Run a beautiful single track route from Cross Village to Mackinaw City in northern Michigan.  The marathon starts at Wycamp Lake and winds up and along the Sturgeon Bay bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan.  Runners descend into wildflower blanketed lowlands before arriving at Goose Pond.  This is the half way point and the start of the Half Marathon.  The next six miles feature pine needle carpeted trail through rolling forest.  The trail opens up as it reaches French Farm Lake, a sandy bottomed wilderness lake with towering pines along the shore.  Several miles of the route follow its shoreline before runners enter a cedar forest for 2 miles.  The last 3 miles feature a converted rail trail that is flat and smooth. 

The course follows the perimeter trail of the island counterclockwise up past Murray Bay and Duck Lake.  At three miles the course heads eastward into the Tombolo, up into the island’s thumb and then back along Trout Bay where runners can enjoy one of the most spectacular stretches of shoreline anywhere in the Great Lakes. Runners then ascend up the eastern cliffs of the island which treat runners to views of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The northern half of the island features 300 ft colored Jacobsville sandstone cliffs and a gentle  remote and exquisitely beautiful North Beach.   The return trail on the island’s western shore features remarkable vistas of Lake Superior. The 50K heads inland at mile 22 up to Echo Lake and up to the island’s summit.  This five mile section features relatively fast dirt forest roads.

  Runners in the 50K return to the Western Coastal Trail at mile 27.  Much of the trail is shaded by lush hardwood forests.  Exposed sections (atop cliffs) blanket runners with cool breezes off of Lake Superior. Trail includes single track, two track, and narrow dirt roads.

Both routes are a stunning tour through the rugged and remote Two Hearted River wilderness.  The 50K starts on the Reed & Green Road (CR 410), turning right on to 376 before arriving at the first aid station at the Reed & Green Campground. The next 5 miles takes runners on spectacular section of Lake Superior coastline, with some ascents of high ridges with far reaching views out into the world’s largest freshwater lake.  The next aid station is located at the mouth of the Two Hearted River.  Runners cross a cabled foot bridge over the river before reaching the aid station.  The course then continues along Lake Superior before heading inland through a spectacular region scorched by fire 12 years ago that is now lush and green with ferns and shoulder high trees.  Runners then enter a pine forest before reaching aid station #3 at Culhane Lake Campground.  Runners follow the southern shoreline of the lake before heading southwest.  This forested section is the most remote and wild on the entire course.   The next aid station is located when the trail crosses Country Road 414 east of Pike Lake.  The route continues to two tracks and lovely single track along the Little Two Hearted River until runners reach Country Road 500.  Here runners reach their last aid station before heading toward Betsy Lake.  The trail here is single track along several ridges overlooking tamarack bogs.  The route then joins the Giant Pines Trail, where runners will encounter 300-400 year old white pines. The course finishes near the Upper Tahquamenon Falls, approximately 200 meters from the Camp 33 Brew Pub.