David Loessberg's Staging Area

Aid stations are out of this world, including the infamous keg at the top of Mt Baldy (8,900′ up), and then the large group gatherings at Ross Pass and Bridger Bowl.

The comradery on the course is second-to-none with everyone encouraging each other and willing to help when and as needed. This is a tough, tough course with incredible views, great swag, and – of course – a great finish line to boot.

The Bear 5 mile / 10 mile run is a perfect mid-winter run as the loop is 5 miles, so you run 2 loops for the 10 miler. Did you sign up for the 10 miler but feel like you can make it? You can turn in at 5 and then adjust your division. The roads are typically pretty clear, and the awards, food, and camaraderie are fantastic! I’ve run The Bear 4 years now, and I always enjoy this run!

I ran this run with my 7 year old daughter as her first 5K. It’s the best value around with a $15 entry fee, and the course starts and ends in beautiful downtown Bozeman while following a portion of the scenic Galligator trail. The long downhill finish helps you finish strong, and the crowd support along the way is great. It’s definitely worth running this one!

The views from atop Mt. Spokane were incredible, and the well-maintained single track trail was easy to “cut loose” on when using the Mountain Bike berms around the switchbacks. The aid stations were well maintained & the course was marked clearly (I had never stepped foot in the area until race day, and I didn’t get lost and ran alone most of the race!) The pre-race emails and coordination were top notch, and the race ended up being a small affair or about thirty 26K runners and twenty 50K runners. There was free lunch, a VERY comfortable Patagonia shirt, and I left with an overall positive feeling.

This race has beautiful scenery with the 5K looping through Black Black community, over creeks, and along the golf course. The 10K goes through the same Black Bull community but also goes along Monforton School Rd, crosses Middle Creek, then winds through beautiful Middle Creek and Black Bull subdivisions.
You want prizes? This year’s race had a 2 night stay at Big Sky, $75 gift certificate to The Rib & Chop House, piggy banks full of candy and cash, water bottles, free post-race massages/rolling from certified PTs, free lunch, and a GREAT atmosphere!
More prizes? The top finisher in each category historically receives a free 1 hour massage coupon, 6 month gym membership, and a Bozeman Running Company gift certificate. 2nd and 3rd place finishers usually receive similar prizes.
To top it all off, all proceed benefit the Alive Again Life Recovery Mission which is a great organization that helps people battle addiction.
Join this race to win the prizes, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the camaraderie, for the free lunch, or because you believe in supporting a great organization. Just make sure to join the race and have a great time!

Fan support was tremendous, weather was perfect, swag was great, race production was spot-on, and fireworks at the starting line are just some of the top-notch items.
Also seen along the way were multiple signs, lots of cheering spectators, fiddle players, cowboys on horses, a pianist in a tuxedo with his grand piano in his yard, about 100 sprinkler from the locals, and much much more!

This was my 2nd year running the Governor’s Cup 1/2 marathon and I though this year’s production was better than last year’s (and last year’s was good overall!)
Here is what set it apart this year:
— Race start time: Last year both the marathon and half marathon started at 6 am, so the 1/2 finishers started crossing the finish line around 7:15 am, before any spectators arrived. I remember thinking how anti-climatic the ending was due to this; this year, however, the 1/2 started at 7 am, the 10k started at 8 am, and the full stayed at 6 am, so all of the race finishers started finishing around the same time: approximately 8:30ish. There were substantially more people at the finish line this year than there was last year, and my times were within 2 minutes of each other.
— Race bags – they had them this year (instead of trash bags) and they had people managing them / helping you reunite. This is a small thing but it was a MUCH appreciated improvement!
— Volunteers: there were volunteers last year and they were great; however, this year there seemed to be WAY more volunteers with a lot of energy. It was great to see at each aid station!
— New course: though the previous course was, in my opinion, easier to run, this year’s course was more scenic and had quite a bit of shade as it winded along the bottom of a mountain. The new course was more aesthetic and made me feel more relaxed overall.
Great improvements made on an already solid run. Definitely worth running at least once!

This race is REALLY well-done overall, and here is my Pros/Cons list:
Pros:
— Routes – the race directors implemented new routes this year based on previous years’ feedback to run on roads with less traffic, and I heard many people talking about these being a great improvement from years’ past!
— The race is not too crowded (yet!) as they average somewhere around 250 runners, I believe.
— Finisher prizes – each winner (Men’s & Women’s 10k & 5k) received $50 gift certificate to Bozeman Running Company, 1 hour free massage, and a 6 month free membership to a local gym. 2nd place in each of the 4 respective categories received a free 3 month gym membership, and 3rd place finishers received 1 month free membership.
— Swag – bag coupons included free Hot Springs pass, free pastries, $10 gift certificate to a nutrition store, as well as other discounts at local merchants
— Random raffle prizes – donated piggy banks filled with candy and $20 cash as well as other gift certificates to local restaurants & stores
Note: The swag & prizes vary from year to year but each year it seems to get better!
— Free lunch & drinks – there was free Gatorade, Powerade, and water, as well as free Pulled Pork Sandwiches, chips, and snacks.
— The site has the flexibility to have outdoor seating / hosting when the weather is hot, and indoor seating / hosting when the weather turns nasty, which is required for a spring Montana running event!
— The Race Directors and all of the volunteers are EXTREMELY nice, grateful people who want to connect and engage with each individual person.
— On top of all this, it supports a GREAT cause that helps people who are battling and/or recovering from addiction, and is set in one of the most beautiful areas of Montana (Gallatin Valley) in one of the most beautiful spots in the Gallatin Valley (Black Bull subdivision).

Cons:
– 10k route has a few hills, including one .2 miles from the finish, so it is definitely one of the more challenging 10 k routes.

This is the type of race that you should WANT to do because you have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

This is a race that should be on everyone’s bucket lists. It is INCREDIBLY challenging with >50% of the course being unrunnable for the average runner. However, the views from the top of the ridge are second-to-none, and the volunteers who hike to the top of the toughest peaks are incredibly supportive and encouraging. Without them, I guarantee many people would not finish the race. Make sure you stick to a regimented training plan leading up to the race as it will wear out even the most seasoned legs! Well worth the time an effort!

Not much swag handed out but a beautiful, fairly easy course that meanders through National Forest land. This race is perfect for everyone, whether trying to win the event or just wanting to stroll through the forest.

Great race starting in the beautiful Black Bull neighborhood and meandering around the surrounding, rural area with Bridger Ridge and Tobacco Root mountain views. The course contains some slight elevation changes, so it is a great early season race to gauge your overall fitness level. There is a free kids’ run to start things off and the finish line contains free lunch, music, and kids’ bounce houses to keep everyone entertained. The “swag bags” are very nice and contain several items that we used immediately such as gum and free pass to the local hot springs. The shirts are practical & comfortable with a nice design, and the top 3 finisher from each race receive an award (free gym membership this year and last year). The race is very well run and I would recommend for either beginner runners or advanced runners. For $35, it is a GREAT value run and you will not be disappointed!

The good: Nike technical T-shirts (!!!) and great medals. Gorgeous scenery as the race starts in the countryside and meanders throughout rural neighborhoods before careening down through and ending downtown.
The bad: For me, this race was very late in the year so I was running on VERY tired legs from a long season of running.

This is a tough trail run with a 2,100 feet elevation gain then loss. The course starts out with a 1.5 mile flat / downhill run which helps improve overall pace, then it’s about 5 miles straight up a mountain across creeks and traversing mountain sides, requiring lots of speed hiking for even above average runners; however, once at the top, it’s 3.5 miles FAST downhill across rocky ridges and a compact, single-track dirt trail to the finish. At the finish line, I was greeted by a great cheering section but most importantly, free food and beer! 🙂

The shirts are nice but really nothing more is offered and the race bibs are plain-Jane, cheap-looking with basic numbers with no pictures or frills. The swag isn’t bad, there just isn’t much, if that is your thing.