Supporting Partners
TODAY’S UPDATE
– Drop bags
– Early Packet Pickup
– This was shared in an email 8.26.2024
– This was shared in an email 8.19.2024
Drop Bags
MG100 RUNNERS
Duffel bags not to exceed 17” wide, 22” high, 10” deep. Drop bags will be brought to the start line of your race and brought to Jackson Mine Park. It must be labeled with the white tag provided with last name and bib number. You will see your drop bag twice at Jackson Mine Park. When you are finished with your drop bag and want it brought to the finish line, you MUST tell a volunteer. You do not need to pack water in your drop bag. Water is available at the pavilion 24 hours a day at JMP.
Your drop bags will be unattended in a locked Uhaul behind the wooden building at JMP until approximately 10 am Saturday when it will be moved underneath the drop bag tent.
We will not accept drop bags brought to JMP by family or friends. All drop bags must be dropped off at the race start.
Volunteers will not give the drop bag to anyone but the racer. Friends and family cannot get the bags for racers.
Don’t ask.
Our volunteers handle over 1000 drop bags. The bags get touched multiple times throughout the race.
The drop bag exchange is something that must occur between the event staff and the racer only.
If you #quit, your drop bag will be moved to the finish line.
All remaining drop bags at the JMP 2 am cutoff Sunday will be moved to the finish line.
OUT & BACK (BIKE/RUN)
Duffel bags not to exceed 17” wide, 22” high, 10” deep. Drop bags will be brought to the start line of your respective race and brought to Jackson Mine Park. It must be labeled with the white tag provided with last name and bib number. You will see your drop bag twice at Jackson Mine Park. When you are finished with your drop bag and want it brought to the finish line, you MUST tell a volunteer. You do not need to pack water in your drop bag. Water is available at the pavilion 24 hours a day at JMP.
You are allowed TWO drop bags with the same dimensions above.
Bag 1: will be at JMP and you will see this bag 4 times. This drop bag will be unattended in a locked 906 Adventure Team trailer behind the wooden building at JMP until approximately 10 am Saturday when it will be moved under the drop bag tent.
Bag 2: will be brought to Forestville trailhead and left unattended underneath a 906 tent to the left side of the pole barn. Any bags remaining at the start of the 100 bike race will be moved to Jackson Mine park.
We will not accept drop bags brought to JMP by family or friends. All drop bags must be dropped off at the race start.
Volunteers will not give the drop bag to anyone but the racer. Friends and family cannot get the bags for racers.
Don’t ask.
Our volunteers handle over 1000 drop bags. The bags get touched multiple times throughout the race.
The drop bag exchange is something that must occur between the event staff and the racer only.
If you #quit, your drop bag will be moved to the finish line.
All remaining drop bags at the JMP 2 am cutoff Sunday will be moved to the finish line.
EVERYONE ELSE (MG100, MG50, WORST OF BOTH WORLDS)
One small backpack or duffel bag not to exceed 17” wide, 22” high, 10” deep. Drop bags will be brought to the start line of your respective race and brought to Jackson Mine Park. It must be labeled with the white tag provided with last name and bib number. You will see your drop bag twice at Jackson Mine Park. When you are finished with your drop bag and want it brought to the finish line, you MUST tell a volunteer. You do not need to pack water in your drop bag. Water is available at the pavilion 24 hours a day at JMP.
We will not accept drop bags brought to JMP by family or friends. All drop bags must be dropped off at the race start.
Volunteers will not give the drop bag to anyone but the racer. Friends and family cannot get the bags for racers. Don’t ask. Our volunteers handle over 1000 drop bags. The bags get touched multiple times throughout the race. The drop bag exchange is something that must occur between the event staff and the racer only.
If you #quit, your drop bag will be moved to the finish line.
All remaining drop bags at the JMP 2 am cutoff Sunday will be moved to the finish line.
Early Packet Pickup
6:00 – 9:00 pm 910 W. Baraga Ave, Marquette, Mi
THIS WAS SHARED IN AN EMAIL 8.26.2024
Mechanical Support: Who can help you?
We’re gonna update the language on this to make it easier to control. You can get help from a participant, or someone offering neutral support. It’s well within the ethos of “community” and current neutral support guidelines. If you can’t fix something, but someone else can, they can help you. If they help you, they need to be willing to help someone else, if help is needed. It is pretty straightforward.
How many bikes can you use?
You can use one bike, one set of wheels, one seat post, etc. You get one bike, and one set of components. If your wheel breaks fix it, or have someone else fix it, but it has to be your wheel. Same goes for the rest of the parts. If your derailleur breaks, fix it, or finish on a single-speed. Clear? Good.
Camping & Parking at Forestville.
We rent the entire property. Camping can only be done in the campground. No sleeping in the parking lot. No overnight parking ahead of event. If we find vehicles there at night we’ll have them towed. Make sure to follow the campground rules. Be respectful of your fellow campers. If ya got questions about the campground, or the rules, contact the NTN.
Parking is a self-supported activity.
Please be advised: Parking can get a little crazy in the morning. We always suggest that if you can, you ride to the start, or get dropped off. Plan to get parked early.
At Forestville: Get there early. Seriously. It. gets. Crazy. Follow directions and do what the parking crew tells ya. We have a lot of people we need to move through that area in the morning.
Downtown Marquette: Utilize public parking resources. Be considerate of our businesses and residents. If you park illegally, that’s on you. Do some homework and identify public lots ahead of time. Keep in mind the lot next to the start is not available after it is full, or after 7:30, whichever comes first.
906AT Basecamp: You are welcome to park at Basecamp and ride to the start. Just do us a favor. If there are trailers there, don’t block them, and do not park in our neighbor’s yard. 955 North Lakeshore Boulevard, Marquette
Long story short. Come to town with a plan. Know what you’re gonna do. Get your Support Crew setup for success. Plan ahead. Execute.
Tokens – One more thing…
We hope this doesn’t happen but it seems to happen every year… A dude (or woman) gets to the finish line without all the tokens. If this happens, ya gotta make a decision right there: Are you going back for it, or not?
If you say yes, you need to turn around and head back out. If you don’t, you are done. Don’t tell us that your cousin has it in his car, or something of that variety. If you don’t have it, you don’t have it.
Don’t give your tokens to anyone. Doing so will get you disqualified.
Le Mans and Le Bike
Here are the events that feature a complimentary 1-mile run or bike ride:
MG100 BIKE
MG100 RUN
Out & Back Navigation & Forestville Cutoff
Ishpeming —> Marquette will NOT be signed. This was shared last fall ahead of registration. You will navigate 100% with GPS. Good luck 😂
Marquette —> Ishpeming will be signed with the traditional red arrows.
All participants of the Out & Back events MUST be into Forestville and gone before the corresponding MG100 events start:
Out & Back Run has to be to FV and gone by 8:00 am FRIDAY
Out & Back Bike has to be to FV and gone by 7:30 am SATURDAY
THIS WAS SHARED IN AN EMAIL 8.19.2024
Road Rules
Marji Gesick is self-supported, meaning that YOU are responsible for you, and you must follow the “rules of the road” at all times. You will not see volunteers on course stopping traffic for you. You will share space with other trail users and at times motor vehicles, side-by-sides, or ATVs. We cannot stress this enough: Follow the rules of the road. At every crossing, look both ways. Have your head on a swivel. The world is a brutal place. Something bad can happen at any time, usually when you least expect it.
WHEN WILL THE GPX BE RELEASED?
We will not release the GPX files until race week, and even then, it might happen a couple times 😂 2023 routes are available on RWGPS for review until the 2024 routes release. Patience, eh?
Checkpoints & Tokens
Checkpoints are hidden across the route. Some checkpoints have tokens, while others are just there to mess with ya. You won’t know what it is until you check. They all look the same.
If you get to a Checkpoint and it’s full of “something”, take one. It’s a token. If it’s empty, #blamedanny and keep rolling.
Checkpoint locations and contents are kept secret. We do not share plans with anyone…
If you get to the finish line without any of the required tokens we’ll DQ ya.
To be clear… all checkpoint signage is found directly on-route. They’re not hidden in da hills. On the approach to a checkpoint you’ll encounter large signs 24” x 36” with the words “CHECKPOINT AHEAD” followed by a sign that says “CHECKPOINT” with a full bin of “something”.
ONLY TAKE ONE. DON’T LOSE IT.
Support Crews, Neutral Support, Community
You really need to read this and remember it on race day. I am gonna break it into three parts.
Support Crews. I am going to go so far as to say, the best part of Marji is all of the people who spend their day (and night) helping you get to da finish. It has been incredible to witness. I hope all of you appreciate how special this is. An event of this magnitude requires a lot of sacrifice by you and the folks who are out there to help… many of them are complete strangers. Do me a favor, and thank all of the volunteers and support crews.
Neutral Support. Yes, this is a self-supported event. You are responsible for you. We (the organizers) are not here to help you. Yes, GPS is required. It’s been required since day one. Is the course marked? Yes, but as we have said from day one: signs fall down, people tear them down, and da bears will eat them. Don’t blame us if you show up unprepared and can’t finish the event because you don’t know how to navigate.
Neutral support, of offered to one person, must be offered to all. It’s really that simple. It’s y’all against us. So be good to each other, and help every one ya can. Cool? Good.
Community. This is important. Don’t lose sight of the fact that not everyone in the community is part of the event, and the way you interact with them or potentially block access to their home, or driveway, could hurt all of us. You need to remember, we’re all guests to someone. Don’t make decisions that could hurt the event, a participant, a resident, or a partner. We’re all in this together.
Marquette Mountain / 1 UP Neutral Support
Marquette Mountain & 1UP are joining forces to offer you neutral support. You will find them at approximately mile-49 on the one-hundred mile course on Saturday from 9:00 am – until mid-afternoon. There will be aid tents with food and hydration. The resort restaurant will be open for support crews. It has a ton of parking. We’re sharing this so you can plan accordingly. Don’t thank us… we have nothing to do with it. Thank MM and 1UP.
Lake Enchantment Road: Is off-limits to support crews and Marji Gesick traffic. Do not use it. Riders will be able to get support from the resources Marquette Mountain and 1UP provide. There is usually another location on the way to Negaunee called “The Wurst Aid Station”. Count on those points for support. Share this with your crews. Essentially, between Marquette and Negaunee, you need to be on your own.
Marji Gesick Gear
Here’s how you can secure your Marji Gesick Gear. The online store opens the week of the event and remains open until 9.29.2024. Everything will be available from t-shirts for participants to support crews, jerseys, posters, da hats, and more.
By the time you get this, the pre-event sale will be done. If you ordered gear through it, we’ll have it for you at packet pickup. If you did not get one of the five emails we sent reminding you to get the gear, you’ll have to wait.
When the store closes 9.29.2024, we’ll place our orders and bring the gear into Lakeshore Basecamp. It usually ships to you no later than November.
As we work toward the event we’ll share images of stuff in Marji Gesick Talk on Facebook to tease ya…
Race Week Email
You can expect to hear from us from time to time between now and 9.21. If you aren’t part of Marji Gesick Talk on Facebook, you should join it. Lots of info is shared in there. The race week email will hit your inbox 9.16.2024. If you have questions between now and then, good luck finding the answers.
Volunteer for da Marji
This is more of a note for your support crews, family, and friends. We are on the hunt for volunteers to help out at each start (MG50, MG100). If ya have someone coming with ya who isn’t racing we’d be happy to put em’ to work for a few hours. Volunteers get complimentary shirts and hats, too.
Contact julie@906adventureteam.com for more info.