New Paavo route to avoid U.S. 51, much of 77

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Hurley — Local runners got their first look at the new route for the Paavo Nurmi Marathon Wednesday at an informational meeting at the Iron County courthouse.

Organizers said the 51st running of the annual Iron County race was a logical time to implement the course change, which will have the marathoners run from Hurley to Whitecap Mountain Resort in Upson and back to complete the necessary 26.2 miles.

The primary motivation for the change in course was safety — both for runners and volunteers manning the various aid stations along the route.

“Safety (changes) had to happen. The way the course was — I know from being out there as a volunteer at an aid station for over 20 years, … and then as the coordinator — we were lucky,” said station coordinator Mary Hitt said. “We cannot put kids (at aid stations on) the highways anymore, especially U.S. 51.”

Avoiding U.S. 51 entirely and minimizing the time spent on Wisconsin 77, the new route will begin at 4th Avenue and Silver Street in downtown Hurley and go through the Hurley Industrial Park to Wisconsin 77. From there, the route will go through Gile and past Gile Park to Montreal before continuing through Pence and Iron Belt. Runners will then take County E to Whitecap in Upson.

Returning toward Hurley from Whitecap, runners will take a combination of side roads and Wisconsin 77 back to the finish line on Silver Street.

All runners will be facing traffic as they run, according to organizers, as an additional safety measure.

Although this year’s race won’t be certified as qualifier for prestigious races such as the Boston Marathon, the plan is to treat it as a trial race and explore certification next year.

“We want to make sure this is going to work for everybody,” Race Director Rita Franzoi said, adding that any little tweaks based on this year’s run would require a recertification next year at an additional cost.

The organizers said the new route will be more rustic, and allows runners to take advantage of more shade along the route.

“(Runners) are going to see those timber buildings in Pence, the obelisk in Iron Belt,” Hitt said.

“The nice tree-lined streets in Montreal coming back,” Franzoi added.

With the route running through more neighborhoods, organizers hope this year’s race has even more of a community feel than past years. They also wanted to assure those living along the route that they don’t expect things like driveway access to be an issue during the race.

The course’s hills — one of the Paavo’s signature features — are still present on the course, but will likely present a different type of challenge as they will be at the front end of this year’s run rather than the back half.

Some runners present at the meeting felt this meant this year’s half marathon may see some very fast times as they are running the opposite direction as the marathoners as that race is starting at Whitecap.

The half marathon and marathon are scheduled to start at the same time. The team relays will also start in Hurley.

The course does feature a small amount of gravel roads, but organizers said the feedback from runners so far is that it shouldn’t present a problem.

Organizers plan to release a map of the course in the near future so people can get a better idea of the planned route.