down my core as I was still struggling to fight off the heat.
I also found another water bottle hand up somewhere around here also. I can’t remember if it was before the passing by the finishing line in Negaunee or after. I want to say it was after. Anway, I came up on somebody the was driving SAG for the LCR crew and she filled my water bottle up for me. Consistantly forcing the small sips of water in was working and I was getting hydrated again.
The chain of events start getting a little blurry from here to Negaunee. Even when I look at my gps route, I still have a hard time remembering where specific trail sections were at. I remember some sweet flowy singletrack at some point though, but also some really steep rocky stuff. There was one point that I know was an addition from last year that took you through what I remember as being what I might consider a rock gauntlet. I also remember some other steep rocky downhill that I walked down and then turned around to see Joe clean the entire thing.
I remember Kyle Brierley coming back by me somewhere as well. He sounded happy and looked like he was riding strong. I believe it might have actually been his parents that gave me some water also. I remember it being cold and was a huge help. My hydration status was getting better and it was getting easier to get the fluids down, especially the cold water. I was able to get a lot more of my CarboRocket down as well between the cold water hand ups.
I had slowed my pace down dramatically the last couple of hours, but it was paying off and I was actually starting to look forward to eating something solid once I hit Negaunee. I remember crossing a street, must have been Michigan St, and thinking as I hit the trail on the other side that I recognized where I was at and knew we were getting really close to Jackson Park.
I recognized a left hand turn away from a rocky outcrop onto some narrow rocky benchcut that switchbacked to the right again. This would dump out onto the atv trail that headed down toward Jackson Park. Except this year, we turned off of it to the left before going all the way to the bike path. This would loop out onto a couple of those old mining city streets and loop us back directly through Jackson Park.
I rode into Jackson Park well off my pace from last year. It took me a little over an hour longer to complete the Negaunee Loop this year versus last. I was now a little over an hour and a half off my pace from last year and the buckle cutoff was only 30 minutes away with nightfall not far off.
Negaunee to Ishpeming
I got a fresh bottle of water from my wife and another water bottle filled with Coke to stuff in my jersey pocket. I was leaving my hydration pack at the park. I was hungry and able to eat a candy bar and wash it down with some water. I seemed to be out of the woods with my stomach and hydration issues. I strapped my headlight from my drop bag onto my helmet, locked in my handlebar lights and was ready to go. I went to hand my phone to my wife for some reason and then took it back and told her I might need it as I didn’t now how things were going to go from here. Probably not the most confidence instilling comment to make to your wife as you’re about to head back out on the trail with headlights mounted on your bike after nearly 12 hours of racing already…
I was headed out now for my last section of the course, but knew these last 15 miles were going to chew up some time and I would soon be turning those lights on. I headed into that little section of woods that connected to another street that went uphill before hitting the the trails for real. I don’t remember what it was like at first, but then I remember dropping off of a rail trail into some downhill flowy stuff. I remembered this section from last year. Shortly after this section is where you hit the first steep hill that just when you think is about to end… you’re actually only about halfway up it as it continues up through a bunch of switchbacks.
The trails here are actually really great and I need to get back up there and ride them when I am fresh sometime, versus after already being on the bike for 12 hours. I came out to a gravel road, where to my suprise my wife was waiting with another bottle handup. I hadn’t finished my other one completely yet, but swapped bottles and kept moving. She had looked at the map and figured she could catch me at a couple of the places just to check on me. I think she was a bit worried about me as the sun was setting and my comment about not knowing how things were going to go as I left Jackson Park. There was also a group of local folks out there following the race and waiting for some other racers.
This was just a short section of road and then I would dive back into the woods for another singletrack climb. I think I had my lights on by now. I delayed turning them on as long as I could because I find it hard for my eyes to adjust with light while there is still a little bit of natural light in the sky. The trail would pop back out on that same road again, but a little further up is where my wife happen to be waiting again. I can’t remember if I grabbed another bottle or not at this point. I think I swapped bottles a couple times, but really never emptied any of them. It was nice though to have the option and security of a full bottle in case I got myself into trouble.
I was back in the woods again and I’m sure it was dark by this time. I remember hiking up some switchbacks and I could see headlights from other riders off in the distance out in front of me and out behind me. I came out on the gravel road again and could see what looked like my truck parked up ahead, but the trail took me into the woods along side the road. It was pitch dark by now and my wife would have had no idea if that was me or not, so I yelled out to let her know it was me and I was ok.
I really can’t remember what this next section of trail was like. I don’t think the climbing was bad on it, but most of the singletrack in the last 15 miles is rooty and rough. There are a few really steep spots in them as well. I don’t want to call them drops, because you don’t drop off them. You ride down them, hanging off the back of your bike to avoid going over the bars while wishing you would have bucked up for a dropper post. Again, I can’t remember the exact order of all this… So some of what I just mentioned might actually be slightly later in the trail.
There is a spot where you come to some opening and the trail cuts around the edge of a lake. You have to get wet and you get a little suspiscious if that is infact the right way to go. I came up on it this year to find another rider kind of looking at it in disbelief, thinking that could not possibly be the right way. I gave him a nod and said “yep, that’s the right way”. I think the edge of that lake was a little deeper this year. I thought I was able to ride across it last year, but I just picked my bike up this year and walked across it as I think it might have been hub deep this year.
There was a slight downhill grade along a rode for a very short period, but then I took a right up around a gate to start grinding out another climb. About halfway through the climb I came near the bottom of the old ski jump. Lessons from the past 13 hours dicated that there was obviously more opportunity for pain if you’re at the “bottom” of a ski jump and the climbing continued toward the top.
I struggled with the switchback climbs up through the woods from pure fatigue, but I was not getting the cramps anymore like I had earlier, or pretty much the entire ride up till this point. It was just pure fatigued, but without the cramps, I was able to grind out some of the atv/gravel climbs. Not the stupid steep ones that you felt like you needed climbing gear for, but the milder ones.
When I say climbing gear, I am actually referring to ropes, harnesses and actual rock climbing gear. I eventually came to the one that stands out amongst the rest of them to find a few other people going up it and a few others coming up behind me. It was a little backed up to the right and a few of us worked up the left side of it. I seriously remember the guy in front of me getting up it and literally dragging his bike up behind him. I grabbed a tree with my left hand and managed to pull my bike up past me with my right hand. I was able to get some footing again and find another tree on the left to hang on to and get myself up over the top while pulling my bike up behind me.
I think it was an easier route to the right, but was backed up with a few people. I remember hearing vocals from both ends of the spectrum… There was a lot of cussing at one end and just pure giggling at the other. I think I might have been somewhere in the middle, but the giggling of disbelief from a couple of the other folks made me laugh.
I remember getting over the top of it and still laughing about the situation, which brought my spirits up and gave me a bit of energy. I guess we all need to laugh more often because I got on my bike and starting picking up the pace and riding stronger. I also knew I was only a few miles from the finish at this point and wanted to finish strong. I was going to finish with my head up, regardless of the beating I had taken throughout the day.
I think I ended up riding away from most of that group that I was with over the next mile or 2. I was ready to get this thing wrapped up. I also love the finish of races. Sometimes, because I’m ready for the suffering and the pain to end… but also because I think I get a little emotional about some of these crazy sufferfest races and the accomplishment that comes along with just finishing them, even if you miss your time goal. It’s hard to explain, but I know there are folks out there that know what I’m talking about.
Anyways, I remember flying downhill through a wider atv type trail with my light out in front of me, thinking about how cool it was to race the last couple hours in the dark and actually make it. Without the race going on, I wouldn’t have had that same experience. Sure, I could experience the ride part… but I would be missing out on the emotional part of the ride. Which, in my opinion plays a much bigger part in the overall experience and completely changes the experience in itself.
I was coming down some kind of semi-rutted atv section and recognized it from the Polar Roll last year. We went up it in the Polar Roll, but I knew I was very close to coming out to the trailhead where the Polar Roll entered the trails at. I hit the old town streets and found the trail to Jasper. I was curious what I would find at the top as I saw the sign about there being a message up there.
I made it up there to find a few folks cheering me on as they read the sign with me. I can’t remember exactly what it said, but it said something about being on the largest exposed gemstone in the world. I dropped back down the singletrack to exit Jasper and hit the streets of Ishpeming, with just one little atv trail section left.
I made the right hand turn to head to the finish line and then made a sprint for the finish after crossing through the road barriers. I was by myself, but sprinting to the finish line was my way of getting back up again after being repeatedly knocked down through many hours of suffering.
It actually only took me about 9 minutes longer to finish that last section in the dark vs the previous year. I ended up crossing the finish line of the 2017 Marji Gesick 100 in 14 hours and 5 minutes to finish 23rd in the overall. This was about 1 hour and 40 minutes slower than the previous year, but actually 2 places better than the previous year.
Marji Gesick 100 Finish Line
I showed my tokens to Danny, shook his hand and collected my Marji Gesick 100 finisher’s token. Then, I found a spot nearby on the sidewalk sat down and eventually collapsed backwards. I actually started to get a little choked up as I sat there and staired off into space and started thinking about the day. I’m not sure what it was… whether it was thinking about the hard work, the suffering that took place and still missing my goal or the pure joy in knowing I had just pushed through the toughest thing I’ve attempted to date, didn’t let it completely beat me and made it to the finish line…
Needless to say… I’ll be back next year and my registration will be put in on this coming Friday. This race made me a better rider this year. Having this race out in front of me, made me take some chances in other races to learn and sort things out. It made me tackle some more singletrack racing early in the year to work on my singletrack skills. It got me into a couple other 100 mile races leading up to it to get me better prepared, where I experienced some rocks and narly downhills. It also kept me focused on keeping my core strong as I knew I couldn’t make it through the Marji if I let my core go. I actually finished the Marji this year with no back or shoulder pain, just massive amounts of fatigue.
Race reports for races like this one always seem hard to wrap up as I want to continue to reflect on it, but as I look at at the bottom of the page, I’m approaching a 9,000 word count and should probably shut things down. Get registered and I’ll see you up there next year!
Strava
2016
Results
| My fastest finish time | |
| Steve (100 mile) | 25th in 12hr 24min |
Bike setup
| Steve | Bike: Felt Edict NINE 3 · Wheels: Sun Ringle Black Flag Pro SL · Tires: Conti X-King · Drivetrain: 2 X 10 Shimano XT |
There are so many thoughts that go thru my head as I go to write the report for my first Marji Gesick 100 mountain bike race. So many lessons, successes, failures and new experiences on the trail. Riding terrain, drops and jump lines I’ve never ridden before. Hiking down sections of trail that I was too chicken to ride or up steep grades that I just didn’t have the legs for. My hands were callused and blistered, my feet hurt, my legs ached and my right knee was in pain.
My knee hurt for hours, mile after mile. At some point, it stopped getting worse or maybe my hands starting hurting more or maybe it was the bottoms of my feet from the running and then hiking up and down the steep grades with a bike. In the final miles, I could barely hold myself up on my bike. There were moments that I could only take a couple steps at a time. The pain was real and the suffering was deep. I’d get the best footing I could with my cleates on the rocks and push my bike up as far as I could, hold the brakes and then take 2 steps of pain and do it all over again until I reached the top. I don’t know how to explain to somebody what the body and mind is going thru out there, but if you’ve entered the arena and toed that start line, whether finishing or not; I don’t have to explain it to you. You know what I’m talking about. There was a moment that I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to make it to the finish and I was only halfway in…
The Marji Gesick 100 Course Layout
It was the truest of mountain bike race courses. Big climbs, rock gardens, rooty natural trails, flowy singltrack, rocky descents, unforgiving singletrack and relentless climbs.
My Marji Gesick 100 Gear & Drop Bag Setup
I took a video as I was packing up to show my gear and drop bag set up for the race. I wouldn’t change much other than maybe having my wife ready with another hydration bladder of Carbo Rocket waiting for me when I came through the trailhead of the South Trails. I ran short on Carbo Rocket mid race. I think I would have left all my lights in my drop bag also. I didn’t need them at all in the morning.
Le Mans Start of The Marji Gesick 100
I lined up 3 rows back, not far behind Tinker Juarez. If you told me a few years ago, I would be lining up at the start of a race like the Marji Gesick, I would not have believed it. But this sport is addicting and keeps you wanting for more. There are not many sports in the world where a guy like me gets to race and compete on the same playing field at the same time as a professional athlete or one of the top athletes in the world. Mountain Bike racing is one of the few, where you actually get the real time opportunity to see where you stand against the legends and best there is. Here I was at the start line of the Marji Gesick 100 in Michigan’s U.P. a few feet behind Tinker Juarez.
The national anthem was played, the bottle rockets went off and we started running. This was not a 50 yard dash to our bikes, we were actually going to run .4 miles. I know in a runners mind it is not a long ways, but we set off on a .4 mile run before partaking in a 100+ miles of true rugged mountain bike racing.
I had a good start, but there were a few guys that really took off. We all know Tinker can ride, but that guy can run too and I never saw him again after the first couple hundred feet. I kept a steady pace around the running loop and came out of it toward the front. I gave Danny Hill a high five as I came across the field toward my bike. I actually carried my Garmin with me on the run, because I was curious to look at my heart rate later. I mounted my Garmin on the bike, grabbed my hydration pack off the ground and set out on the Marji Gesick 100. My wife was watching the live timing and I think it recorded us going across the start line in whatever order we crossed. She thought I crossed the start line in 36th place, so I did get off to a pretty good start.
Forestville & Harlow Lake Loops
Ski Trails & Double Track Descent
If you didn’t do this race, you are probably thinking, big deal… ski trails are easy to ride. You’re right, they are and after riding the stuff that I rode later in the day, ski trails are awesome. But, it wasn’t some flat and straight ski trail roll out. We had a few light rollers over a couple miles as we worked up hill a bit. We did get to end it with a nice big double track downhill though before hitting our fist set of real trails.
First Trail Section
I entered the first singletrack with a handful of other riders. I think a few of the guys were happy to settle back into a comfortable pace, but I could also tell a couple of the other riders were like me and wanted to stay on the gas while we were still fresh. I knew it was going to be a long race and we all ride differently. We all climb differently, descend differently and all carry speed differently. None of us are the exact same rider, so what might be the right thing to do for one racer, may not be the right thing to do for another racer.
I was feeling good at the moment and my perceived effort was lower than what I wanted to put out and I was getting antsy as we were a little bunched up and all flowing up and over stuff slightly different, even though the trail was pretty tame. A couple guys started making some moves to work through the group and I followed suit. We inevitably got jammed up at some point as we started another hill and I tapped off the back of another guy’s tire. Somebody from behind reminded that it was a long race, I think a way of telling us antsy guys to be patient. I do respect the thoughts and camaraderie, but the fact that it was a long race is exactly why I wanted out of this pack… It was way too long of a race for me to be stuck in a flow that wasn’t working for me. I needed some open trail to ride my own ride and work my strengths, so that I could survive this thing. That being said, it would probably do me some good to do some more wheel to wheel cross country racing to get more comfortable in these situations. Regardless, I was willing to burn a match at this point to find some open trail and settle into my own pace and flow.
I was never able to get through the pack before we came to a root filled climb. It was wide and we split all over the place finding our own lines up it. I think I was 2nd or 3rd up and then I believe this is where we hit the big rock overlook. It did not look ridable, but somebody yelled back that it was and I gave it a go up the right side. I made it to the last little edge and then jammed up and fell over. I saw a guy ride right up it though. I got back up and hiked it to the top and jumped back on to find myself dropping down a pretty severe drop. I made it, but when I looked out ahead it looked sketchy and I jumped off and hiked down the rest of it, which is what most folks were doing. I did see one guy clean it like a champ and was on his way.
I actually made it through all of it fairly quick, but I do need to spend some more time on stuff like that. It doesn’t seem like it would make a huge difference, but it is a lot more efficient to be able to just ride through that stuff, rather than dismount and drag your bike through it. He not only was faster through it, but I guarantee he also used less energy. On a day like this, where we would hit multiple sections like this, it starts to add up on you. I did manage to make it out of there with some clean trail and was on my own now.
Harlow Lake & Harlow Creek
I popped out of the singletrack and ended up on some gravel rail trail for just under a half mile. I kept my map screen up on my gps to help keep me in line on upcoming turns. It wasn’t helpful in twisty singletrack, but was nice on straight sections to warn me to start looking for my turn. I was comfortable now. I could see people in front and behind me, but had enough space to ride my own ride and flow through trail at my own comfort level without holding anybody up or being held up myself.
I turned off the rail trail and onto some singletrack that flowed along Harlow Lake and then dumped us back out on the road. We went up the road a couple hundreds yards before it forked left and dumped us on an old railroad bed.
When I say an old railroad bed, I literally mean an old railroad bed where the old railroad ties were still there. The ground was filled in between the deteriorated railroad ties, but they still stuck above it some and it was ruff riding. I’m sure it was left over remnants form the mining days. My suspension worked well, but it was best to keep some speed going. It’s important to know about all of this stuff, because when you look at the course map, you may get the idea that there was some nice recovery straight and flat trail in various sections, but as you will learn as you read through this report, there was usually a catch to any of these areas and I’ll be sure to share details as I work through this report. There really was not much recovery in this race. We got off the old railroad bed and were on some nice singletrack in the woods. I had another guy come up on me pretty fast and I let him go by.
Roots And Endless Rock Gardens
The trail started to turn more challenging after crossing over a rocky area near the lake. There was no natural flow to it. It made you work for every up and down with a natural landscape in an ageless forest that was a bit magestic in the morning dampness. It was good old fashion mountain biking and I loved it. I came up on a guy who raced the first Marji Gesick last year and we chatted shortly. He had mentioned that this was not the time to push and that the last 15 miles would make you hurt. I paced behind him for a little bit and then I eventually went around him as we were starting to get caught by some folks behind us and I didn’t want to be sandwiched up again on the trail.
I also have learned a few things about these long races. I know that if I’ve only trained up to 5 or 6 hours at a time on the bike, then after 6 to 8 hours, my power is going to drop off regardless of how easy I take it at the start. As long as I stay out of my threshold window, I’m better off pushing on and getting as far down course as I can before the big power drops start hitting. I was feeling good and needed to push on anyways.
If I remember correctly, there was a short section that smoothed out through the woods before I hit some more rooted ups and downs and then some serious rock gardens. Every time I thought maybe the rough stuff was over, more rock gardens would appear. I was pretty happy about running a bigger tire up front for sure. I was also pumped about how much of the rocks I was able to ride! I finally got through it and the trail smoothed out briefly before popping out at the bottom of Beagle Club Rd.
Climb To Forestville Road And Down To The North Trail Loop
I had about a 300 foot climb in just over a mile to get up to Forestville Road where there would be a little recovery on one of the few smooth descents. The climb wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t a climb I could knock out with a short burst either. I settled into a comfortable pace and worked my way up on my own. I wasn’t alone by any means. I could hear a couple riders behind me and knew there was somebody out in front of me a little ways. The traffic was definitely thinned out though.
I popped out on Forestville Rd and started my descent. There were a few sandy spots, but there was true recovery here. I passed by the drive going into the starting area and then made my right hand turn to enter more trails. I did not recognize the trail at the time, but after looking back at the ride files, I realized that we had popped out on Forestville Rd near this point in the Ore to Shore race and hung a right hand turn down this same trail. This trail section was short and I don’t remember much of it, other than I think it was fairly wide. I quickly popped out of the trails, crossed some railroad tracks and definitely recognized this trail from the Ore To Shore race. It’s funny to think that the only singletrack on the Ore to Shore was some of the easiest and fastest singletrack in the Marji Gesick.
Marquette North Mountain Bike Trails
North Trails Loop To Forestville Rd.
It was nice to be on some familiar trail for a short period. It also offered a bit of recovery as it did flow downhill, minus your typical ups and downs and then became mostly flat as I approached the turn that started to bring me back west along the Dead River. There were spectators out on the trail here, rooting us on.
The north trails were a mix of fast and flowy trail, contrasted by a few really tight rooty sections. The North Trail Loop ended with a sweet flowy string of switchbacks. If you look at the gps, it looks like this last part was some straight rail trail, but if you look closer, you can see the back and forth twists in the trail. Not to mention that it was uphill. You know you have ridden some tough stuff already in the day when anything uphill feels flowy.
Forestville Road to M-28
I came to the Forestville Rd. crossing where there were folks out directing me across the road to the trail on the other side. The trail was straight and then came to an opening where we hung a right. Right before I made the turn, I saw 2 guys way up ahead that had missed the turn and they were coming back this way. I yelled out to them before I made the turn to let them know where the trail was. I made the turn and heard them jump in behind me. One of them yelled out “thanks green helmet guy!”
We made a left and had a short descent to a small parking area where the next section of trail started. The trail split left and took us up a rougher steep and narrow trail that continued to climb and twist up the hill. I was forced off my bike at least once on a really steep section. I thought the guy behind me was going to make it and gave him a quick cheer, but he had to bail also. I eventually let him go by me as he had been catching me during this section.
We eventually came out behind some shopping centers and were headed down to M-28. I sat up a bit when we hit the pavement and soft pedaled my way down to the left hand turn by the ribbons and volunteer aid station before dropping down into the drainage ditch. They took us through a rocky water filled drainage tunnel under the highway before we had to dismount and climb out of the ditch on the other side, but this avoided us having to cross the main highway.
Marquette South Mountain Bike Trails
Getting To The South Trails
I had gotten caught by 3 or 4 racers in the drainage ditch under M-28 and a small group of us were together now. There were folks set up all over the side of the road with water and cheering us on. I took the opportunity to eat one of my Honey Stinger Waffles as I soft pedaled up the road. We made our turn onto the bike path together and a bit of organization started in a moderate pace line. I was second in line, but was feeling hungry still and thought this was a good opportunity to eat again, so I grabbed another waffle. The pace seemed like it was starting to pick up and I started to fall back. The other guys came around me and they picked the pace up. I was content with were I was at and thought it was best for me to refuel a bit as there wouldn’t be much of a break for the next 20 miles. Eventually, I saw the guys enter the trail up ahead of me and one of them waved back and pointed at the singletrack entrance to make sure I saw it. People are always looking out for one another during these races.
Harlow Farms Connector Trail
I made the tight right hand turn onto the singletrack and was feeling pretty good. I had eaten a couple waffles and drank my water. I was concerned about my CarboRocket supplies as I had not planned to refill my CarboRocket until Neguanee and it was getting obvious to me that I was going to run out. That was a little bit of the reason that I ate an extra waffle. I was thinking that the volunteer aid station at the trail head would come quick though.
This trail was nice and smooth. It was definitely newer style of trail and even though I was slowly gaining elevation the entire time, it took less energy to work through. I popped out on a road again to find that one of the guys from the bike path group had fallen off and was grabbing some fuel as he worked up the road. The road section was very short and I tucked in behind him as we hit the singletrack again.
It wasn’t far up the new singletrack that the pace was feeling too comfortable, so I made my pass and started working up the trail on my own. I had not ridden this trail before, but it was still nice clean trail and easy to ride. I was more than 3 hours into the race by now, so there was some obvious fatigue, but my power had not dropped yet. I do not have a power meter on my bike, but after using one on my trainer, I have a better perception of where I am at. Plus, with some of my recent training rides, I knew I was good at a high tempo pace for 4 to 5 hours and probably much longer. This of course, dependent on the climbs that could push me into threshold for long and unrecoverable periods.
Pioneer Trail Loop
If you look at the Marquette South Trails, the Harlow Farms Connector Trail would normally dump you right into the Pioneer loop, but they did take us on a little jaunt out away from the Harlow Farms Trail before we hit the Pioneer Loop. Regardless, now I was in somewhat familiar territory as I had ridden this loop a few times the previous summer. It’s mostly smooth and flowy and there is a great little swoopy flow section with a few little jumps in it. My concentration here was taking the most efficient lines and pumping over the jumps to maintain speed. This is something I have been getting better at.
I had 2 riders come up on me as we made the loop around the golf course and I eventually let them by, but tried to hang on to their wheel for a bit before eventually falling off. Shortly after, I passed a different rider. Just before the open field area, I was caught and passed by another racer. I chased him over the open field and all the way up Smiley Trail before losing him near the top. We reconnected back on the south portion of the Pioneer Loop. This trail was a little rougher and I had ridden it in the past, but from the other direction.
Eh Line Jump Trail
I popped out into the opening at the top of Benson Grade, where the arrows directed me to Eh Line. It was big, I mean real big banked berms with big table top jumps. I got into it pretty fast in the top section and after a couple of jumps, got a little nervous that I was gonna get carried away and I dialed it back a little to make sure I safely made it down. It was a riot, but so much for being able to recover on the downhills, because those tabletops worked me over and my upper body was feeling it by the time I reached the bottom. Seriously though, how many 100 mile mountain bike races have a sweet real deal bermed jump line in it. Thank you for putting this in the course! I assumed Tinker was in some kind of old school happy place and ripped through them with a big smile.
To The Trail Head Aid Station
I was soon across the road and working through a few little trail sections that I didn’t quite recognize. I wasn’t sure where I was at. I was on course, but didn’t recognize the trail. I think I got disoriented on my location by coming down the jump trail and was thinking that we were crossing the road north of the trailhead instead of south. I hadn’t really looked at the map much before the race, other than making sure it loaded onto my gps fine.
I eventually turned onto a trail that smoothed out and remembered this being the kiddy trail loop that circles out of the main trail head. I knew I was close to the aid station and sure enough, I could hear people and start to see the parking lot through the trees. I popped out of the woods to find one of the biggest aid station set ups I have ever seen. I set my bike off to the side and took off my hydration pack and grabbed my water bottle. I knew I needed water, but I kind of just stood there and starred at all the food at the aid station for a minute.
One of the ladies asked if I wanted my hydration pack filled and I remember saying no, no, just top it off… I thought about what I said and then laughed and told her I was a bit dazed and just needed a minute to figure out what I needed. My wife came walking up about the same time. I think my wife filled up my water bottle for me and then I eventually opened my hydration pack up to add some water. I had CarboRocket mixed in it, that was just about gone. I didn’t realize how much longer it was going to take to get to Neguanee, but knew I needed more than just the little bit of CarboRocket left in my pack so we filled my pack about halfway. There was a slight taste of CarboRocket, but it was pretty much water at this point.
Back to all the food on the table… The nice ladies had baggies and plates out and were ready to fix me a feast or pack me stuff to take with. I grabbed a couple donut holes and slammed half of a coke. I figured I could take a gel up the trail with the water that I refilled.
Down The South Line of Blue Loop
I followed the signs south out of the parking lot to find even more people hanging out and offering water fill ups to racers. I don’t know if they were more community members or other racers’ SAG support, but it was pretty comforting to see all of this. I rolled into the trails fast, but then it slowed down quickly as I started to hit the rock gardens. I came by another frustrated racer who was messing with his seat post, but he passed by me shortly after as we were headed up the rocky switchbacks. I had to unclip a couple times through here and I think even had to step off and walk my bike over a couple rocky or rooty step ups. I’ve made some really good gains in my cycling performance, but I have a ton of work to do when it comes to rough trail riding. These are the sections that I really lost a lot of time on throughout the day that also took a toll on my knees hiking the uneven surfaces.
The trail took us up another 200 feet of elevation before heading downhill. This downhill portion was fun with a few sketchy spots if you’re not paying attention. It had some steep grades with some unpredictable rocky and root filled spots that always kept you on your toes. This trail was another example of how this race was relentless in the fact that there was no recovery in the downhills. I have to bring this up because there is always an assumption that if you climb a whole bunch, that you also get all kinds of downhill recovery. That’s not true! When we were going downhill, it was mostly technical and knuckle biting and the smallest of mistakes could cost you big time.
Up Mount Marquette Road
I soon found myself on the gravel road of Marquette Mountain and the climb to the top of Scary Trail was under way. I could not see anyone in front of me, but could see another rider behind. I had never made this climb before from the bottom, but I do believe I had climbed the top portion at some point the previous year. I remembered it being steep and steep it was. The gravel was loose and standing up would only spin out my rear tire, so it was find a gear and grind this thing out. I just ignored the racer behind me and focused on my own game. I did not know the course well enough to know what was coming, but based on the last 50 miles I was sure there would not be any recovery. I would drop down a cog or 2 at times to see if I had more in me, but inevitably I opted to spin most of it in granny gear.
Scary Trail
I had not ridden scary trail before and it is called scary trail for good reason. There are some serious steep grades over rocks. I even came to a dead stop between 2 trees where my handlebars where too wide. I was scared enough of the trail already that I was going pretty slow and saw the situation coming in time to get stopped. I rode some stuff here, that brought my riding experience to another level, but I also had to walk some of it. I could definitely save some time on this course if I could pick up my technical game. I think all the on and off the bike starts to add up on you, not to mention it is fatigueing and really wears on your knees having to step down the steep uneven surfaces with a bike in hand. My technical game has needed some work for quite some time and that is one of the things I will work on prior to next year.
Up The Back Side of Ski Hill
I safely made it down Scary Trail and enjoyed the fun bermed switchbacks at the bottom. I crossed a dirt road and was riding along a small river where some fly fisherman were exploring the waters. I crossed the bridge to the other side and knew it wouldn’t be long before some of the most hellish climbing in the race would begin… or so I thought. I had ridden the first part of this the previous year, and had dumped out on the north side of the ski trail, but the Marji Gesick would take us around the south side. Some serious suffering started to happen here and I did a lot of walking up the steep grades. I had moments of strength and moments of weakness that were random, mixed and uncontrollable.
All kinds of thoughts were going through my head as I realized I was only halfway through the race and some of the toughest sections of trail may still be ahead. There were a couple other racers coming up on me, but we were all having to walk quite a bit. A pain had been creeping up in my right knee and the hiking up these steep grades was really making the pain set in deep and it was now flairing up fast. I had been doing really well up to this point, but I started to have some dark moments as I had to repeatedly get off my bike and hike while my knee pain increased. There were a few moments that I actually started to wonder if I was going to make it to the finish line. I tried to just shut out the pain and negative thoughts, ignore them and push on.
After each little climb, I kept thinking it was over and started to pedal down the trail again to find another steep grade. I went to let a guy go by me as I jumped off again, but he said I was doing ok and we slogged on. Finally, we reached the top and dropped down a little doubletrack and back into the woods. I had to pull off to clear a stick out of my wheel and let the other guy go by. My mind and legs were coming back a bit and I tried to keep the guy in front of me in sight as we made the descent though the loose singletrack. I figured it might be good to have somebody to chase ahead at this point to help me stay focused on the ride and keep my mind off the fatigue.
Carp Diem & Easy Street
Finally to the bottom of the ski hill, I soft pedaled through the parking lot while I took in some food and water. I crossed under the bridge next to the river and started climbing up the Carp Diem Trail that I was familiar with. There were no steep grades, but it was all up hill. However, the trail was smooth and flowy with a wide creek running below. I had ridden this a few times the previous summer and started getting my legs back. This trail was also more typical of the stuff I ride back home and my pace started picking up again as I worked through it and became comfortable again on my bike.
I came up on a familiar face, that I had met on a group ride in Houghton, MI a couple months back. I followed Chris for a bit and then eventually pressed on as I was feeling well recovered. I was surprised to feel the recovery as I thought I was past my recovery point after working up the back side of the ski hill. I felt like I needed to take advantage of the moment and hammer on. I think I had let the walking work me over mentally and once you start to lose the game in your head, it can turn dark quick. Regardless, I pulled out of it and was back on my game again.
Getting To Negaunee
Eventually, came the turn off from the Marquette South Trails and I was on my way to Negaunee. I found myself on some atv type trail that was flat enough for a short period to soft pedal and grabbed one of my Honey Stinger gels and then kept moving. I eventually popped out on some pavement, but it only lasted about a half mile before being dumped into a sandy atv trail. This just sucked the energy out of me and I was feeling the fatigue again. As I was walking up one of the sandy hills, I could see Chris and another guy about to join me. We came to a very loose downhill where I chose the wrong path and washed out my front wheel where they ended up passing by and asked if I was ok. I was good, jumped back on my bike and realized I had made some bad assumptions about the possibility of there being a lot of recovery between Marquette and Neguanee.
I soon came to what was called “The Worst Aid Station”… and I was thankful as heck because I was out of water. These folks were having a good ole time with a grill fired up, water, Cokes and grilled cheese sandwiches. They filled up my water bottle while I grabbed a grilled cheese sandwich, followed by half a can of Coke. I can’t tell you how much that grilled cheese sandwich hit the spot. Huge thanks to these folks for setting up exactly where I needed them. I got back on my bike and road off as I yelled “thanks, that was the best damn grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever had!”.
I was thinking that Negaunee would only be a couple miles away at this point, but it turned out to be another 7 plus miles. I had to walk a couple more times in some deep sand and then finally got some real recovery on a section of paved rail trail.
I finally arrived to find my wife anxiously waiting for me. She worries a bit for me out there and then gets pretty excited to see me pushing through it. Sometimes, I think I am calmer at aid stations than she is, but she takes great care of me and is always making sure I have everything that I need. As I am racing on the bike and she is chasing me through the course, I feel like this is something we’re accomplishing together. I started making the swaps of goods from my drop bag. I had a pre-mixed hydration bladder of CarboRocket all ready to go and some more Honey Stinger waffles, gels and Jelly Belly sport beans. I changed my socks and finished off the stop with the Claussen Pickles that I had packed in my drop bag and washed them down with a little pickle juice.
Neguanee and Ishpeming Loop Mile 70 to 90
I was feeling relaxed, somewhat recovered and in good spirits as I rode out of Negaunee. I hit the stair case and still had the energy to clean it, not as easy as my pre-ride the previous day, but I made it up and over without a problem. As I rode out of Negaunee, I noticed remnants of sidewalks wandering off in the woods with deteriorated and overgrown old roads. I have to believe we were riding out through what was left of an old mining town.
The next miles of trails quite honestly blurred together as the fatique set back in. I was behind my planned pace at this point, but Negaunee was also 5 miles further than I had planned. Regardless, I still thought I was plenty safe on the 12 hour mark. I quickly hit the the rocky, rough and twisty stuff that I heard about. This was definitely different type of trail than what I had ridden in Marquette. This was rugged, rocky and relentless. There was no break. The short punchy climbs could get steep and the jagged rocks were all over. Switchbacks were tight and the pace would obviously be slower than it was earlier in the day.
I came across some really awesome views along some steep edges. I remember making the tight right hand turn at the big caution sign that had a crazy drop off on the other side of it. I would have liked to take the time to stop and chill on the overlook, but time was of the essence as I realized my pace was continuing to slow. I can’t quite remember exactly how many, but I know I got passed by a couple folks here. My lack of skills in natural hand built singletrack were showing their ugly face.
At some point, we got dumped out on a rail trail through Ishpeming that took us right by the finish line. The finish was so close, but so far away yet and I had no idea what was still in store for me. I headed back up into some twisty rocky trails and then eventually found myself climbing up and old deteriorated road that I remembered pre-riding up the day before. There was another rider headed up it and I just followed in behind him as we hit the last singletrack along a ridge. I really have to work on my offroad riding skills and I think it is going to take some trips outside of my immediate local trails.
I know the fatigue had set in deep by now as that last 20 miles of trail all seemed like a bit of a blur, but I had gotten through it and popped out of the trails near the drop bag location. I already had my lights mounted on my bike and I kept going. I saw my wife right before the 90 mile timing checkpoint and topped off my water bottle. I had 2 hours to cover the last 15 miles to the finish line to claim a belt buckle. I was a little concerned as I heard this was the toughest part, but I thought I was in the clear still.
Finishing The Marji Gesick 100
As I headed off into the last segment, things didn’t seem too bad. It was uphill, but manageable and my brain was almost calling bluff on the whole, this last section is brutal thing… I found myself on a short gravel rail trail and then dropped left into some sweet flowy singletrack. Near the bottom I noticed my gps showing me off course. I thought I had followed signs, but I had dropped through the flowy stuff pretty fast and wasn’t sure if I missed something, so I turned around and rode back up to the rail trail to double check. I had been on the right path and remembered Todd specifically saying to follow the signs and only use the gps if you get lost, so I followed the signs and dropped back down through the singletrack again.
I popped out of the singletrack to enter a short section of old road and then the next turn is where shit got real. I can’t tell you the exact order of how things went down from here on out, but I just remember some ridiculous grades. The first one off the old road was ridiculous, but it was just a prelude. I remember a few steep grades that I would stand there and push my bike up the hill as far as I could, then hold both brakes while pulling myself up a couple steps and then doing it all over again till I reached the top. The pain that hit me on the back side of the ski hill was coming back fast.
There was some sweet singletrack with a few crazy steep spots, or at least steeper than I have ridden in the past. I had a few riders come up on me at various times. They were mostly on the gas and I knew they were chasing that buckle. I would let one of them by and then try to latch onto the back of them. I’d hang for a little bit and then could feel my body giving out on me and find myself drifting back. I was rooting for them as I saw the 12 hour buckle slipping away from me and was amazed that these guys had the gas left in the tank to rip through some of this singletrack after 12 hours.
I remember coming out to a loose doubletrack climb where I could see the 2 guys in front of me that had passed me earlier. I told myself I was going to make it up this climb. My knee was hurting and my leg muscles were beyond aching, but I just kept grinding the pedals. Grinding the pedals hurt less than walking. I eventually ran out of power and bailed to hike it up the rest of the way as I watched the two guys in front of me ride away.
I can’t tell you today if that was me not having enough mental fortitude left in the tank and mentally giving up, or if I had truly faced my limit. It’s a crazy intertwined mental and physical journey on these long endurance races. After 12 hours you kind of lose track of how severe the pain is or if it’s really there. Sometimes it can be excruciating and for whatever reason you find something else in you to block it out and keep moving on. I had fought through it earlier in the day, but I was not finding the strength at the moment and my goal now was to just finish.
I tried to carry whatever speed I could through the singletrack as my power was completely gone when it came to the climbs. I was taking risks on the downhills to carry momentum. As I passed between a couple trees, my bike came to a complete stop on a high root and I was catapulted over the top. I looked back and didn’t see anybody coming and I just layed there for a minute. I didn’t want to get up, but I eventually pulled myself off the ground. I picked up my bike, put my light back on and soft pedaled away.
Back on jeep trails and doubletrack, the climbs just kept coming at me. They were relentless. They were beating me mentally and physically and I just wanted it to end at this point. Then I dropped out onto a street and saw the sign headed up the trail. I had to push my bike up the first part and then got back on and started my way up hill when I saw the sign that said checkpoint ahead.
I began to smile through all the pain. I couldn’t even ride all the way to the top. I had to push my bike some of the way up Jasper, but I made it. I knew I had missed the 12 hour belt buckle, but I was happy. I grabbed my last poker chip and leaned my bike up against the checkpoint sign for a picture. I looked around for a moment and took in the darkening skies as the sun was setting off in the horizon and knew I’d be back again to finish up some unfinished business.
I hopped back on my bike, ripped down the last singletrack like a boss with a smile. I hit the road and saw my wife waiting for me to arrive. One last right hand turn and I was headed to the finish line in Ishpeming. I’m not sure where I found the last bit of energy, but I had just enough left in me to do a double fist shake in the air before crossing the finish line in 12 hours, 24 minutes and 10 seconds and 25th place overall.
I just sat on my bike, smiled and took it all in. I partly sat there, because I couldn’t really stand up straight and I just wanted to take in the moment of finishing the hardest thing I’d ever done and reflect on it a bit. I had failed at reaching my goal, but I was all smiles, because my biggest goal was taking my limits to another level and finding more failure points to improve on in the future. I had accomplished both and have plenty to work on in the future.
Marji Gesick 100 Final Thoughts
I don’t know what it is, but even though I was going through the fatigue, pain and mental quarrel… That’s what keeps me coming back or looking for the next challenge. I feel that if you’ve never felt that before, then you haven’t physically challenged yourself enough. If you come away from every race feeling like you hammered it and haven’t hit these points, then you’re not going fast enough or you haven’t challenged your limits.
We all have different limits, but it is amazing how much more you can do once you hit the first point of thinking you’re done. I can’t help but want to push those limits each time and set a new standard for what I can make my body do. It’s actually pretty amazing as I look back and think about all that pain and just trying to finish… Even though I couldn’t make it to the top of those climbs, I somehow found the strength to keep moving forward, even if it was just 1 step at a time. I stopped caring at some point about how long it was going to take to finish, but I knew I was going to make it.
I’m regestered for next year already as I have some unfinished business with the Marji Gesick. A huge thanks to Todd, Danny, the whole Marji Gesick crew, Marquette, Negaunee, Ishpeming and the unofficial volunteer aid stations.