RUSTY FISH RACES
Manistee County
5 October 2024
Start/Finish located at: Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
8:30am METRIC Race
9am RUSTY FISH MARATHON
10:30am 1/2 METRIC
2pm Kids
2023 RUSTY FISH RESULTS
After years of R&D the good fellows of NOMI Racing have figured out that the world could be traversed in a loop rather than a single line. Thus, the 2024 Rusty Fish is now loop-able!
*for further history lessons and other thought provoking items scroll down
2023 Recap
2023 proved to be tricky, the later date brought a significant amount of rain and cool air. For those that don’t know, the absolute awesome thing about our area is the high sand content - ok so sometimes that is not so awesome but we try very hard to navigate around sand pits of doom, anyways sand drains incredibly fast!
Riders that chose to race were greeted with primed gravel and a great day of racing!
While we were getting used to our new venue there are a number of items as RF Race Directors that we have tweaked for 2024. We are always changing and will continue to do so as we strive to make the RF races a premiere experience for everyone involved.
NOMI Racing, the parent of the Rusty Fish and Run the Pier races tries to facilitate fundraising opportunities for our local charities such as the Lakeshore Child Advocacy Center and Stomp out Cancer. As we continue to grow our ability to help fundraise for these important organizations gets stronger.
We hope you join us for this year’s Rusty Fish on October 5th 2024!
it is a Saturday.
5th October 2024
$15
Kids
Welcome to the Rusty Fish Fry kids race! This is a fun event with prizes for all the participants Roughly 1/3 mile. Starting time 4pm.
$65
1/2 METRIC
Increase to $80 August 1
Increase to $90 Oct. 1
start - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
half-way - 9 mile bridge
finish - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
$65
FULL METRIC
Increase to $80 August 1
Increase to $90 Oct. 1
start - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
half-way - Wellston
finish - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
$60
MARATHON
start - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
half-way - 9 mile bridge
finish - Manistee VFW Walsh Post 4499
*other thought provoking items
The Rusty Fish was designed to show Manistee County that off the beaten path gravel and trail-ways can interconnect to a much broader Northern Michigan Trail system. The Rusty Fish routes showcase our beautifully wooded forest areas and scenic rivers.
As the RF has continued to develop, going from a singular 100 mile there and back - originally Manistee National Golf & Resort to Iron Fish Distillery and back.
One of our greatest assets here in Manistee County is also a hinderance to our routes in some ways. The river crossings are miles and miles apart which generally means having to route through High Bridge Road in order to connect to the north part of the county.
While we have tried to make the RF routes as accessible as possible they are always changing, maybe one year featuring countryside, another deep forest, or following a river.
Here.
if you want to know exactly what you are going to accomplish.
2024 Routes have varied from what we’ve had in the past.
You will find mixed surfaces including pavement, gravel, sandy gravel, two track, and straight up sandy two tracks.
The Full Metric will provide a challenge - as will the 1/2 Metric. We’ve been able to keep the hills to a minimum but there will be some sticky sand in areas, especially if it is dry.
Full Metric
62.3 miles
8:30am start
6 hour time limit
10 miles per hour minimum
1,369 ft of Elevation
63% unpaved
1/2 Metric
36.5 miles
10:30am start
4 hour time limit
10 miles per hour minimum
784 ft of Elevation
71% unpaved
Marathon
Yes Running - like on your legs
26.3 miles
9am start
5 hour time limit
591 ft of Elevation
58% unpaved
Community Impacts
Distance Traveled by Rusty Fish Participants
Participant Lodging for the Rusty Fish 100
Contributing Donations
NOMI Racing was able to provide donations to both the Shoreline Cycling Club as well as the Friends of Manistee County Trails with amounts hovering around 20% of total profits. As part of the NOMI Racing mission, we hope to continue to actively support trail advocacy, development, and fun for all here in Manistee County, Michigan
