The Hungerford Games Trail Race Half Marathon
September 27, 2025
Big Rapids MI
Trail
1-100
Challenging
Forested
High: 66°
/ Low: 42°
Overview
The race unfolds through the Manistee portion of the forest, which was joined with the Huron National Forest in the mid-1940s and are best known for camping, fishing, hiking and boating in the summer and snowmobiling and cross-country skiing in the winter.
The Manistee forest also is famous for its Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, a 3,450-acre stretch of ancient dunes on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Several of the dunes are estimated at 3,500 to 4,000 years old, and they’re measured at some 140 feet in height.
Runners will get to take in the beauty of the Manistee National Forest throughout most of the race as they’ll be running through its southeastern corner near Big Rapids, a city of just over 10,000 souls that lies roughly an hour’s drive from Grand Rapids.
Course Description
Runners follow what is roughly an out-and-back loop course through the southeastern corner of the Huron Manistee National Forest at the Hungerford Games Trail Race, which starts just west of Big Rapids along Woodward Avenue. From there, the race follows a counter-clockwise loop through the forest along dirt trails and fire roads with plenty of hills — and can be either dry or very muddy, depending on the weather. You’ll pass the start on the way back to finish along 220th Avenue, next to the highway.
