The Noquemanon Ski Marathon has been attracting elite and recreational cross country skiers from across the United States, and around the world, for over two decades. Many thousands of skiers have taken the point to point 50K or 24K adventure from Ishpeming, the birthplace of organized skiing and home to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame, to Marquette along the shores of Lake Superior. The Noquemanon is famous for its rugged and pristine Upper Peninsula wilderness course and its varying terrain. Skiers find hard and soft wood forests, rock outcrops, lake crossings, bird's eye views of rivers and Lake Superior, often plentiful snowfall, a waterfall, adventurous and varying weather conditions (in the same day, at times), and a 1000-foot net descent. Many places on the full marathon course are very remote which adds to the sense of adventure. Nearly half of the full marathon course crosses private land and is only prepped and open to ski once a year.
While the Noquemanon is known to be a must-do Classic marathon, both the marathon and half marathon offer separate classic and freestyle races. The classic skiers start in advance of the freestyle skiers and both classic tracks and skating lanes are provided through the entire course. Skiers are sent out in wave sizes that leave each participant elbow room despite a total attendance of over 1,000 skiers annually. The Noquemanon also includes a marathon relay, 12K ski race, Junior/youth races, adaptive skiing, and a 15 mile snowshoe event.
Marquette County, the U.P.'s largest community with 65,000 residents and home to Northern Michigan University, has the amenities any visitor would want: plentiful hotel rooms with nordic skier amenities to meet any budget level, B&B's, a great variety of unique and local restaurants, several local brewery's, many kilometers of groomed ski and snowbike trails, Marquette Mountain downhill ski area, historic downtown and architecture, airport and rental cars, and a thriving retail trade and several excellent ski shops.
Come up and enjoy the scenic Noquemanon course, the amenities of the area, and the hospitality of our people. You'll quickly see why skiers bring the whole family and stay for several days.
Please note - there are no refunds allowed for any reason (this includes changes to race format or cancellation). The reason for this is that we are, first and foremost, a fundraising event for the Noquemanon Trail Network (known as the "NTN") which is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization and this event takes a significant upfront investment of resources to put on even if the event cannot be held due to poor conditions or other circumstances. Entry fees are non-transferable between individuals or to future races. The Noquemanon is a rugged and remote point to point course and while we do offer on course aid and support it should be noted that weather conditions in the Upper Peninsula can, at times, be very challenging. It is up to each individual to evaluate their abilities given the conditions before, and during, the event.
