The recent completion of the Boardman Lake Trail loop is paving the way for two new events this summer. Traverse City Parks and Recreation commissioners will consider applications Thursday from the Traverse City Track Club to host a new urban trail race called Run the Loop as well as from Up North Pride and TART Trails to host a color fun run and fundraiser called Traverse City Rainbow Run – both of which are planned for June and would utilize the four-mile trail loop around Boardman Lake.

The nonprofit Traverse City Track Club (TCTC) – the largest running club in Michigan – hopes to attract 500-1,000 participants to the inaugural Run the Loop race on Saturday, June 10. According to the club’s application, runners would start and end the race at Hull Park, running the entirety of the loop around Boardman Lake. “The goal of the race is to appeal to the highly competitive athlete as well as back-of-the-pack fitness-oriented runners,” the application states. “We have a high track record of success, as our youngest events are now over 30 years old.” TCTC also hosts the Bayshore Marathon, Good Fight 5K, Farmland 5K, Jingle Bell Run, and Frozen Foot Race, according to the club’s website.

Walkers, bikers, joggers, and boaters will still be able to access Hull Park during the event, though vehicle access will be intermittently restricted, according to the application. The park’s boat launch will remain open, with periodic delays when waves of runners pass through the area. The heaviest race traffic is expected between 9am and 9:45am, with the race starting at 9am and runners released in waves to reduce trail crowding. The event is expected to be finished by 10:30am, with clean-up completed by noon. Participants will be encouraged to park in nearby city parking decks. 

“While our intent is to create a professionally run running event, we are also encouraging a spirit of Celebrating the Boardman Loop neighborhood,” the club wrote. “It is a staple for TCTC events to pay volunteer groups, and we are giving nonprofits like the sailing club, rowing club, and Friends of the Library a first offer on this opportunity. We are also encouraging them to utilize the increase in people using Hull Park that day to highlight their activities.”

Several of those groups expressed support in statements provided in TCTC’s application. City staff indicated there’d be no issue with the race going past the wastewater treatment plant as long as emergency access is maintained to the plant. TCTC also said it discussed the event with nearby Brick Wheels and will provide ‘no parking’ signs at the club’s expense for the business parking lot. “Brick Wheels is very supportive of the event and will notify bike renters that morning of the expected runner traffic and encourage other riding destinations,” the application states. Grand Traverse County Parks and Recreation and Garfield Township have also cleared the event, according to the application.

TCTC noted that its programs and events allow the club to return up to $250,000 back to the community through the club’s grants program. TCTC previously donated $100,000 towards the completion of the Boardman Lake Trail, and all proceeds from Run the Loop will be dedicated to the trail.

In addition to Run the Loop, Parks and Recreation commissioners will also consider an application from nonprofits Up North Pride and TART Trails to host a color fun run and fundraiser called the Traverse City Rainbow Run on Saturday, June 24 from 10am to 2pm. A color run is a popular form of non-competitive race in which runners are doused in brightly colored powders as they pass through course checkmarks. Participants typically start the race in white and finish covered in a variety of colors. Organizers hope to attract 200 participants to the Traverse City event, the application states.

According to Up North Pride and TART Trails, the event is designed “to celebrate the trail systems and the Northern Michigan 2SLGBTQ+ Community during Pride Month.” The run route will go around the Boardman Lake Trail loop and include five separate color stations. The powder used in color runs is non-toxic and cornstarch-based. It will be “human, fish, and environment-friendly and will come up after a rain to have no long-lasting effects on the park or city infrastructure,” according to the application. The Traverse City Rainbow Run will feature music, refreshments, and lawn games in Hull Park. Neither the Traverse City Rainbow Run nor Run the Loop will serve alcohol, according to the event applications.

Both events are considered “high impact” under the city’s events policy, a designation that is triggered by any one of a number of criteria ranging from event duration to size to infrastructure and staging. For high-impact events under three days in duration, city commission approval is not required; those applications are reviewed and approved internally by the city clerk’s office. However, City Clerk Benjamin Marentette says having the applications go to the Parks and Recreation commission offers the opportunity for the public to comment and for parks leaders to weigh in and make recommendations to Marentette on whether they support events planned for city parks.

“These two events shouldn’t create too much impact,” he says. “Really the lens that they’re looking through as Parks and Recreation commissioners is whether an event seems suitable for a particular space.”

While parts of the Boardman Lake Trail have occasionally been used for events in the past – such as the Zombie Run and Ironman 70.3 – having a complete loop around the lake is likely to encourage significantly increased usage. In addition to the two new events planned for this summer, the Traverse City Turkey Trot also redesigned its five-mile run in November to utilize the new lake loop. TART Trails told The Ticker in September that trail usage had doubled following the loop’s completion compared to the previous year, while numerous lakeside businesses reported increases in daily visitors and exposure from the rise in trail users.