The downhill Marquette Marathon course drops nearly 900 feet from the start in Ishpeming to the finish in Marquette. The course follows the Iron Ore Heritage Trail down into Marquette and finishes at the Superior Dome.
Approximately 18 miles of the course is paved with the rest hard-packed trail.
The Marquette Marathon was the 140th largest marathon in the U.S. last year and was the 161st largest in 2022.
This year 14.7% of finishers qualified for the Boston Marathon and 15.8% of runners qualified for Boston in 2023.
This gives the Marquette Marathon the 90th highest percentage of Boston Marathon qualifiers in the U.S. last year and the 85th highest percentage so far in 2024.
Its Course Score of 100.92 ranks it as the 29th fastest marathon course in the U.S. and the 1st fastest course in Michigan.
The typical race time temperature and humidity levels are above the ideal range for optimal marathon performance. This, coupled with the Course Score, gives the Marquette Marathon a PR Score of 98.15. This PR Score ranks it as the 252nd fastest marathon in the U.S. and the 8th fastest in Michigan.
Learn more about PR Scores and Course Scores on the FAQ page.
Marquette Marathon Elevation Chart
Max Elevation: 1465 feet (446m) Min Elevation: 602 feet (183m)
This website says the race has 18 miles of unpaved trails. That is not true at all. As of 2019 the majority of this course occurs on paved roads and pathways. A good 4 - 7 miles of the course is on unpaved gravel trail (and that portion occurs mostly on the downhill). This race drops about 1000 feet and it does have some uphills (primarily in the first 10 miles. One hill occurs on mile 22). This course has aid support every two miles. This year is was 46 degrees at the start with clear skies. You will have tree cover for a large portion of the race until you get into town around mile 15, then you'll be exposed. From mile 16 to the finish it's flat (except for that hill in Presque Isle which also has tree cover). The last hill occurs on the final half mile of the course, and it is a steady climb. Because you can see the finish from nearly a half mile away it feels longer than it actually is. The crowd support at this race is very strong for its size. This town loves people, and they really love this marathon. I would highly recommend this race to any marathoner. Some people might find the downhill portion to be hard on their quads. I didn't have an issue with it. As long as you train with some hills during your cycle you should find this course to be forgiving if not very enjoyable. The only difficulty that this race poses is that it's quite far away from any major city, and therefore flying is about the most practical way to get here. I would not recommend driving to it unless you live in a neighboring state. I had a fantastic time at this race. Can't recommend it enough.
Race Tips
Bring your own nutrition as you would with any marathon.
I would recommend getting a hotel or airbnb near third street. Take the shuttle bus they provide to get to the start.
AE's review of 2015 Marquette Marathon.
5 /
5 Stars
Review
I liked the race and it is very local small crowds. Not much support along the trail, but on a nice cool morning, it is very nice. The last 3 miles doesn't have much shade and the last .5 of the marathon is uphill. Save your legs and work the downhills, but watch your footing.
Nice mixed of paved and flat gravel trails as well as roads. More twists and turns than the map reveals and though there is a net elevation drop, there are many short challenging hills in the first half of the race that tire the legs for the bigger, more difficult hills around miles 22 and 26. Not as fast as it's billed.
Race Tips
Reserve some energy for the second half of the race, don't expect a lot of crowd support along the way as it was mostly just volunteers (who were wonderful) along the course, study the map well as porta-potties along the course were not overly plentiful.
4.3 Stars from 3 Reviews
