SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GET OFF AND PUSH

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We are pushing Marji Gesick to 2021, and the reasons are pretty straightforward.

#1 You paid for the Marji Gesick experience, and we cannot give you the Marji Gesick experience in 2020.

What is the Marji experience? 3,000 people coming together to celebrate the human endeavor to overcome. A celebration of community, adventure, pop-up aid stations, support crews, togetherness, and finding our limits. The Marji we know and love would not be recognizable this year – we cannot deliver the experience you paid for, expect, and deserve. For this reason, we will push our bikes to next year.

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#2 The State of Michigan Executive Order

We’ve been working with the Department of Natural Resources since early spring – to modify and adapt another experience we produce called “The Crusher.” Some of you might be expecting us to adapt and offer a Marji-EX option, and I’d be lying if I said we haven’t thought about it. Bottom line: The events are very different. Crusher is a wilderness adventure sending participants away from our community and into the wilds northwest of Marquette County, the Huron Mountains, and beyond. Frankly, the EX adaptation for Crusher “enhances” the experience. Marji, on the other hand, drives thousands of people straight into our community, and we have to ask “Is this the right thing to do?” Even if we answer yes, can we truly expect people to navigate the Marji unsupported, with no signs, and nothing more than a cycling computer? Simple answer: No. It’s not feasible, and it would not be the experience you paid for.

The current executive order limits outdoor gatherings to 250 people for the entire day, across the entire course, in our region. Our partners at the state level define 250 people as racers, family of racers, pop-up aid stations, volunteers, and anyone associated with the event. 1,000 people are registered for Marji. I’m not good at math, but I can tell you the math doesn’t work. Additionally, the state is not issuing new use permits until the end of August, and it appears likely they will extend the moratorium through September, meaning we cannot get permitted for the sections of the course utilizing state property. Could we try to work around it? Sure, if we’re ok with not giving you what you paid for. We’re not ok with that.

The decision was not made lightly – we’ve waited as long as we can. Based on the information available to us, and how we believe things will play out, we see no scenario in which Marji Gesick can be run the way it is meant to be run – together.

What this means for you.

1) Defer

You race in 2021. Simple.

2) Event Credit

We run multiple events all year long: Marji Gesick, Polar Roll, The Crusher, Marji Camp, and maybe more next year. You can credit your 2020 Marji Gesick entry fee to any of our future events (in 2021). With the mass cancellation of events this year, we’re even going to offer you an opportunity to use your Marji entry fee toward CrusherEX, which is running July, 2020 – October, 2020. CrusherEX is an enhanced gravel adventure people are calling the Marji Gesick of gravel, and registration is open. If you‘re itching for some time in the wilderness, CrusherEX is for you. Visit www.crushergravel.com for more info, or request a credit to be used toward the events next year.

3) Donate

The 906 Adventure Team is a 501(c)3 non-profit focused on kids, communities, and trails. Our mission is to empower people to discover the best version of themselves through outdoor adventure, a mission we try to accomplish by offering a variety of unique adventure experiences to people of all ages. We produce events you’ve come to know and love: Polar Roll, Crusher, and of course Marji. For youth, we fund Adventure Bike Club in three U.P. communities, working with 500 youth in a “normal” year, while training 150+ volunteer adventure leaders to lead those adventures.

906AT events make all of this possible, including annual trail donations, totaling more than $18,000 last year alone. While we have been planning for the potential loss of an event this year (Marji) the financial implications for the organization cannot be ignored. If you would like to donate your Marji entry fee to help the organization, 2020 is the year to do it – and if you do we’ll guarantee you a spot in Marji next year (you would pay for the entry). If not, that’s ok too.

Pick Your Path

It’s all about community.

906 Adventure Team is a 501c3 Non-Profit based in Marquette, Michigan. Since 2014 we have been creating outdoor adventure experiences for youth through Adventure Bike Club and events like Polar Roll, The Crusher, and Marji Gesick. Our take on life is pretty simple – it’s an adventure. In life (and adventure) stuff doesn’t always go to plan. Things go wrong. Bad things happen to good people and you don’t overcome it by complaining or pointing fingers. The truth is adversity brings out the best of us – by taking us down unknown paths to find it.

906 Adventure Team uses revenue from the events to support trail organizations and create more youth Adventure Teams.

The Marji Gesick will donate $27,000 to local trails this year, bringing total trail donations since 2015 to $216,000.

In 2022, with the help of corporate partners, we invested $40,000 in youth programs for three new Adventure Team communities. Resilience, confidence, community, and a sense of belonging have never been more important than it is for kids today. Adventure Teams help them “find their people”, the way you feel like you’ve found yours at Marji.

We want you to know when you support 906 Adventure Team and the events you’re making life better here in Marquette County and in communities across the Midwest.