Cam Wilson's Staging Area

Let me start by saying that this was my first Ultra distance race so I don’t have much to compare it to, although I’ve done a few bigger trail races like the North Face Endurance Challenge (half marathon distance). The trail system and community support for events like this in the Marquette region are unbelievable. What a gem to have so close to us, only a few hours away, in Northern Michigan.

The following description is pulled directly from the race website (www.marquettetrail50.com):
“The course is mostly single-track, climbing the 4 peaks: Sugarloaf, Top-of-the-World, Bareback, and Hogback. All the peaks have views of Lake Superior, and portions of the course skirt its shoreline
Much of the trail consists of moderate to difficult terrain, with significant climbs and technical areas. According to Ultrarunning Magazine, the course is rated 3 out of 5 for Terrain (“Hilly”), and 4 out of 5 for Surface (“Trail with substancial rocks, roots and/or ruts”).”

I can say that the views were amazing at the top of every climb (I took a few moments to enjoy them as I tried to catch my breath) and that the roots and rocks did sneak up to catch my feet a few times, I even took a couple diggers, luckily no one was around to see those ones. The course marshalls, aid station workers, race director and every volunteer were absolutely amazing. They all went above and beyond for every racer that I saw including myself. Pushing on to the next aid station was what really motivated me to get through the last part of the race. The volunteers were always so upbeat and encouraging which really motivated me to keep pushing on.
Being my first Ultra, I was a little too excited in the first 10 miles and set out at an ambitious pace to say the least. After coming through the first loop in 2nd place overall, I realized the error in my ways but it was a little too late and I suffered in the last 10 miles of the run with some cramping and stomach issues.
Let’s touch on my fueling for the race. As a first time Ultra racer, I came prepared with a huge amount of carb-filled gels as well as enjoyed the support from the Hammer Nutrition gels and Heed that the race provided. After about mile 30 though, my system couldn’t handle any more gels and the heed wasn’t tasting great. The saving grace of my nutrition for the last 20 miles of the race was my chewy, delicious Enduro Bites bars. The dark chocolate espresso and the fig and dark chocolate were my favorite of the bunch (I see a trend of a chocolate lover). I’m so glad that I saved these for the last half of my race. They were absolutely delicious, were easy to chew and my digestive system enjoyed the simple, real ingredients instead of just a load of sugars flooding my bloodstream.
My running gear for this race consisted of my Osprey Duro 6ltr pack which worked flawlessly. It has bottle pockets in the front which I carried a couple plastic in, no hand held for me because of the scrambling up some of the climbs that I had to do. I also enjoyed the easy to reach front pockets and side mesh pockets that I stored my food in while running which made it easy to access and eat on the run. My shoes of choice for this race were the Inov-8 Race Ultra 270 which performed great. The traction was just enough and the heel to toe drop of the Ultra’s worked great with this race. I usually divide my runs between these and a pair of Inov-8 Roclite’s so they were well broken in for the race. I did change out the original outsoles for a pair of Superfeet carbon insoles after dealing with some plantar fasciitis in the past.

I summary, the Marquette Trail 50 was an amazing choice for my first Ultra. The laid back, low key feel to it was perfect for the first timer. The course was tough but manageable with some amazing views of Lake Superior and the volunteer staff made a huge difference in my race experience, they were amazing. I would recommend the Trail 50 to anyone looking for an Ultra that is close to home and looking for a super fun experience. I plan on coming back to this race to do the 100K distance when they offer it again (this year they are only doing the 50M and 50K distance).