[Author’s Note: This is the fifth of a 10-part series in AJW’s Taproom called Race Director Chronicles, where we profile the unsung heroes who make our sport’s racing possible.]
Michele Hartwig is without doubt one of the hardest working race administrators within the nation. Because the proprietor of Ornery Mule Racing, Michele directs over a dozen races together with three marquee U.S. Midwest 100 milers, the Kettle Moraine 100 Mile, Midwest States 100 Mile, and Hennepin 100 Mile.
Veteran ultrarunner Chris Worden notes: “On the paths Michele brings a degree of enthusiasm you possibly can’t assist however respect. Whether or not I see her directing a 100 miler or operating a path race herself, she all the time appears to be smiling. I ran my first Ornery Mule Racing occasion final yr and rapidly noticed why their occasions have change into a few of the hottest within the Midwest. She places her coronary heart and soul into every thing she does.”
I lately caught up with Michele after her whirlwind weekend directing the 2023 Midwest States 100 Mile and requested her some questions.
Race director Michele Hartwig on the end of the Midwest States 100 Mile. All photographs courtesy of Michele Hartwig.
Andy Jones-Wilkins: How lengthy have you ever been directing ultrarunning occasions within the U.S. Midwest?
Michele Hartwig: The yr 2011 was after I determined to placed on my first ultrarunning occasion — Earth Day 50k in my hometown of Crystal Lake, Illinois. I spent a yr engaged on race-day plans and dealing with the park to get the race allow. The primary yr of the race was 2012. The race course is on the paths I prepare on day by day.
AJW: What’s the most satisfying side of your work as a race director?
Hartwig: There are such a lot of issues I take pleasure in about race directing. These races all began as a result of I needed to ask folks to run trails that I wish to run on, competing in a mode of racing that I take pleasure in. From singletrack forest, to flat and quick ultras, and timed occasions. I like every of those kinds of racing and I’m keen about making a protected, enjoyable alternative for the operating neighborhood. It makes me so comfortable to see new folks fall in love with path operating, and study they’re able to issues they could have by no means dreamed of doing.
Ornery Mule Racing’s mission assertion is: “Kindness, neighborhood, and odd folks doing extraordinary issues.” I wrote this down as my purpose a few years. It’s a mission that our neighborhood actually connects with. There’s something actually particular about path runners and ultrarunners and this sums up this neighborhood from all all over the world.
AJW: What makes operating within the U.S. Midwest so distinctive and particular?
Hartwig: I’m a traveler, each journey I’m going on contains path operating. Once I come again to the Midwest, I’m all the time reminded of why I like Midwest trails. I benefit from the wealthy dust singletrack trails, rolling hills, miles of thick forest with a wide range of timber to stunning open meadows filled with wildflowers.
Operating within the Midwest, we get to take pleasure in 4 seasons. I can run the identical trails day by day of the yr and stay up for the crops and local weather altering via the seasons. Winter has loads of wonderful days on the snow-covered trails that make the chilly value it. As soon as you might be within the forest, it takes the sting out of the climate.
I like visiting trails all over the world, however my coronary heart is with Midwest path operating.
Michele Hartwig having fun with her native trails within the U.S. Midwest.
AJW: What are the three largest challenges you face as a race director?
Hartwig: First, organizing and caring for the volunteers on race day. We work arduous to get as many volunteers as we are able to on race day, after which we attempt to evenly distribute them to effectively run our help stations, park vehicles, assist runners throughout roads, and do all the opposite vital issues that must be executed on race day. It is very important me that the volunteers benefit from the race expertise and don’t really feel overwhelmed by what they’re doing.
Crowd administration is the subsequent problem. It simply takes a few folks parking poorly to trigger a race-day disruption that may change the way forward for the occasion. We wish as many help stations as attainable to have crew entry, however when we’ve continued issues at help stations, and it disrupts the neighborhood across the path, we’ve to make them no-crew-access stations. We put up indicators, ship out parking directions, and do what we are able to to assist the crew make good parking selections.
Third, exterior providers that I would like to rent are a reason for race-day and pre-race stress. For instance, the Hennepin 100 Mile is a point-to-point race. We bus our runners to the beginning line, after which they run to the end the place their automobile will probably be ready. When the buses pull into the beginning line to drop off runners, it’s an incredible feeling of reduction to see them arriving safely.
I wrestle with discovering firms to ship port-a-potties to our help stations. Port-a-potty firms would reasonably ship to simple areas. We’re asking for potties to be dropped off in the midst of nationwide forests, state parks, and rural areas. They don’t all the time conform to ship in all places I ask, so it’s a fixed problem to seek out one of the best setup for the runners.
Michele Hartwig greets a finisher on the 2022 Hennepin 50k.
AJW: What adjustments have you ever seen within the sport because you started directing occasions?
Hartwig: Once I first began, I noticed only a few ladies on the race begin line, and the entire variety of entrants in a race had been all the time small. If there have been 50 folks initially line I’d suppose, Wow, it is a huge race. I like that so many new persons are being launched to the path operating and ultrarunning neighborhood!
AJW: What are you trying ahead to most within the 2023 to 2024 occasion season?
Hartwig: I stay up for each race that I placed on and we’ve a race virtually each month. Our latest race, referred to as the Midwest States 100 Mile/100k/50k, first ran in 2022, was simply final weekend so I’m presently feeling a number of pleasure in what is going on there. The course is deep within the stunning Chequamegon-Nicolet Nationwide Forest. We use the long-lasting Ice Age Path for almost all of the course. It is a 1,000-plus-mile steady path that meanders via Wisconsin. The native households that encompass this path have proven as much as help this race. They weren’t essentially runners, however they love this path and help the race as a way to welcome runners to their residence trails.
Subsequent yr we’ve locals from the world who weren’t runners earlier than that who at the moment are planning on operating the race. I like seeing new folks including path operating into their lives, as each volunteers and as runners. This race has many runners which have made this a yearly custom. We’re engaged on a flannel shirt for three-time finishers, for which they’ll begin accumulating patches for yearly they end a distance on the race.
It is a quiet, old-school occasion that has an extra-special, grassroots neighborhood really feel. It jogs my memory of after I first began operating ultras. All of us camp collectively within the stunning forest, and spend the times earlier than the race collectively.
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s beer of the week comes from Scratch Brewing Firm in Ava, Illinois. Maple Bark Lager is sort of a fall night in a bottle. Flavored with maple bark and a contact of maple syrup, Maple Bark Lager is a clean consuming lager with a toasted malty end.
Name for Feedback
- Have you ever taken half in any of Michele Hartwig’s occasions?
- Which one, and the way was it?
