The Marji Gesick mountain bike race recently took place in Marquette, Michigan. Chris Stindt had resisted the pull to sign up but finally gave in last year. This year, he came back for a second portion and was joined by his wife. Read about his race recap and insights then set your alarm for next year's race.
Words by Chris Stindt. More info at Marji Gesick.
A lot of endurance events will inevitably lead to the question of ‘why’.
Why do we do this to ourselves?
Why am I out here?
What the heck was I thinking when I signed up for this?
The Marji Gesick mountain bike race is one that will definitely leave you wondering.
It will definitely leave those around you wondering as well - coming home with sweat, blood, and tears, your equipment in tatters, body bruised and sore in places you maybe have never felt before.
And then you sign up again!
Is Marji Gesick Just Hype?
I don’t love things with ‘hype’.
I’m not always against something if it’s genuinely good, but when things seem too good, usually I feel like they are a setup for disappointment. Plus, like, I don’t know, if you think this thing is so good, then you go enjoy it and leave me alone.
I’m sick of hearing about it.
But all my friends were doing it.
I guess my mom was right about me jumping off a bridge too, except that would take much less forethought and almost certainly result in less bodily harm.
So I signed up for the Marji 50 last year, which my friend Dan used to call the kid’s race.
I got beat down pretty good, but blurred over the memory, and signed up again. Oh, and I convinced my wife to sign up for the mini, which is the hardest 19 miles of any of the courses.
Hitting the Right Note in Marquette
We’ve been dealing with some family stuff, and it’s really time intensive. Anna was probably spending over 10 hours a week caring for her mom, and it had taken a toll, mentally and physically. We hadn’t left La Crosse for more than a night since spring break, and after canceling a couple of trips, we were all pretty ready for a long weekend in Marquette. Apparently it had been awhile because Julie said ‘whoa look at that classic McDonalds!’ And ‘whoa, there is a McDonalds in this Walmart!’.
Yup, we were livin’ large.
We drove up after school Thursday, and got to see our good friend Erik start the 200 mile out and back race. No, you can’t sign up for it. They only host it once every 5 years and you need a race resume to even apply. ‘Extra special’. It was super cool to see almost 20 La Crosse friends out in the near dawn light to send Erik off.
We then did some touristy stuff, and a family mountain bike ride, right from our rental place. It was one of those special family days - I don’t know if Marquette is really that neat, or if it just hits the right note in the early fall. Regardless, probably you shouldn’t go check it out for yourself or anything.
My Tires Taking a Poop on the 50-Mile
I raced the 50 on Saturday - I felt really good, surprisingly. I was 3rd wheel overall going into the singletrack and doing good working up a hill when my rear tire started to feel squishy.
I thought, wow, my legs are already taking a poop, usually they only feel this squishy when I’m really tired.
But..I actually had a flat tire.
I grabbed a CO2 and the sealant held, and I only lost about 10 places.
I skipped the first rest stop, and reeled in a group. Eventually I left them, and rode a buncha terrible stuff, up and down, and walked/jogged a bit, and passed more people.
I couldn’t believe how I was feeling.
And then whoosh, a big ole flat tire again. I plugged it, and 4 hours and 30 minutes into the race, limped into the second checkpoint.
My crack mechanic team, which consisted of two of my friends who I randomly saw, did their best to get the plugs to fill the hole, but alas it wasn’t to be.
Eventually we stuck a tube in, and I rode off, after watching the last 10 people I passed go out ahead of me. They put extra air in the tire hoping it would hold. I knew I was on borrowed time, and hoped I could get to the finish. Really, the whole day felt like borrowed time after the first flat, 30 minutes in.
It definitely changed my perspective.
You'll Always Get Sucker Punched by Marji
Oh, and at one point a tree sucker punched me. It was sort of a stump, hanging in the air somehow(?) and wham, it hit my hand and dropped me to the ground, where I bounced.
Somehow everything checked out.
But the thing with Marji is…it’s truly treacherous.
They do some hype and people love to tell you how this is the hardest thing ever, but there are some legitimate scary trails.
I chatted with my wife after her mini and I said, basically, every time you hit a root or rock or drop or whatever you’re rolling the dice. The odds might be in your favor if you have good skills, but eventually luck will catch up with you.
She supermanned over the handlebars at one point, but neither of us had more than superficial cuts, scrapes and bruises. I’d guess you literally ride over 1000 roots in the final two sections. Plus an equal number of rocks?
Everything Ends in Happiness
Anyway, my tube popped, 3 or 4 miles after I set out for the final section. My borrowed time was over. I wanted to be sad, but I was already plenty happy to be done riding. My friend Dan picked me up and we went to watch our wives cross the finish line together.
However bad my day seemed…he was supposed to be out doing the 200 but had broken, I don’t know, 3 bones a few weeks before, and couldn’t ride.
Don’t worry, he’s mostly fine.
The girls were happy. The kids had a wonderful day of cheering.
We all went and jumped in Lake Superior (as cold as advertised) and really just capped a great weekend.
This report is already too long, and also is missing half of the cool stuff that happened. So, whatever you do, don’t try and get in to Marji whenever they open registration, it fills up in less than 60 seconds anyway.
