Ragnar Trail Michigan event will return to Grayling this week

The Ragnar Trail Michigan – a relay race event that is expected to feature approximately 160 eight-person teams – will return to Hanson Hills Recreation Area this week with its Ragnar Village tent city and all-day all-night running.

The Ragnar Trail Michigan first came to Hanson Hills in 2019. The 2019 event featured more than 1,100 runners from more than 130 teams. The Ragnar group planned to return to Grayling in 2020, but the event was postponed and eventually cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ragnar event returned to Grayling in 2021, but the event had a runner limit of 1,000 due to restrictions in place because of the pandemic.

The 2022 Ragnar Trail Michigan featured approximately 1,300 competitors from 166 teams, organizers said, making it the largest of the Grayling Ragnar events so far.

Justin Andre, Director of Operations for Grayling Recreation Authority/Hanson Hills, said Ragnar staff members were planning to arrive in Grayling for set-up on Monday, June 19. Teams are expected to start arriving after 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 22, and wave starts for the relay race will begin on Friday morning, June 23. Competitors will complete three loops – approximately 16 total miles, Andre said – in a relay format over the course of the day and night, Friday and Saturday, with runners finishing Saturday morning and afternoon.

Andre said “we’ll have well over 2,000 people at Hanson Hills” during the Ragnar event.

Andre said the event will include a tent city at the T-bar ski hill area, a Ragnar Village with merchandise for sale and a beer tent provided by the Grayling Rotary Club, a “glamping” tent area at the softball field, and a place for RV camping at the Pine Knoll Disc Golf Course.

Andre said disc golfing and the mountain bike trails at Hanson Hills will be closed Thursday through Saturday for the Ragnar event; normal operations will resume on Sunday. Spectators are welcome for the Ragnar event, Andre said.

According to Ragnar, the first teams start at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, June 23, and the estimated end of the race is around 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 24.

On Saturday, the Ragnar Trail Michigan will feature a short showcase race for the Grayling Recreation Authority Mighty Milers – a K-5 youth cross country program – at 10 a.m. Prior to the race, similar to last year, the Mighty Milers will get to parade through the Ragnar Village, have a group photo taken, and then start their showcase race near the Rotary Pavilion, Andre said. The race will end at the Ragnar Arch relay tent.

Andre said the Mighty Milers program has a record number of participants this year.

“I’ve got 76 kids in that program right now,” Andre said.

Andre said local interest in the Ragnar Trail Michigan seems to increase each year, and the 2023 event will feature “four or five Grayling-based teams,” including a high school girls group and a Hanson Hills team.

“It’s a cool atmosphere,” Andre said. “Over 2,000 like-minded people all in one spot.”