[5] In 2016, Daniel Drehmel ran the marathon with his partner, Abby Dare, and the two of them took turns carrying the canoe in order to raise awareness about the potential threats to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

[6] The course begins deep in the woods at Camp Du Nord, the north side of Burntside Lake, and finishes in Ely.

Racers must be shuttled there, as there is not enough room for parking and camping near the starting line.

They worked on ways to run the races while protecting the health of the runners and held the September start date.

A press release said that state officials "set the maximum participants in outdoor races to 25 people.