Latest news, weather, high school sports for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

MARQUETTE CO. -- Thousands lined the streets of downtown Marquette on Friday night for the start of the U.P. 200.  Although there were fewer mushers in this year's race, that didn't seem to affect the attendance.

Annually, the race weekend brings in about $1.4 million to Marquette County restaurants and hotels.

"It's a well taken care of race, it's a well-organized race, and it attracts some of the biggest mushers from the lower 48," says Pat Torreano, president of the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association.  "And it's a beautiful start--the 200 starts in downtown Marquette at night, under lights.  It's beautiful."

The UP 200 takes mushers through much of the central U.P.'s backwoods, as does the Noquemanon Ski Marathon:  a point-to-point race that's become a destination for Midwest Nordic skiers.

"What makes the Noquemanon Ski Marathon so significant is it is a prequalifier for larger races like the Birkebeiner, but it is also a family-centered weekend," says Nicole Dewald of the Noquemanon Trail Network.  "The racers really enjoy the community embracing the event."

Summertime brings in another crowd.

The Ore-to-Shore bike race attracted 2,300 adults and 300 kids last summer.

Big events, but with small town charm.

"They are smaller, more intimate races compared to big city races; you get to be a part of the community and a part of an event at the same time," Dewald adds.

The Superior Bike Fest is another growing event.  It started out as a one-day race with one event.  Now it's three days with more than five competitions.  Five hundred riders take part, most from outside of the U.P.  That's more than a million dollars in revenue for the county.

"The charm of Marquette County is what really helps us draw people back for the summer--they really like the scenery, they really like the terrain," says co-director Jim Grundstrom.

So there you have it.  Whether it's winter or summer, the annual events that happen here in Marquette County are what make it a cool county, both to live in and to visit.