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Running Hidden Marks Guide

by biceeichler

Last updated:  Feb 11th, 2009
Version:       1.00
Written By:    Bice Eichler

This guide was submitted to the Game FAQs site, but may be freely
used by any video game walkthrough/FAQ sites.  I'm not in this for
the money or the glory, so might as well spread the information
around as much as possible.


How to find all 15 of the hidden "marks" in the Wii Fit running games
---------------------------------------------------------------------

After doing extensive web searches for the locations of the 15 hidden
"marks" in Wii Fit running, I was surprised to find that no one had put
together a FAQ like this.  There were a few pages with tips and tricks
(which is how I found out about the dogs...see below), but no full-blown
FAQs or descriptions of where all the marks are.  So I wrote one myself...

If you look at pages 17 and 18 of the Wii Fit game manual, you'll see a map
of Wii Fit Island, where all the running tracks are located.  The descriptions
given below are based on that map, using the place names and directions shown
on the map.  Note that the compass directions (north, south, east and west)
are not exactly what you might think - north is not towards the top of the
page, for example.  The compass in the upper right part of the map shows 
that the directions are rotated slightly counter-clockwise, so that north
is towards the upper left hand corner of the map, east is towards the upper
right corner, west is lower left and south is lower right.  Keep that in 
mind while reading the directions below.

As noted in the lower left corner of the map, there are 15 hidden "marks"
scattered around the island where you run.  Each mark is a character or
object from the first Super Mario Brothers game for the original Nintendo
Entertainment System.  There are 10 marks that look like Mario hidden on
the island, and one each of Luigi, a Star, a Mushroom, a Goomba (the bad
guy who looks like a mushroom) and a Turtle.  The marks are in fixed
locations - they're always there, and always in the same spots, it's
just that you can only see certain ones from certain paths.  The marks
don't do anything - you're not supposed to collect them or click on them
or anything like that.  They're just decorations, and a challenge for you
to find all of them.

The trick to finding all the hidden marks is to follow alternate paths.
The game starts out with only one option available, the Short Run.  As you
get good at that, it will unlock the Long Run, and eventually the Island Lap.
You'll see marks on the "main" paths, but most are hidden on alternate routes.
The game tells you to follow the Mii with the arrow over his or her head,
who turns around occasionally to wave you on (hereafter referred to as the
Trainer).  You are warned against running ahead of the trainer.  Which is
odd, since the only way to use the alternate paths is to sprint past the
trainer whenever a dog passes you, and follow the dog instead.  As far as I
know, there is no way to just explore whatever paths you want to - you have
to either follow the trainer or one of the dogs (the Long and Island Lap
options will feature multiple dogs, as described below).

There are a total of twelve different paths you can run on:  the three
three main paths (Short, Long and Island Lap), one alternate short path, 
three alternate Long paths and five alternate Island Lap paths.  The Roman 
numerals below denote the 12 paths, while the regular numbers list the 
hidden marks as they appear, path by path.

Note: I've seen some "FAQs" about the Wii Fit state that following the same
dog will sometimes take you on alternate paths.  I have never seen this 
happen.  Each dog always takes you on the same route, as described below.
These are all the alternate paths that I know of, although I wouldn't be
surprised if there were more.



I. SHORT RUN, MAIN PATH (following trainer the whole way):

You'll start at a large ring of concrete blocks just north of Wii Fit town (a 
white flag on the map on page 17 of the instruction booklet marks the spot).  
You run along the path northeast, towards Summit Falls.  When you get to the 
lake at the base of the falls, you turn west and run through a wooded area and 
eventually under a rocky archway.  Just past the arch, you turn south and run 
all the way back to the circular area where you started.  There is one hidden 
mark on this route:

1. Mario - on the side of the concrete block ring, just north of Wii Fit town.  
Visible as you approach the finish line of the short run, main path.



II. SHORT RUN, ALTERNATE PATH:

Same as short run, main path, except that about two thirds of the way along 
the path, while under the stone archway, you'll be passed by a dog.  Sprint 
past your trainer and start following the dog instead.  It will continue on 
the same path for a while, but instead of heading back to the block ring 
where you started, it will veer off to the right into an area with some small 
buildings.  As far as I can tell, there are no hidden marks visible on this 
course, not even the one you normally see at the end of the main short run.

(ALMOST - there's a hidden Mario on one of the small buildings that the dog 
takes you past, but you can't quite see it.  If the camera moved to the right 
just another few inches, you'd see it.  But it doesn't.  However, you can 
clearly see this Mario on another course (see Long run, alternate path #1 
below).


III. LONG RUN, MAIN PATH (following trainer the whole way):

You'll start near the lake at the foot of Summit Falls and run southward along
the river (a white flag on the map on page 17 of the instruction book shows
the starting place).  You'll run along the northeastern edge of Wii Fit Town, 
and then your trainer will cut across some grass and head over the Harbor 
Bridge (the large, red suspension bridge).  At the far end of the bridge, your 
trainer takes a left turn and heads back towards Summit Falls.  After crossing 
a small, brick bridge at the foot of the falls lake, he turns left again for 
the finish line.

2. Mario - not far into the run (less than a quarter of the way through),
you'll see a hidden Mario mark peeking out from along the far river bank on 
the left.  Don't blink or you'll miss it as it goes behind the near river 
bank.

3. Mario - a little more than half-way across the bridge, there's a Mario mark 
on a bridge beam on the right hand side.

(ALMOST - as you cross the brick bridge at the end of the main Long run, if 
you look off to the right you'll see a pile of rocks.  If you look really 
closely at the base of those rocks, you can see that there's something on the 
rock.  It's one of the hidden marks, but you'll see it a lot better on another 
course.)



IV. LONG RUN, ALTERNATE PATH #1:

Right at the start of the run, you'll be passed by a tan colored dog.  Sprint
past your trainer and follow that dog.  The dog quickly takes a right turn off 
the main path and heads towards the block circle where the short run starts.  
In that circle he takes a left turn and you get your first jump of the game, 
over a relatively small ledge and into Wii Fit Town.  The dog takes you on a 
winding path through town, and eventually leads you northward out of the 
northwest corner of town.  As you run north, you'll pass the small houses 
where the alternate Short course ends, and eventually find the finish line at 
Windmill Hill.

4. Mario - just after the jump from the block circle into town, there's a 
Mario hidden mark on the trunk of a tree on the left.

(ALMOST - not far past the tree with the Mario, there's a fountain on the 
left.  You might catch just the briefest glimpse of something on top of it, 
but you can see it better on a couple other courses).

5. Mario - as you run through the town, keep an eye on the tall buildings.  
On an upper floor of one, there's a Mario between the windows, straight ahead 
of you.

6. Mario - as you pass the small buildings that make the end of the alternate
Short course, you can see a Mario at the bottom corner of one of the 
buildings. You can almost see this Mario from the alternate Short run, but the 
camera  doesn't quite move far enough right to pick it up.



V. LONG RUN, ALTERNATE PATH #2:

Follow your trainer at the start (don't follow the tan dog).  The trainer will
lead you around the usual Long path - you'll pass the Mario mark on the river
bank, but since I've already counted that one it's not listed here.  As you 
run  along the northeast corner of Wii Fit Town, a white dog will pass you.  
Sprint  past the trainer and follow that dog.  It will take you on a clockwise 
path around the outer edge of Wii Fit Town, and at the southern edge of town 
you'll run through a grassy area with trees.  At the end of that area, the dog 
will turn right and head through the center of town.  He passes the fountain 
on the left, and then does a clockwise loop around the middle of town and 
eventually heads west out of town.  He'll follow the paved road west of town 
for a little way, and then turn left into the grass to find the finish line on 
the small point of rock that sticks out into the ocean mid-way between Wii Fit 
Town and Seagull Point.

7. Star - huzzah, the first hidden mark that's not a Mario!  As you run though
the grassy area in the southern part of Wii Fit Town, look at the very tops of
the trees.  One of them has the star on top of it, like a Christmas tree.

8. Luigi - another non-Mario mark!  As you run through the middle of town, 
you'll head directly towards the fountain mentioned in Long alternate path #1.
Standing on top of the center of that fountain is a Luigi mark.  He's also 
visible near the end of the main Island Lap course.



VI. LONG RUN, ALTERNATE PATH #3:

Start normally, follow the trainer and don't follow the tan dog or the white
dog.  You'll see the river bank Mario that you should be very familiar with
by now, and you'll head over the suspension bridge and see the Mario there
too.  On that bridge, a dark brown dog will pass you.  Sprint past the
trainer and follow that dog.  From reading comments on the web, this is a
lot of people's favorite route, because it ends on a beach, running through
the surf.  To get there, the dog will head northeast from the Harbor Bridge,
along the paved road for a short distance and then will turn right down a
dirt path.  This leads to the beach.  The dog runs along the southern edge
of the beach, with the waves washing in over your feet.  Personally, I find
the left-right movement of the water a little disorienting after seeing the
steady flow of ground from front to back for so long, but that's just me.
As you approach Camel Rock, the dog will turn left to the finish line on
the northern edge of the beach.

As far as I can tell, you won't see any new hidden marks along alternate
path #3 that you wouldn't see on the main Long run.  Although if you just
went to the other side of Camel Rock... (but you'll see that later).



VII. ISLAND LAP, MAIN PATH (following trainer the whole way):

This is, as the name implies, a long, counterclockwise lap on the paved
path that goes around the entire island.  You start in Wii Fit Town, then 
head east to the Harbor Bridge (where you'll see the Mario mark that 
should be very familiar from your Long runs), then back to the Mountain
Tunnel.  The tunnel lets out in the back of the island, which you can't
see on the map.  You'll pass under a high cliff that has dogs jumping
off it (!), but apparently the law of gravity doesn't apply as they
don't get hurt and run right past you.  On one of the alternate courses,
you'll get to jump over that cliff yourself.  Anyway, the trainer takes
you "off road" to the right onto a pointless rocky shelf that is only a 
couple feet high and runs parallel to the road, but eventually you 
re-join the road.  A little later, the trainer takes you off  to the
left into a grassy "valley" that is just a few feet below the road
and runs parallel to it.  Moments later, you're back on the road.  You
don't see anything interesting on these side trips so I'm not sure
why they're there.  Eventually, about two-thirds of the way around the
island, you run under a rocky outcropping, which can be seen on the map
just north of Windmill Hill.  Congratulations, you're back on the map.
You run south between Windmill Hill and Seagull Point, and then downhill
back into Wii Fit town where you'll catch a glimpse of Luigi on top of
the fountain to your left, just before the finish line.

9. Mario - that rocky outcropping that you run under as you come back 
into the "map area" has a Mario on the left side.  It's hidden by the
tree until you come right up to the entrance to the outcropping "tunnel",
and this is briefly visible as you enter.



VIII. ISLAND LAP, ALTERNATE PATH #1:

Right at the beginning of the run, a tan dog passes you.  Sprint past
the trainer and follow that dog.  Later, you'll be passed by a black
dog but be careful not to follow it unless you want to change to 
alternate course #2.  The tan dog will turn north at the edge of 
Wii Fit Town and follow the path up towards Summit Falls.  Before it
gets there it turns left across the grass (under where the words
"Crystal River" are printed on the map) and re-joins the path over
by the small buildings from Short run alternate path #1.  You can
see the Mario there this is visible in Long Run alternate path #1.
North of the small buildings, the dog turns east and heads under the
archway that you normally come westward through on the main Long run.
From the arch, the dog heads eastwards all the way across the island,
and eventually turns left to follow the dirt path up a steep hill
towards Rocky Peak.  The dog then turns left and goes west, eventually
crossing the wooden suspension bridges that you can see from a few of
the other courses.  At the far side of the bridges, the dog turns 
south and leaps over the biggest jump yet - a huge rocky point.  As
with the other jumps, apparently gravity is temporarily turned off 
as you fall about a hundred feet without injury.  From the landing
spot, the dog runs south across the grass, joins the path, goes
though the block ring north of Wii Fit town (where you'll see the
Mario mark from the main Short track), jumps down into town (where
you'll catch the briefest glimpse of the Mario on the tree trunk
from Long run alternate path #1) and ends at the finish line in the
middle of town (where you can catch a distant glimpse of the Luigi
on top of the fountain).

10. Goomba - another non-Mario mark!  As you head under the archway
going east, keep an eye on the rocks to the right as you come out
from under the arch.  The Goomba mark is hiding there.  It's not
visible on the main Long run because you see the rock from the
opposite side.

11. Mario - as you're heading up the steep hill towards Rocky Peak,
you'll see a Mario mark on the trunk of a tree to the left.



IX. ISLAND LAP, ALTERNATE PATH #2:

On this path, you'll see a lot of marks that were already described
on previous paths, but no new ones, at least none that I noticed.
Follow the tan dog at the beginning, and when it's passed by a black
dog on the path north towards Summit Falls, pass it and follow the 
black dog.  A white dog will soon pass, but be careful not to follow
it or you'll be on alternate course #3.  The black dog makes a quick
left turn (this is where you're passed by the third dog) and heads
along the path north of Wii Fit Town.  As you pass through the block
ring, you'll get a quick glimpse of the Mario from the main Short
course.  The dog will follow the path northwards, past the small 
buildings where you can see the Mario from alternate Long run #1.
Once past the buildings, the dog will turn right along the path that
goes through the archway, on the other side of which you'll see the
Goomba from alternate Island Lap #1.  The dog will then follow the
same path as alternate #1, going all they way across the island and
up the steep hill (where you'll see the Mario on the tree trunk) to
Rocky Peak.  But instead of heading out over the wooden bridges, 
this dog takes a right turn and heads north across some grass and
into a cave that leads to the finish line in a sandy area on Rocky
Peak.  Near the end a whole pack of dogs pass you, but as far as I
can tell there's no way to switch to following that pack.  There's
really no alternate path for them to take you on anyway.



X. ISLAND LAP, ALTERNATE PATH #3:

Follow the directions for alternate course #2 - tan dog at the
beginning, black dog shortly thereafter.  When the white dog passes
you, sprint past the black dog and follow dog #3.  You're now on
the third alternate course.  This white dog seems a bit confused,
as he runs a very strange course.  He'll lead you into the block 
ring, then turn south and jump over the ledge into Wii Fit town.
You'll see the Mario on the tree to your left as you pass it, but
then you'll hook a right through an archway in a building and into
a courtyard which seems to be where most of the dogs hang out when
they're not leading runners.  After passing back out of this building,
the dog turns left and starts leading you north, but then quickly
turns left again back into the block ring, where you can see the
Mario from the main Short path.  Turning south, the dog jumps over
the ledge and back into town *again*, and leads you straight through
the horseshoe-shaped area towards the fountain, where you'll get a
very good look at Luigi.  The dog then turns right and heads out of
town to the east, but quickly turns left and goes right back to the
place where you first started following it.  Turning north, it goes
across the grass and into the collection of small buildings where
you'll get your best look yet at the Mario on the corner of the one
building (first seen in alternate Long run #1).  Heading through 
the small building area, the dog turns northwest towards Windmill
Hill, but just as he gets there he turns West and runs out to the
finish line at Seagull Point.  I thought for sure there would be a
Mario on the back of the lighthouse, but there isn't.

12. Mario - just as you leave the Windmill area, look at the base
of the last windmill you see.  There's a Mario.



XI. ISLAND LAP, ALTERNATE PATH #4:

Do NOT follow the tan dog at the beginning.  Stay behind your trainer
and let the tan dog make his left turn at the edge of Wii Fit City.
As you cross the Harbor Bridge (where you can see the bridge Mario 
that we've passed several times now), a dark brown dog will run past
you.  Sprint past your trainer and follow that dog.  The dog will make
a left turn at the end of the bridge and head for Summit Falls.  Just
after crossing the brick bridge over the lake at the foot of the falls,
the dog turns right across the grass.  The dog will lead you under a 
long, horizontal rock that is propped up by other rocks, and then make 
a right turn and go behind the waterfall and into a cave.  This is, 
IMHO, the most interesting of the courses due to the varied terrain,
and the many hidden marks you can see (as listed below).  The cave
goes all the way through the mountain, and as you're running through
it, you'll be passed by another dog.  Be careful to stay behind your
current dog or you'll end up on alternate path #5.  At a branch in
the cave, our dog turns right and leads you out to that big cliff that
you saw a pack of dogs jump off of in the main Island Lap course.  Now
it's our turn to jump.  From there we run clockwise around the island,
through Mountain Tunnel and out towards the beach.  When the road bends
away from the beach, the dog cuts left across the grass and then runs
along the northeast edge of the beach all the way to Camel Rock.  It
runs through an archway in the rock to the finish line on the other side.

13. Mushroom - this course is great because it goes to some interesting
hidden places, and you get to see all three of the remaining hidden 
marks.  The first one is visible as the dog passes under the horizontal
rock, just before going behind the waterfall.  Look at the base of the
rocks on the left for a quick glimpse as you run by.  This is the one
that you can *almost* see from the Short run path.

14. Mario - the last of the hidden Marios is in the Mountain Tunnel.
You actually go right past it on the main Island Lap track, but it's
facing the wrong way so you can't see it.  As you go the opposite 
direction this time, look to the left near the base of the last 
"window" that looks out over the ocean.  There's Mario.

15. Turtle - the final hidden icon is hidden fairly cleverly.  Pay
attention after you've finished the race.  When you cross the finish
line, the camera pans around to show you crossing the line, and there's
the Turtle on the back of Camel Rock.  It's only visible for a few
moments, so look closely.


That's all the hidden marks, but there's still on more alternate path,
so I might as well describe it:


XII. ISLAND LAP, ALTERNATE PATH #5:

Do NOT follow either the tan dog, wait for the dark brown dog that passes
on the Harbor Bridge.  Follow him to the cave behind the waterfall, then
pass him and follow the dog that overtakes you there.  This dog takes the
left hand branch of the cave fork and comes out on the side of the 
mountain.  It follows a curving trail that spirals up the side of the
mountain, and comes out at Summit Lake.  You run around the lake and
finally end up at the finish line at the top of Summit Falls.  Oddly,
there are no marks hidden anywhere at the top of the mountain.  It seems
like a ideal place for one.  Oh well.