By mid-July, I start thinking back about the wonderful cold winter days of running and how great it was to be able to run distance without feeling like I have sweated out every ounce of fluid that I have taken in since my last run. That is why the timing of the Canal Half Marathon in Hancock, Michigan was so wonderful. Mid-July in Michigan’s Copper Country is the absolute best weather to run in. The sun is out, but the blistering heat is nowhere to be found.

The Canal Run has options: 10 Mile Walk, Half Marathon, 10 Mile Run, 5 Mile Run, 5 Mile Walk and 2 Mile Fun Run/Walk with staggered start times that feed into the same race. There is also a Kids Dash at McLain State Park. This year, Houghton County suffered a major flood just weeks before the races, so the routs were affected, but a first-time participant would never know it. Historically, the road race ends in beautiful Hancock, but this year, it was an out-and-back, ending at McLain State Park. I swear I read about "rolling hills," but thankfully, they were not nearly as bad as I feared with a minimum elevation of 604 and a maximum of 883.

The Half Marathon route started at the stop sign of Koskela Road north of Hancock and took runners along M203 to McLain State Park, where the 10 Mile Run and Walk joined the race. Together, runners and walkers continued on M203 along the Portage Ship Canal on M203. The 5 Mile Run and Walk joined the race and, soon after, there was a turnaround to head back towards McLain State Park for the finish. I was a bit worried about the other distances joining in on the Half Marathon course, but it actually worked out well and kept me motivated and on pace.

Shuttle Service was well organized and there was no wait. Parking was not available at McLain State Park, so participants, volunteers and spectators were directed to park at the First Apostolic Lutheran Church, where buses shuttled people to the various starting locations. At the finish, buses were immediately available to take people back to their cars. The shuttle service was an impressive example of organization and not nearly as stressful as I was anticipating.

The race was impressively well supported and the registration/packet pick-up was smooth.
A very detailed Race Guide with helpful reminders about nutrition and recovery was included in each race bag along. This year, the Canal Run donated all of their Canal Run Gives Bank funds to the Portage Health Foundation’s fund to do its part to help the Copper Country Community in its effort to recover from the flood.

This is a must do race and could easily turn in to a yearly must do!