PARADISE The 5th annual Whitefish Point Marathon was held on Saturday, June 10, 2017.
A field of 61 runners lined up at the Whitefish Township Services building to begin their 26.2 mile journey. The route took the runners north on M-123 and the Whitefish Point Road to the turnaround at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point before returning south to finish at the Whitefish Township Community Center. To obtain the exact distance for a USA Track & Field (USATF) certified course, the runners ran an out and back section on Vermilion Road on the way north and traversed N Superior Drive on the return. Given a change in the course, the winners all posted course records. All 61 runners completed the marathon.
Prior to the start, Race Director, Bill Sved, provided race instructions; followed by marathon runner Tim Mutterer of Kaukana, WI, singing the national anthem. Rob Bannan of Paradise recited an Irish Blessing. The temperature was in the high forties for the 7:00 AM start under cloudy skies. About an hour later, a light rain began to fall which showered the runners periodically for the next several hours and ending before the majority of the runners crossed the finish line.
The overall men’s winner was Patrick Frahm, 23, of Saginaw, MI, posting a time of 2:56:22 (hours, minutes, seconds) finishing his first marathon. The women’s winner, Chelsea Blanchard, 27, of Bloomington, IN, also finishing her first marathon, with a time of 3:00:15, was the second finisher overall. Both winners, posted BQ’s (Boston Qualifier) times by meeting the standards set for their age for the 2018 Boston Marathon.
All finishers received a Lake Superior stone medallion with the Whitefish Point Marathon logo. and overall and age group winners were presented with a Lake Superior stone, each with a different scene representative of the area, hand painted by Sherri McLellen of Paradise.
The nine finishers posting Boston Qualifying times were awarded mugs with the logo of the Whitefish Point Marathon and a large BQ in blue and yellow, the colors most often associated with the Boston Marathon. The 17 first time marathon finishers were also recognized for their accomplishment with a medal. Official results were tabulated by Nikki Craig, Registration Coordinator.
The Whitefish Point Marathon is an event hosted by the Paradise Area Chamber of Commerce and included sponsors from Paradise, Newberry, and Sault Ste. Marie. All the runners are indebted to volunteers, the sponsors and the Whitefish Township Office, Whitefish Township EMS, and the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department, who were essential to the success of this race. A huge THANK YOU to all those that helped support the marathon.
Official Results