North Country Trail Relay Course

Leg Distance

Garmin Links

The course is run on the North Country National Scenic Trail, which is a premier footpath that one day will stretch more than 4,000 miles to link communities and wilderness areas across seven northern states from North Dakota to New York. Already, more than 1,600 miles have been completed. The North Country Trail Association is a nationwide nonprofit organization that works in partnership with the National Park Service to build, maintain and promote the North Country National Scenic Trail. The race uses a portion of the North Country Trail running through the scenic Manistee National Forest.

The race is run on a point-to-point course, which runs on a single-track trail through lush meadows, oak and pine forests. The trail varies from steep hillsides and long vistas to slightly rolling; you will run past lakes, along and over several rivers and streams. Most of the course will be dry however some sections of the trail can be wet at this time of the year. A small percentage of the trail runs on gravel and paved roads. Come and enjoy some of the beauty and wildlife that the national forest has to offer.

The relay starts at the Mesick Roadside Park, 4 miles West of the intersection of M-115 and M-37 near Mesick, MI and follows the North Country Trail to the finish at Bowman Bridge Campground which is located just West of Baldwin, MI.

Team members will only have contact with the runner at designated exchange areas; runners are encouraged to carry fluids with them. Each team will be responsible for providing aid/support to their own runners. Make sure to maintain proper hydration and nutrition levels during the day. Due to the narrowness of the trail in some areas, biking of the course by team members is prohibited. Starting with leg 6 you may have a teammate pace your official runner.

To help you gain a better feel for the course the legs have been rated to reflect the scenery and degree of difficulty. The ratings for scenery are scenic, gorgeous and visually orgasmic. The ratings for difficulty are easy, challenging and gut buster. All of the legs have some hills and a view unmatched in most running venues. The ratings are an effort to compare the legs among the other legs on the course and not intended to be a comparison to a route you may be used to running.

Leg Distance:

To learn more about a specific leg click on the leg name and it will take you to the Garmin Connect web site where you can view maps and elevation charts.

		Leg	Accum.	Elevation						Map
Leg	Starting point	Dist.	Dist.	Gain	Loss	Water	Toilet	Scenery	Difficulty	Page
1	Mesick Roadside Park/M115	5.3	5.3	612	823	Y	Y	Scenic	Gut Buster	1
2	Beers Road	9.1	14.4	2019	2034		Y	Visually Orgasmic	Gut Buster	1
3	Manistee River Trail	7.2	21.6	1741	1856			Visually Orgasmic	Gut Buster +	1
4	Sawdust Hole	6.9	28.5	885	1099			Visually Orgasmic	Gut Buster	2
5	Michigan Avenue	4.6	33.1	241	164			Scenic	Easy	2
6	FS5502	5.9	39.0	571	598	Y	Y	Visually Orgasmic	Gut Buster	2
7	Riverside Drive	5.4	44.4	367	292			Gorgeous	Challenging	2
8	FS5203	2.5	46.9	192	320			Scenic	Easy	2
9	Freesoil Road	4.0	50.9	429	380			Scenic	Easy	2
10	West 5 Mile Road	2.3	53.2	41	109			Scenic	Easy	3
11	East 5 Mile Road	3.5	56.7	487	449			Gorgeous	Challenging	3
12	3 Mile Road	6.1	62.8	1146	981			Visually Orgasmic	Gut Buster	3
13	8th Street	4.7	67.5	1498	2233			Gorgeous	Challenging	3
14	Wingleton Road	3.3	70.8	388	355			Gorgeous	Challenging	3
15	40th Street	4.8	75.6	984	1068			Visually Orgasmic	Challenging	3
Finish	Bowman Bridge Campground					Y	Y

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