MAC ATTACK Running Around Mackinac Island

RISING EARLY TO AVOID MIDDAY TRAFFIC, I began my run around the island on Highway M-185. The air was cool. Fog hung low on the water, the outline of the rising sun barely discernible through the clouds. Gulls floated overhead. Other than them and an occasional rabbit skittering across my path, the road was clear.

I was running around Mackinac Island on the shore road, a loop of about eight miles. My wife Rose and I had come to this island at the top of the Great Lakes, near where Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron join, on vacation. We were staying at Mission Point Resort on the island's southeastern shore.

Arriving by ferry the afternoon before, we had rented mountain bikes at the Resort's Health Club for a looping ride that had taken us through hardwood forests on paths paved and unpaved before descending to the shore road at British Landing on the backside of the island.

It was there on July 16, 1812 that a British expeditionary force had arrived and hauled their cannons to the heights overlooking Fort Mackinac. The British general issued an ultimatum to the American commander. Nobody had told the Americans that they were at war yet, so--being outnumbered--they prudently surrendered. "Three years later, we regained Mackinac Island in the classic American tradition," our carriage driver would tell us. "We bought it!"

Clean Air

Horse-drawn carriage is a common form of transportation on Mackinac Island. That and bicycles, 2,500 of which are licensed on the island, not counting the several hundred that tourists bring across with them on ferries each day. Automobiles are prohibited on Mackinac Island. The heavy midday traffic we had tried to avoid by rising early was almost entirely people on bikes, like us. One advantage of being caught in a bicycle traffic jam is that you don't have to breathe exhaust fumes.

"We're spoiled," admits Suzy Miller, who lives on the island year- round. "When I journey to the mainland--even to the small town of St. Ignace--the quality of the air seems notably poorer."

Although a small airport mid-island services light planes, most people arrive on Mackinac Island across the water. Ferries run regularly every 15-30 minutes during summer months, the time of peak tourist travel. The five-mile journey from St. Ignace or Mackinaw City (the more popular departure point) takes 16 minutes.

Mackinaw City is located off Interstate 75 just before that expressway crosses the Mackinac Bridge, which at seven miles across is the world's longest continuous span bridge. While island and bridge are spelled "Mackinac" and the city spelled "Mackinaw," all are pronounced properly with a last syllable "aw." The name comes from that of a French name for their original fort: Michilimackinac, a name they had, in turn, borrowed from the Indians and reportedly meaning "great turtle," describing the Island's shape.

Historical Mackinac

French missionaries had arrived on the island in 1670; French fur traders followed. The British acquired Mackinac Island after winning the French and Indian War in the 18th century; the United States took control after its Revolutionary War, although not until 1796.

Toward the second half of the 19th century, visitors began arriving without muskets, many of them wealthy industrialists from Detroit looking for restful summer vacations. They built elegant, Victorian-style mansions atop the bluff overlooking the shipping passage south of the Island. The Grand Hotel with reportedly the world's longest porch (700 feet) opened in 1887. The Mackinac Race (by sailboat from Chicago) started in 1907. Guests at the Grand used to sit on the porch and watch boats cross the finish line, although the finish now is at Mission Point Resort, where we were staying. Mackinac Island currently has 1,200 guest rooms for the nearly one million visitors who arrive annually.

Mission Point Resort overlooks Highway M-185, the two-lane road that circles the island, offering a convenient start for my morning run. The distance is about 8 miles. With markers every mile, I decided on a structured workout that began with a warm-up, then featured alternate fast and slow miles before cooling down. It became a classic repeat workout: 3 x 1-mile.

Strangely, I ran each repeat significantly faster than the previous one, leading me to believe that whoever had measured the miles had incorrectly shortened them! Well, maybe it was the fresh air.

Fudgies

Later that afternoon, Rose and I opted for massages at the Health Club, to soothe fatigued muscles from our journeys by bike and by foot. There seemed no way to overcome excess calories consumed sampling the product of the island's leading industry: the manufacture of fudge.

There are 13 fudge shops on Mackinac Island, the oldest of them Murdick's (1887), whose founder came up with the marketing ploy of installing window fans to vent the smell of fudge preparation into the street as a lure to passing tourists. Murdick's alone makes 30-40 tons of fudge a year to sell on the Island and elsewhere in Michigan.

We accounted for a half a pound of that fudge (cost: $4.50), but it never got off the island. Our stay was too brief--but after that visit we certainly plan to return soon.

GETTING THERE: Mackinac Island is 280 miles from Detroit, 390 miles from Chicago, expressway all the way. (It took us seven hours from our home at the bottom of Lake Michigan, including ferry ride to the island and carriage ride to the Resort.) The nearest major airport is Pellston, served by Northwest and United Airlines. Ferry service is convenient: $12 round trip. Indoor valet parking with your car washed and cleaned when you return from the island is extra.

HOUSING: Mission Point Resort has 236 rooms priced from $109 to $289, depending on size and season. Two-night packages begin at $175 per person, based on double occupancy. Contact (800) 833-7711 or (906) 847-3312 for reservations. The Chamber of Commerce offers an information packet on the island, which also lists hotels. Call: (800) 4-LILACS. Or visit the Chamber's web site: http://www.mackinac.com.

ACTIVITIES: Bring both your walking and running shoes. Walking Main Street looking for fudge, riding carriages and biking are popular activities. Touring. Fishing. Golf. Simply breathing fresh air may be the best excuse to visit Mackinac Island. Don't miss Butterfly House where you can walk through a greenhouse with hundreds of multi-colored species fluttering around you.

RUNNING: There are three running races on Mackinac Island, the most popular being a 10K at the time of the Lilac Festival in early June that attracts X,000 runners. There is also a run around the island in September, the weekend after the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. A cross-country run is planned for the fall. For information, contact John Gault of the River Bend Striders: 810/659-7576.

BICYCLING: Bicycles rent for $3-6 an hour, depending on whether you're willing to settle for a pedestrian one-speed model (okay for the low road circling the island) or want a trendy mountain bike for testing the highlands. If you plan to do much bicycling, you may prefer bringing your own wheels, easily transportable on the ferry.

OFF-ISLAND: Tired of relaxing, Mission Point Resort will take you by ferry to the gambling casino on the mainland at Sioux St. Marie. For $29, you get a free meal and $40 worth of casino "money." (It took us nearly two hours pumping quarter slot machines before we lost our allotment.)

WINTER RETURN: During most winters, the Great Lakes freeze solid where they join near the straits of Mackinac. Snowmobilers reach the Island at British Landing from St. Ignace by following an ice highway marked by discarded Christmas trees. A few hardy cross-country skiers also make the journey, staying at one of the several inns that remain open year-round. It's been one of my goals to make that trip, so pray for the straits to freeze this winter.

Copyright © 1996 by Hal Higdon. All rights reserved. Requests to reprint will be considered.