The start of the UP200, Midnight Run, and JackPine 30, long held in the heart of Marquette’s Downtown, kicked off on Friday evening with hundreds gathered to greet the mushers and cheer them on out of the gates! MediaBrews very own Walt Lindala was on hand as the races Master of Ceremonies, ushering in the start of the race and introducing the honorary speakers, which included many awesome Michiganders like UP200 President Ross Anthony, MI State Rep Karl Bohnak, Marquette Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Tara Laase-McKinney, Vice President of Pure Michigan Kelly Wolgamott, and NMU President Chris Olsen to name a few! The festivities officially started at 6:30pm after an afternoon of prepping Washington street and community members mingling with the teams, as spectators found their spots and the starting line was cleared, the Marquette Mens Chorus sang the national anthems of Canada and the USA as the flags were presented, followed by short speeches from the guest speakers about the history of the event, its importance to the community and sport, and how it reflects just how special Marquette is.
As the last speakers said their piece the UP200 was ready to usher out its first team at 7pm – Walt continued his MC duties as each team made it to the line; highlighting the Mushers, the dogs, and the teams sponsors, along with some special facts or info about the mushers and dogs! Racers continued out the gate every 2 minutes until the last team went out at 7:32, then about an hour of downtime commenced before the first of the Midnight Run teams bolted off the start line at 8:30!
Congratulations to all of the racers and a huge thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors that made this all possible! Fore more information on race times, schedule, and to get involved check out the UP200 website here or their Facebook here!
Your UP200 Podium consisted of: 1st Ryan Anderson, 2nd Erin Aili, and 3rd Matthew Schmidt
Midnight Run: 1st Rita Wheseler, 2nd Michael Bestgen, and 3rd Joanna Oberg
JackPine 30: 1st Erin Schouweiler, 2nd Sarah Eveningred, and 3rd Suzie Harris
See our Photo Gallery from the race start downtown on Friday night!
