North Country Trail Run

This was the 24th year of the North Country Trail Run. This race is held in Manistee National Forest about 18 miles east of Manistee, MI, every 3rd weekend in August. It’s a pretty good sized race with 600-800 participants between each day’s race categories. A person can run a 1/2 marathon, a marathon,  a 50k, a 50 miler or a combination of any of the races over the two day event.

I’ve run the marathon and half marathon a number of times, but this year I gave the back to back 1/2 marathons a try. 

I camped in the free, race reserved campsite. Wow! good decision. It came with a pot luck, hot showers, plenty of space and flat tent pads, guys playing guitars and mandolins around a campfire and family friendly lawn games if you wanted. After hanging around the fire and music and talking with a couple of 50mi/50k runners, I zipped in for the night and slept really well. I woke up to a 49degree Sunday morning around 4:30, hearing the ultra runners moving about and beginning to leave for the trail head.

I packed up and got to the start line at 6:00 on Sunday morning to watch the 6:30, 50k runners start then I hung around the pancake griddle and campfire and waited for my wave.

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Truth be told, on Saturday I didn’t really have my heart in it but I showed up anyway. I gave it a good go by power hiking about 50% of that race. I got 2nd in my age group on that day and 1st on Sunday. I felt really good on Sunday and ran a good race. Attitude is almost everything. 

I hadn’t trained for the race at. all. and was quickly impressed with how ‘ultra lungs and hiker legs’ don’t stick around for long. I had to really work and ended up with fried quads. There’re long hills at the beginning, and repeating rolling black diamond hills between mile 7 and 12.5 that keep your attention. 

  

I met up with a few people I knew from other races and met an Instagram friend, Rob from KZoo,  for the first time. That was a nice surprise.

Also nice was going into the rather quaint lakeside town of Manistee, finding The Daily BakeHouse Bakery and Lake Michigan. The bakery’s baked goods were to die for and the lake amazing! 

On Sunday, I spent time scouting around the area for our upcoming See America camping trip. 

I said I wouldn’t do it, but I did anyway. I registered for next year’s back to back 1/2’s. I plan on training💡for the 25th Silver Anniversary year race. Hopefully David will join me, as he has for all other years I’ve raced there-except for this one, with the See America Tent and will bring along his guitar, mandolin and his Big Dog Roux.