Midnight Run start time changed

Having a good snow base is important for many U.P. outdoor activities, and it’ll be vital for the 24th annual U.P. 200 sled dog race weekend.

There’s a slight change to the start of the Midnight Run race in marquette next week.

It’ll begin a bit later at night than usual.

The U.P. 200 mushers are still starting from downtown Marquette a week from tomorrow.

They’ll hit the course shortly before 7 pm that night.

The midnight run teams were scheduled to start right behind them, and that meant it was possible for them to run into the U.P. 200 teams on the course.

U.P. Sled Dog Association president Pat Torreano says it also would have meant that the Midnight Run would finish in Munising too early the following morning to guarantee large crowds.

The start of the Midnight Run has been pushed back to 9 pm a week from tomorrow.

The change now means the Midnight Run will wrap up in Munising sometime between 8:30 and 10:30 the next morning, but it also means the race weekend needs more volunteers than it did previously.

Torreano says the race committee has called about 100 previous volunteers to see if they’d be interested in working again, but they’ll need more help than that.

They’re also asking for help from anyone that can lend a few hours on race night a week from Friday.

If you want to know how to get involved, Torreano is asking you to call (906) 942-7850.

You can also get more information about the weekend’s events here.