Marji Gesick is the real deal! Don’t underestimate how HARD it is.
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Congratulations! I know some finishers and people in that trail posse to know how my old self could not do it.
This region lacks real mountains but the stuff glaciers could not move or get rid of often creates serious trail riding and running.
This region lacks real mountains but the stuff glaciers could not move or get rid of often creates serious trail riding and running.
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Mind adding in the area and state? I’m seeing a 50’ section of a pretty gradual flat rocks from one to the other. Come out west for some “rocky mountain high” and you may have a different perspective on what’s tough.
BTW are you descending or climbing that?
BTW are you descending or climbing that?
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431 Posts
Marji Gesick - Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike & Trail Running Races - Ishpeming, MI
We commit the following: We’ll find a way to make it go, and go in a way we’re proud to call it a 906AT experience. It’s as important to us as it is to you. We will work with RAMBA and NTN Trails to explore signage alternatives in the event we need to run Marji across a couple of weeks...
marjigesick.com
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So, I went 4 links deep and still have no idea where this thing is.
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Says it's in Ishpeming MI. Looks like a 50/100/200 miles race.
Congrats OP, but I would like to know more. Which race did you do?
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It's in the UP (Lake Superior). Riding near Lake Superior never has the altitude or vertical I know in CO, WY and ID riding, but it's challenging and truly great riding beyond what many believe. The remote nature is also great. Much lower scale of residents of populated areas and quantities of tourists flocking to trailheads.
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Before they bit the dust, Bike magazine did their 2018 Bible of Bike Test there.
www.bikemag.com
2018 Bible of Bike Tests: Marquette, Michigan
Marquette, Michigan, took its rolling hills and hero dirt and turned them into a mountain bike mecca. It was the perfect testing ground for the 2018 Bible of Bike Tests.
www.bikemag.com
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Less than half of people even finish, let alone finish within the 24 hour cutoff. The top 500 at the Leadville 100 finish faster than the winner of the Marji 100 and the top 1000 are faster than the Marji top 10. I would say that it's not the easiest thing out there.
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40,894 Posts
Thanks for clarifying. X2
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Forgot to say Mongo, congratulations on finishing. I've rode a good chunk of those trails and some of them are no joke on a 20 mile ride, let alone a 100.
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Nice job! I did the 50, which was really 64, and I'm destroyed. I can't imagine doing the 100 on, I'm assuming, a single speed.
That rock section...Zeug's? I rode it a year ago, but not in the race. The 50 skips all that.
Nice job finding ALL the tokens at the end. All day, racers were asking one another, "Have you seen any tokens yet?" Haha.
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3,375 Posts
I could easily walk up that
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Way to go, Monoguy! Looks to be grueling in places from what I have seen of the area. Photos do not tell the story like being there, needless to say.
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1,911 Posts
Congrats Mongoguy. This race if very difficult, I’ve raced it 4 times and it is the hardest race I’ve done, but the terrain and trails are awesome. I raced it this year on a single speed and it was the first time I did not earn a belt buckle, which is 12 hour finish. The out and back in 2019 (225 miles) was crazy…I will not do it again as it left me in a bit of dangerous place physically after the race (29 hours, 3rd).
The thing that makes it most difficult is that as you get further into the race, the trails demand more and more of your physical and mental systems that break down late in a race.
The trails get more and more technical and require more upper body strength and high force pedaling. If you can’t deliver the power…you have to walk, a lot.
Also, it is getting dark shortly after the leader finishes…it leaves many on course to deal with darkness as well as the above mentioned physical challenges. The trails are sinuous and a bit disorienting…that compounds the effect. Add in that it is actually closer to 105-115 miles, and you wonder how far from the finish you actually are…just when you are hurting most.
All this leads to the prospect of dropping out becomes very appealing. It’s like you’ve just finished the most demanding NUE race you’ve ever done…then immediately have to race XC on the most technical climbs you know.
The most fun I’ve had in the race was when I rode party pace w/ friends through mile 45, then kicked in race mode through the finish, not only is it likely the fastest way to ride this race, it left some in the tank to enjoy the great tech trails of the last 30 miles.
I lived in the Salt Lake area for 11 years, raced elite XC & Endurance there. Then I moved to Marquette, for the outdoor opportunities and smaller town, and raced the Marji my first year in the area.
It IS harder than anything I’ve raced out west. Vapor Trail may be comparable, but I’ve never raced it.
My suggestion to any Marji rider…set up a primary, secondary, and tertiary goal. It will give you reason to keep going if things don’t go as planned.
The thing that makes it most difficult is that as you get further into the race, the trails demand more and more of your physical and mental systems that break down late in a race.
The trails get more and more technical and require more upper body strength and high force pedaling. If you can’t deliver the power…you have to walk, a lot.
Also, it is getting dark shortly after the leader finishes…it leaves many on course to deal with darkness as well as the above mentioned physical challenges. The trails are sinuous and a bit disorienting…that compounds the effect. Add in that it is actually closer to 105-115 miles, and you wonder how far from the finish you actually are…just when you are hurting most.
All this leads to the prospect of dropping out becomes very appealing. It’s like you’ve just finished the most demanding NUE race you’ve ever done…then immediately have to race XC on the most technical climbs you know.
The most fun I’ve had in the race was when I rode party pace w/ friends through mile 45, then kicked in race mode through the finish, not only is it likely the fastest way to ride this race, it left some in the tank to enjoy the great tech trails of the last 30 miles.
I lived in the Salt Lake area for 11 years, raced elite XC & Endurance there. Then I moved to Marquette, for the outdoor opportunities and smaller town, and raced the Marji my first year in the area.
It IS harder than anything I’ve raced out west. Vapor Trail may be comparable, but I’ve never raced it.
My suggestion to any Marji rider…set up a primary, secondary, and tertiary goal. It will give you reason to keep going if things don’t go as planned.
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This is a great summary. As I was walking a lot of the last 5 miles I had the thought that had it been earlier in the day these sections would have been mostly ridden.
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I finished the MG 💯 in 2019 when there was a 34% completion rate. It was absolutely horrible and a death march to the finish. It put me in such a deep hole that it affected my entire 2020 season. Luckily COVID bailed me out with no races in 2020 and I used a long off season to finally rest in prep for 2021.
Though I made plenty of mistakes at the MG 💯 in 2019, I can’t see myself ever doing that event again. It’s difficult just to be difficult and there’s very little fun to be had.
Though I made plenty of mistakes at the MG 💯 in 2019, I can’t see myself ever doing that event again. It’s difficult just to be difficult and there’s very little fun to be had.
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600 Posts
This is my favorite long race, it is all singletrack compared to most other long races where they are mostly gravel. After the first 1.5 hours which are a mix of xc ski trails (double track) and some single track, the trails turn to really well built old school single track. Plus the promoter does a good job of hyping up the race and the community gets involved putting up aid stations here and there. It is just a really fun weekend all around and brings me back to race every year.
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