UP Health System donates $10,000 to Noquemanon Ski Marathon

MARQUETTE — In conjunction with its mission of “Making Communities Healthier,” UP Health System donated $10,000 to the Noquemanon Trail Network to support the maintenance of the central UP’s non-motorized trails that are home to various outdoor activities, including: hiking, trail running, mountain biking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and walking.

Victor Harrington, Regional Director of Marketing and Business Development at UPHS, presented a check to Jason Rolling, Director of the Noquemanon Ski Marathon, on Thursday at the UPHS campus.

“Our missions coincide very well with each other,” Rollings said. “The reality is Marquette is a spot where people come to live because of our outdoor activities. For us, to be part of an organization who believes in that mission too, it’s a pretty good synergy.”

The Noquemanon Ski Marathon is set to take place from Jan. 25-27 and can draw as many as 15,000 people to the area. The event offers participants one of the premier point-to-point cross country ski epic’s in the United States. It also supports the mission of the Noquemanon Trail Network, which is a nonprofit organization.

“Not only does the event lend to making communities healthier and encouraging an active lifestyle, but we’re also bringing in a lot of people to Marquette from out of town,” Harrington said. “As we know, Marquette is booming right now, tourism is good and there is ton of economic development. Partnering with big events like this that draw people to our community and show off all the great assets that we have, continues to allow us to thrive.”

In addition to supporting the event, the contribution from UPHS will assist in the grooming efforts of the trail maintenance, such as funding the staff of professional groomers, insurance and equipment maintenance.

“You can’t do it without these large sponsors like we have, and we’re pretty thankful for that,” Rolling said. “All of those things come out of the proceeds of this raise and the fundraising efforts from our sponsors.”