Sunrise on the Mighty Mac

One of my favorite places in Michigan is Mackinac Island and the Mackinaw City area. So I was excited to run the Mighty Mac Bridge Race 11k in September. And I was not disappointed. As we gathered in the dark parking lot at the starting line at 7:00am at the foot of the majestic Mackinaw Bridge in Mackinaw City you could feel the excitement in the group of 380 runners. Within a minute of crossing the starting line we were headed up the long slope of the five mile span over the Straits of Mackinaw. The red-orange dawn light was visible from below the horizon in the east and as I neared the middle of the bridge the bright, full morning sun broke above the shimmering lake. Amazing. It could not have been painted any better. The second half of the bridge was a steady downhill slope so I made up some time while continuing to enjoy the sunrise. As we came off the north end of the bridge we headed onto a trail in the woods that took us into a neighborhood near downtown St. Ignace then to the finish line at the ferry dock.

This was the first year for this Mighty Mac Bridge Race but they did a very nice job planning the event. Friendly volunteers, good finishers tent (with homemade baked goods!) and a beautiful sunrise view. My only complaint was I missed a medal by 20 seconds with my fourth place finish of fifteen in my age group. That’s okay, I’ll be back.