The WhistleStop Marathon & Half-Marathon is a point-to-point course to be held on the Tri-County Corridor, a rail-trail paved with limestone gravel. The course offers a flat and fast running trail surface that is firm but is much more forgiving to the knees then asphalt. This is an excellent first-timer or personal record course!
The course stretches from two miles east of Iron River, Wisconsin and features ten re-decked railroad trestles, wetlands, trout streams, Chequamegon National Forest woodlands, dairy farms, residential neighborhoods and traffic-free quiet. Being a fall marathon, the course will feature some of the nation’s finest autumn colors!
The WhistleStop Marathon and Half-Marathon is a fully supported race with all of the typical race services that are described in detail here.
The WhistleStop Marathon is USATF certified (#WI-08023-DM).
Course Records
Male Marathon: Eric Hartmark, Duluth, MN ’07…………………..2:28:41
Female Marathon: Jenelle Deatherage, St. Louis Park, MN ’12….2:51:52
Male Half-Marathon: Abraham Wengel, Minot, ND ’06…………….1:08:36
Female Half-Marathon: Maria Langholz, Washington, DC ’22………….1:18:32
Complete Listing of WhistleStop Course Records (pdf)
For past year results use this link and then choose the year and under event type, choose Marathon. If WhistleStop doesn’t appear right away scroll down until you find it.
The WhistleStop is the Upper Midwest’s premier fall classic marathon race that showcases a gentle downhill grade, spectacular fall colors on Lake Superior’s south shore, friendly aid stations and is a Boston Qualifying marathon.
Don’t take our word for it, read what this veteran racer had to say:
If you love nature, you’ll love this course. I heard great things about this race but was hesitant to run another full marathon after taking an 8-year break. I followed an awesome training plan so that I would be better prepared for this race than I had been for my previous fulls. It only makes sense that if you’re going to run a trail race, you will want to train at least some of your miles on similar terrain. That’s easy to do even in an urban setting. For example, if you’re running the Mpls chain of lakes, just run on the dirt path next to the paved trail as much as possible. Also, get out on some of the regional trails for your long runs.
This really IS a fast course because it’s so flat. The starting area is great because you can huddle in the warm lodge until it gets close to starting time (huge bonus for this freeze-baby!).
We had GORGEOUS weather this year (2014) which helped to make the miles just fly by. The sun was pouring down on the tall birch trees with their bright yellow leaves which lined the entire course. The many bridges we crossed over in the second half were a lot of fun and added nice variety. I brought an iPod shuffle with me in case I felt the need for a little extra motivation in the last miles, but I never turned it on. I was just soaking up the peacefulness of the day and soaking it all in… and it never got old.
Whistlestop is a relatively quite marathon because of the setting, and that was refreshing. The aid stations were plentiful and nicely spaced with fantastic volunteers.
A personal record on this course is entirely achievable, and it happened for me. I absolutely loved this race and would recommend it to anyone.
A. S. from Twin Cities, MN (10/16/14)