Charlevoix Marathon Narrowly Avoids Cancellation Over Routing Problems

Boardwalk woes caused a course redesign

By Craig Manning | May 23, 2026

By the time runners toe the line for the 20th anniversary of the Charlevoix Marathon on June 20, organizers will have already been through their own marathon behind the scenes just to avoid a last-minute cancellation for the beloved race. The event lost a key section of its course earlier this year, and has been scrambling ever since to find a workable alternative.

Most years, the Charlevoix Marathon uses an out-and-back course that starts in downtown Charlevoix and takes runners northwest along the shores of Lake Michigan. Much of the route is run on the Little Traverse Wheelway, which helps avoid conflicts with vehicular traffic. This year, though, a problem with part of the Wheelway turned into a ticking clock for race organizers.

“In January, we got notified that the boardwalk at mile 5 and mile 21 had been deemed ‘unsafe to run on,’” says Jeff Suffolk, one of the race directors. Losing that crucial section of the course left the race team seeking detour options—something easier said than done.

Finding a New Route

Suffolk’s initial plan involved detouring runners off the Wheelway and onto US-31, which runs parallel to the bike path.

“We were looking to go up on Highway 31 for about 0.7 miles, to bypass the boardwalk,” Suffolk explains. “The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) manages that road, and said we could use the shoulder there. We started going down that path, where we’d barricade the shoulder and then station police officers on both ends of that section to keep runners safe. But some of the local offices didn’t love that idea.”

Marathon planners then proposed a detour of all northbound traffic on US-31, to “give the runners a lane and a half of vehicle-free traffic,” Suffolk tells the Express. That option, too, proved unpopular among the various permitting offices.

The debate over routing—and the growing possibility the marathon race would need to be cancelled—resulted in state legislators getting involved.

“Everybody has been trying to sort this out,” Suffolk says. “We've gotten awesome support from Senator John Damoose’s office, and we’ve even got other senators from downstate working on it. I get the sense that everyone has interest in keeping this race alive, because it does have a huge economic impact. We’re talking ‘every room sold out in Charlevoix’ kind of impact. Some businesses have said race weekend accounts for 10 percent of their summer revenue. It would be a catastrophe for summer business to have this event cancelled.”

Paul Silva, owner of Charlevoix’s Hotel Earl, says losing the marathon “wouldn't ruin our summer,” but would still have a significant impact on the business.

“The race pretty much starts and ends right in front of our hotel, so we love it,” Silva says. “We welcome this kind of activity to the city of Charlevoix. It’s been part of our fabric for years, and we plan around it. Since that’s a beginning-of-summer weekend, we’d probably be busy either way, but we definitely want to keep this thing going.”

Other Races Also in the Clear

The routing challenges only affected the full marathon distance, so other events would have gone ahead as planned. The Charlevoix Marathon also offers a 5K, a 10K, and a half marathon, all of which have approved course routes and permits in hand. Still, losing the full marathon would have impacted more than a third of total registrants.

“It’s typically about 2,800 in the event, total, and this year, it would be upwards of 1,000 running the marathon,” Suffolk shares. The full marathon distance is the only one of the four races that is currently sold out.

Fortunately, race organizers never had to pull the “cancellation” lever, thanks to an outside-the-box idea from Damoose’s team.

“Senator Damoose’s office recently asked us if we’d consider running south for the marathon this year,” Suffolk says. “I never even considered that, but it’s actually beautiful; it’d be a really cool course.”

That course, starting on Park Avenue and then heading south out of town, was officially approved on Monday, May 18, and Suffolk and his team have been working ever since to inform runners about the changes.

For his part, Damoose is thrilled and relieved that the race—and its inherent economic impact—will be able to happen after all.

“Any event of this magnitude drives a ton of resources into our area—in terms of hotels and overnight stays, restaurants, shopping in the district, and travel to and from our area,” Damoose says. “In northern Michigan, we have three or four months to make our nut, so to speak, because so much of our area is a seasonal economy. Losing one of these events could be really devastating to certain parts of our area, so that’s why I’ve been so supportive.”

Follow along at charlevoixmarathon.com.