Christian Tanguy, Boyne Marathon, Michigan, open men, 1st place

Exactly one week after the Stony Marathon, it was time to race yet another Marathon in Boyne ski resort in Michigan. This race is actually a little less lengthy than the Stony Creek one as we need to complete only 4 laps of 11.5 miles and it takes about 40 minutes less than Stony Creek to complete. However, Boyne is possibly one of the hilliest courses out in Michigan.



Once more it was hot and humid, but I almost had a heart stroke when I saw my competitors for the day. Indeed, Mike Simonson (currently in 2nd place for the NUE), Mike Anderson (Michigan's top finisher of the coveted Iceman race) and Chad Wells (recent winner of the race in Michigan) were waiting for me. We were only 4 riders in the Elite Men category but only very high competitive racers.

At the start, Mike Simonson wasted no time to go at the front and crush the pedals on the flat portion of the course. As it was to be expected, everybody matched Mike's effort as we were moving at great speed thru the trees.

Although each lap, we climbed to the top of the ski hill, it is not a single climb to the top but a succession of climbs and descents, just like an inclined edge of a wood saw. Mike S. and Chad were in great form and it was a challenge to follow the first one on the climbs and the second one on the descents as they were trading the lead.


On the last ascent, Mike S. and Chad were about 50 yards in the front, while I was behind Mike A. on the single track. Mike A. was really suffering from the heat and as soon as the single track ended into a paved road, I passed him and joined back to the lead.

Just like on the first lap, Mike S. led us on the flat portion, then I went to the front on the climbs. It was too much for Chad. Just like last year, It was going to be a showdown between Mike and myself.

At times, Mike and I had to be patient with the lapped traffic; but eventually we completed the 2nd lap together. At the start of the 3rd lap, I led us on the flat section and consequently I was ideally placed to increase the tempo as we reached the hillier portion of the course. Quite quickly, I had a sizeable gap. I kept the speed high but most importantly, I try to avoid a mistake in the downhill as we were still far away from the finish and consequently, there would be many opportunities to distance myself again if Mike was going to bridge back.

Of course, by lap 4, I was getting tired but I was confident that I kept the lap time pretty much the same. Finally, I reached the finish in first place; about 4 minutes ahead of Mike. Once more, the Boyne marathon has been a tough race but putting Team CF on the top spot was well worth my efforts.