Thank you for your interest in volunteering at MMT. Please use this link on UltraSignup to volunteer.

Trail marking

If you would like to volunteer to mark or sweep the course you may indicate that preference in the link above. You should also email “Trail Boss” Kevin Bligan to get the details. Kevin leads a highly choreographed effort that includes:

• Thursday 5/18 a small group meets at Caroline Lutheran Furnace Camp around 0900 to mark the northernmost sections of the course.

• Friday 5/19 we mark most of the course. We meet at Caroline Lutheran Furnace Camp at 0800, split into groups, and head out to mark trail. No worries if you don’t know the course, there’s at least one experienced person with each group. You should be back to camp in time for the trail briefing, vittles, and socializing…assuming the end times don’t hit again like they did in 2014.

• Saturday 5/20 There’s a group that sweeps markings from the first daylight parts of the course starting around first light and ending around nightfall. It’s a long slow day, but it’s fun and a good number of miles are to be had. Usually we have 3 or 4 folks doing this using a car to leap frog ahead on sections and for support. It’s a fun day.

• Also Saturday 5/20. I like to have the course pre-run just before the race comes through. With day hikers on many parts of the course it’s really important to get it all checked close to race time. Most likely this is just a way to get in a good training run since the course is already marked. However, we have had vandalism the last five years with some clever attempts at doing a little race rerouting. It’s important that anyone doing course checking has knowledge of the course sections they’ll be checking. This is a good way for folks working later aid stations to get a run in before having to actually work.

• Also, also Saturday 5/20. I do all the course finishing touches (flour markings, marking around aid stations, some chemlites, troubleshooting, and a bit of socializing). I’ll need a ride along person, or two, who can spend the day hanging with me helping with markings and fixing things if needed (course knowledge preferred). Usually this is a long day (start around 0300, finish well after dark), but it’s a way to get around the whole course and get in some miles. If nothing goes wrong it’s low pressure…if something (vandalism) happens, well then it gets hectic.

• Sunday 5/21 is wind down day. It’s also time to finish sweeping. The second half of the course will need to be cleared of markings and several opportunities exist to help including a group that sweeps the last 27ish miles behind the last runners.