Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

In the Michigan running community, Memorial Day weekend means one thing: Bayshore. It’s a shorthand, an in-the-know reference to the start-of-summer event officially called “Traverse City Track Club Bayshore™️ Presented by Munson Healthcare.” There’s a full marathon, a half marathon, and a 10K, and all three usually sell out. This year, that meant a total of 7,400 participants rising early on the holiday weekend’s Saturday morning and making their way to Traverse City High School, where all three races would finish.

I was among the half marathoners, though, and we didn’t start from the school. Instead, we piled into a fleet of buses and rode about 13.1 miles up Old Mission Peninsula, which splits the East and West Arms of Grand Traverse Bay. Even late spring in Northern Michigan can vary widely in temperature: while my doctor had told me about nearly passing out from dehydration and heat exhaustion the year he ran Bayshore, the thermometer wasn’t predicted to go much past 50 degrees for the 2025 event. As the other racers and I waited in a large open field, most people seemed to agree that while it was a little chilly and overcast, we all preferred that to extreme heat or rain. Besides, we’d warm up fast enough once the race started.

Finally, it was time to assemble at the start line—some 3,000 half marathoners, with me in the way back because I knew I’d be among the slowest in the crowd. (And, indeed, there were only 24 people who finished the race after I did.) Wave after wave of runners set out, climbing a high but gradual hill that rose from the staging site before following a gently undulating road that cut through the peninsula’s farmland and vineyards. And then, a little more than a mile into the course, it came: the descent, the turn, the first glimpse of the bay. This is why Bayshore is famous—for its route along East Shore Road, views of the beach and deep-blue water within sight at almost all times. It is, I think, the most beautiful race course in Michigan.

Beautiful, yes, but still 13.1 miles long, and it can be hard to maintain enthusiasm throughout a whole half marathon (I’m not sure I have the attention span to attempt a full 26.2 miles). This is where another reason for Bayshore’s fame comes into play: the cheering sections. There are about 1,000 official volunteers helping out with the race and offering encouragement as they hand out water or direct traffic. But local residents show up, too. Some sit on their front porches and wave or ring cowbells as racers go by; others converge on a couple of spots that have become grandstands of sorts, waving signs and holding up their hands for high-fives. Although I didn’t know a single soul along the route, the energy from the sidelines kept my spirits high.

And then, almost before I was ready for it, I found myself walking onto the high school’s track and past bleachers filled with cheering onlookers, crossing the finish line in something of a daze. I gratefully accepted my finisher’s medal and then made a beeline for the Moomers ice cream table (free post-race ice cream is another reason people love Bayshore). My feet were tired and my leg muscles ached—though as always, it actually hurt more to stop moving than to keep going. I found a spot on the ground and eased myself down, digging a spoon into my ice cream with contentment. Bayshore. I did it; it was done.

Thanks for joining me this week.

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Featured photo: Grand Traverse Bay, seen from the Bayshore half marathon race course, May 24, 2025.