← Labor Day Bridge Run & Walks
The Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run is a non-competitive run of about five miles over the Mackinac Bridge. It is organized by the Governor’s office, the Michigan Fitness Foundation, and the Mackinac Bridge Authority. This is not a timed event and the course will not be certified for distance. The Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run is limited to 500 participants who will be selected in a lottery drawn in June of 2013.
The Bridge Run Lottery will open on February 28, 2013. For Lottery news, sign up for our Bridge Run Lottery mailing list by emailing marketingevents@michiganfitness.org
Click here to visit the official Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run participant blog.
Runners who expect to run slower than 12 minutes per mile and/or who cannot run the entire five miles should not enter the lottery. It is important to keep the runners and walkers as separate groups for this event.
If you were not selected in the lottery, please consider enjoying the celebration by participating in the Mackinac Bridge Walk.
Information on the walk can be found on the Mackinaw Bridge Authority website.
Individuals who meet the above criteria may then complete a registration online. Simply participating in an endorsed running event does not automatically register one for the lottery.
Please note that only one lottery entry is permitted per person, regardless of the number of endorsed events in which entrants participate. Duplicate entries will result in removal from the lottery.
Each year, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness endorses events that promote safe physical activity and are consistent with the Council’s mission to Get Michigan Moving. The Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run winners are randomly selected from the online lottery registration. Lottery registrants must have run in an eligible endorsed running event and be 18 years of age by Labor Day of that given year to qualify for the opportunity to participate. If you are an event organizer and would like to submit your event for consideration, please contact Tricia at tfraas@michiganfitness.org.
Lottery winners will be notified by email and U.S. mail. A registration packet that provides detailed information regarding the run will be sent to all lottery winners along with an Acceptance Response Form which must be returned for selection to be considered final. In addition, winners will:
There is an anticipated $45 participation fee to help cover the costs of the event.
For selected winners, the run will take place before the annual bridge walk which begins at 7:00 a.m. on Labor Day. Like the walk, the run will start in St. Ignace and end in Mackinaw City. Only the lottery winners will be allowed to run the bridge. All others are welcome to join the walkers.
Visit the Mackinac Bridge Authority website for information on the Labor Day Bridge Walk.
Before beginning the run, all participants must carefully determine that they are physically fit and medically able to participate, since the physical strain of the run could lead to serious health problems. Participants should also understand that running involves risks of injury from falls due to the surface condition of the bridge, contact with other participants, and the effects of weather, including high heat and/or humidity. The state of Michigan, Mackinac Bridge Authority, St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce, Mackinaw Area Chamber of Commerce, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness/Michigan Fitness Foundation, and all their respective employees, agents, volunteers and sponsors are not assuming any obligations with regard to such risks and specifically disclaim any and all liability arising from any runner's participation in the Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Run.