UPside of Life: Don't squeeze the Charmin

Racing is something many Yoopers enjoy, be it as a spectator or as a participant.

Here in the Upper Peninsula, you don't have to look hard to come across one kind of race or another. In the spring, summer and fall, you can find a foot race, a dirt-track automobile race or a bike race, among others, being held in one of the many towns across the U.P. Come winter, racing is taking place via cross-country ski, or snowmobile or even sled dog.

Some Yoopers don't settle for the common and mundane racing, however. These extreme Yoopers take racing to a whole new level and they do it right in the community of Trenary, about halfway between Marquette and Escanaba on U.S. 41.

It is there, come this Saturday, Feb. 26, the 18th Annual Outhouse Classic will be held, starting at 2 p.m.

That's right--Yoopers racing outhouses.

For those of you who just imagined outhouses with engines and a steering wheel, it's not quite that intense. Instead, the idea is to build an outhouse out of cardboard or wood and mount that structure on skis. Each and every outhouse in the competition must include a toilet seat and a roll of toilet paper, as well push bars to use while racing.

The outhouse is then run by two teammates 500 feet down a snow-covered track---which just so happens to be downtown Trenary's main drag--and try to post the best time.

The event is fun, and rowdy, and everyone simply tries to have a good time. Past attendance numbers have been in the thousands, and this year likely won't be any different.

Last year saw some impressive recognition for the event. The Charmin toilet paper company lent a helping hand as a sponsor and a team came as far away as from Tokyo, Japan, to participate. This year, with the race being titled "18 and Still Wipin'," there's no telling what's going to happen or who is going to be there.

Mind you, this isn't the only outhouse race in the country (there's one in New York, another in Arkansas and even one in Mackinaw City, just below the Mackinac Bridge, among others), but it is the oldest one in the Upper Peninsula--Sault Ste. Marie hosts one as well, though there has to be someone seated in the latrine while it's being raced.

All in all, the Outhouse Classic may not be the tourist draw an event like the U.P. 200 is or that of the Michigan State Fair, but it is classic nonetheless.

If you've never seen the event, then you should make a point of heading to Trenary this coming weekend to watch. Pick a team, cheer them on and have a good time. Just go early, because Trenary isn't the largest town on the map, and a few thousand people can definitely make for some crowded parking.

Sam Eggleston is the managing editor of the U.P. Second Wave and a full-time freelance writer. He was born and raised in the Upper Peninsula. While he's never raced an outhouse, he has used plenty of them during his lifetime, despite having an inexplicable fear of them as a young child. Eggleston can be reached via email.