Michael Janke

The twenty-six mile marathon is also a twenty-six mile portage.

Ely Minnesota is a gateway to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, where outfitting and guiding is a significant contribution to the local economy. It makes sense then, that the annual Ely Marathon has a ‘Portage’ class where runners portage their canoes (I. E. run with canoes on their shoulders). Portagers can run a full marathon, half-marathon or a multi-runner relay.

Of the several hundred marathoners that finished, a few dozen finished in one of the Portage classes. I got tired portaging 110 rods (a third of a mile). No chance that I could do 8390 rods.