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Bayshore Marathon

07:157:15 AM Traverse City
Mission Point Light
Mission Point Light. Photograph by No machine-readable author provided. Bkonrad assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The marathon starts on the grounds of Northwestern Michigan College, runs out and back along the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay and finishes on the track of Traverse City Central High School.

The course in short 3 lines
  • Out and back along the bayOut and back along East Grand Traverse Bay, with the last 200 m on a stadium track.
  • Flat, paved and a Boston qualifierFlat, fully paved and shaded in places; a listed Boston qualifier.
  • Center Road and the 6-hour limitFinish line closes at 1:15 PM; Center Road reopens at 1:00 PM.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryOut and back along the bayOut and back along East Grand Traverse Bay, with the last 200 m on a stadium track.

The organiser names the roads as Birchwood Drive, East Shore Road, Center Road (M-37) and Bluff Road, after one mile of residential streets at the start. The marathon returns to the start line and then steps onto the track for the final 200 meters inside the stadium. The half marathon starts near the marathon’s turnaround and follows the same route back; the 10K turns around at 3 miles instead of 13.

Sourced

Whole courseGradientFlat, paved and a Boston qualifierFlat, fully paved and shaded in places; a listed Boston qualifier.

The course is USATF certified (MI22016MN, through 2032). The average high at this time of year is given as 66°F and the average low as 41°F. Aid stations are at roughly 18 mile markers, from 1.5 to 24.7, with water and Gatorade at all of them.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsCenter Road and the 6-hour limitFinish line closes at 1:15 PM; Center Road reopens at 1:00 PM.

Anyone finishing after the finish line closes may not receive an official finish time, and the organiser keeps no separate category for walkers. With Center Road closed to traffic, spectators use the organiser’s non-participant map and a spectator bus shuttle to reach Bluewater and Gray Road.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Traverse City, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

At a glance

distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
Marathon · Half marathon · 10K
cut-off
6:00 h
6 hours. Finish closes 13:15

Race week

Timetable

Saturday 29 May Race day

  1. 07:157:15 AM

    Marathon start Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City. The marathon starts on the grounds of Northwestern Michigan College.
  2. 13:151:15 PM

    Finish line closes Anyone finishing after the finish line closes may not receive an official finish time. 6:00 limit: 8:31/km for 42.195 km6:00 limit: 13:43/mi for 26.2 mi
Other races (2)
  1. 07:307:30 AM

    Half marathon and 10K start The half marathon is bused to its start at Devil's Dive Road; the 10K is an out-and-back on the marathon course.
  2. 13:301:30 PM

    Kids run start A 1.2 mile run for kids in grades K to 5 that finishes at the official finish line.

Times as published by the organiser, in Traverse City time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Traverse City time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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