The Lighthouse 100 Ultra Marathon is happening tomorrow, Saturday, June 1, 2019, so if you’re traveling Old Mission Peninsula roads in the morning, be on the lookout for runners.
The Lighthouse 100 includes 250 runners who will begin the race at Mission Point Lighthouse at 6 a.m. There are no road closures scheduled, but the OMP section of the race is as follows:
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- Start at Mission Point Lighthouse at 6 a.m.
- South to Old Mission Road, Left on Old Mission Road
- Follow Smokey Hollow Road to Center Road
- Continue on Center Road, then left on Blue Water Road and right on Bluff Road to Center Road
- Center Road to East Shore Road to Bay Boulevard to Eighth Street
- Left on M72, right on Airport Access to the TART Trail along Parsons Road. The race continues through northern Michigan to the Petoskey Lighthouse.
Click here for the full map. There’s also a Lighthouse 50 Ultra Marathon that begins at Torch Lake at noon.
The Lighthouse 100 Marathon caused a bit of a stir two years ago, when Mission Point Lighthouse was at the end of the race. Runners were spotted on Peninsula roads at night, and residents weren’t made aware that the race was happening.
That may be why the race is starting at Mission Point Lighthouse and ending at the Petoskey Lighthouse this year, rather than the other way around. However, I was only made aware of this race today, and only because I happened to see it listed in the calendar section of the current issue of Northern Express.
I do not recall race organizers going through the Peninsula Township approval process, nor do I recall it being on any recent Township Board meeting agendas, although I may have missed it on a consent agenda.
UPDATE: I checked with Peninsula Township, and the race organizers do not require Township approval if the group is 250 participants or less.
For more information about the Lighthouse 100 Ultra, visit their website.
I love how their race site states the runners will be on “ little used country roads” …….are they kidding ?!!? And for a fee of $250 per runner, they should get the twp approval like everyone else.
Thanks for the note, Jayne! I checked with the Township, and the race organizers do not require a special use permit or approval from the Township if there are 250 participants or less.
Good to know. It would be nice however if an event such as this which takes in 10s of thousands of dollars in registration fees does anything to contribute to the local community they run through. A donation to the new library perhaps? Just expecting them to spend tourist dollars just doesn’t seem enough.