Katy Cook's Staging Area

We had Oz tornadic-like wind gusts of 35-40 mph, and a quick, but powerful rainstorm at mile 18, but the rest of it was dreamy! We prepared for the hills (just rollers, nothing too scary) but couldn’t overcome that wind very easily. The RD and staff were SO kind to save us veggie burritos at the finish, when we made it known that the meat ones wouldn’t work for us, despite the half marathoners consuming all but what was tucked away for us. Plenty of GOOD beer and recovery drinks, staffed tables with fruit and granola bars and in the parking garage, to avoid the inclement weather. The shirt and medal are great, too! Funny enough, they mismarked the course, so it was a tad short, but I wasn’t trying to qualify or PR, so no biggie for me.

We stayed in a downtown hotel to walk everywhere and it was perfect. The race is fun, nice expo and swag. The afterparty was okay….would have been nice to have a little more food (other than a banana and granola bar). The beer was for sale, not free. The people and volunteers were wonderfully friendly!

This is all volunteer led, from the aid stations (paid for by locals), the finish line party and the finisher decals. This is a HOT time of year here, and it’s scenic and beautiful, but oh so challenging against the heat. If you prepare your body for high heat and humidity, you can do well and feel strong as long as possible, but every year about 1/4 of the participants cannot finish.

Everyone involved cares about your enjoyment and safety, and made this race a really fun event. I’m so glad I went! Shirt was soft and medal was nice and after party was great, too!

This race is such a nice ultra and trail community race, with some of the very best people participating, volunteering and running. The RD is a friend to all and has some awesome shirts, swag and homemade awards that are beautiful. The trail itself is exceptionally beautiful and fun!

So, last year I volunteered and the weather was PERFECT! (in the 50’s) this year, it was 77 degrees and 95% humidity AT THE START. They can’t control that, but they had plenty of ice cold orange juice (bring up the blood sugar), tea, beer, energy drinks and great catered breakfast to help bring us back to life. The course is pretty, the schools that volunteer were cheerful, the bands playing were awesome, the Marines were wonderful to us, and the shirt and medal were beautiful. So the things they could control, they got right! Come run it next year and hope for better weather!

Most of us repeat runners continue to forget how tough the trail section is, as it’s covered in roots (sprayed red so to warn us), low hanging tree branches and occasional thick mud from the rain. The RD and volunteers truly make this a spectacularly fun event, the most fun you can have while running in August in FL! You quickly forget how hard you worked as you remember the fun you had with great friends. Post-race meal is wonderful, too!

The course is gorgeous, but we unfortunately had cold and rain to downpour, to rain, so that wasn’t great. The cliffs and beach and the mansions and the history were incredible! The volunteers did their best to keep us motivated.

This had everything you would want and expect in a Montana marathon. Scenery, mountains (but not too challenging), great weather, cowboys, horses, etc.!