Minocqua "No Frills" Marathon

I ran the half-marathon at 12 years old, and the marathon at 13 years old. Such an ideal race! For me, from Minocqua, you don't find such amazing races like this one! Warning: Course has changed due to CDC guidelines about Covid-19. It is now extremely hilly. But, still an amazing race!

I ran the Minocqua No Frills Marathon in 2018. It was my 16th marathon and I was trying to BQ. It is an ideal course for a BQ - flat, fast, crushed gravel for the last 20 miles and pretty much in the shade for the last 20 miles as well. I missed by BQ by a little over a minute, but would not hesitate to recommend this race to anyone. It was small (about 100 runners for the marathon; more for the half marathon that starts an hour later - so if you are looking for crowd support, this isn't the race for you). The spectators were far and few between - mostly just the volunteers at the aid stations. The course itself was gorgeous - mile after mile of northwoods scenery along the crushed gravel trail. The weather was ideal - 47 at the start, about 61 at the finish. Even though it's billed as 'no frills' - for my $45 entry fee I got an all you can eat pasta dinner at the brewery, a race shirt, a race water bottle, a finishers medal and plenty of post race refreshments. Kudos to the Minocqua Marathon organizers for hosting such a great event. I'll be back!

Fantastic and simple race. The Bearskin Trail is gorgeous running. Well organized and lots of fluid support for a race of its size. The weather was better than perfect in 2017, but man, what a great race!