This
Saturday, on the slopes of Big Sky Mountain Resort’s Lone Mountain, the trail running
community will experience its own fall showdown. Runners will test their
abilities on one of the most challenging mountain 50Ks in North America.
Like the seasonal elements that combine to bring the elk into a frenzy, a unique
combination of people and place collide to give us The
Rut.
In its
inaugural year, The Rut is emerging as Montana’s premier ultramarathon. This
should come as little surprise to those familiar with the people who are making it
happen. The Runner’s Edge, under race director Mike Foote, has built an
outstanding repertoire of events over the past several years. For The Rut,
Foote partnered with fellow Montanan and North Face athlete Mike Wolfe. The Montana
Mikes, as they've been dubbed of late, have competed in top level events the world
over. Given their shared experiences, it was only a matter of time before they teamed
up to give back to the state they love—after all, these are the guys who've been known to hoist the Montana flag at international events. While the Mikes bring a slice of Montana to
the international running scene, with The Rut they've brought a slice of the
international running scene to Montana. According to Wolfe, The Rut is largely
modeled after European Skyrunner Federation races the pair have experienced in
the past. “Skyrunner's ethos,” Wolfe explains, “is to design the purest
mountain running races on aesthetic terrain, extremely technical, with loads of
vertical relief. . . . That's the type of terrain that most appeals to us as
runners - adventure in the mountains.”
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The Montana Mikes - Credit: The Rut 50K |
If the Montana Mikes’ European mountain running backgrounds are one side
of the The Rut coin, their experience in Southwest Montana is the other.
According to Wolfe, “Few U.S. races match the technical challenges of their
European counterparts, with the Bridger Ridge Run being the only race in
Montana coming close.” Wolfe and Foote, by the way, are each former Bridger Ridge
Run Champions. “We
wanted to offer more of this style of racing, for Americans to enjoy, and Montana has that kind of terrain to offer. Big Sky in
particular has very technical, loose, rocky, severe terrain, and at elevation....it
was a perfect match!” The Mikes should know. Wolfe is a Bozeman native who grew
up skiing Lone Mountain’s steep lines. Foote ski patrolled at Moonlight Basin. “Local
knowledge,” Wolfe notes, was key to course design. “We knew that it was
perfect terrain before we even started summer scouting, knowing how steep,
technical and rocky the terrain is. We will send runners straight up ‘Bonecrusher
Ridge’ to the summit, and down the south boundary line, both of which are ski
lines we have been on, and knew this terrain would be challenging for everyone,
and it is ‘the goods’ we were looking for.” Although The Rut offers some fast, runnable
sections, Wolfe is confident that on the 2,000 vertical foot Bonecrusher ascent
over “steep, loose rock, very technical, pure ridge scrambling straight to the
summit, all in less than 2 miles, there will be no running.”
Clearly, the
Mikes go big. Given the prominent place The Rut is taking in Montana’s running scene
before the starting shot is even fired, it should come as little surprise that these
race directors have a lot more in store for us. With an eye toward the future,
they not only envision The Rut expanding, but becoming a premier U.S. event in the
Sky Running Federation World Series of Mountain Running. Talks are underway to
develop a Skyrunner-style 3-day festival of mountain running featuring a Vertical
Kilometer (a 3,000 foot ascent race in less than 5K to the summit of Lone
Mountain) which, along with the marquee 50k, would draw a top international
field. Although we can expect the event to grow, the Montana faithful can be
assured that the Mikes will keep the event true to its Montana roots: big, beautiful,
and rugged.
Athletes to watch:
200 50K runners
will descend upon Big Sky Mountain Resort to test their abilities on Lone
Mountain. While most will simply hope to make it across the finish line, a competitive
field will be in the hunt for a podium finish. Here are a few to watch:
Men:
Luke Nelson, Pocatello… fresh off a strong 6th place showing against a stacked field at the challenging Speedgoat 50K, this Patagonia athlete and world class ski mountaineer is well suited for the steep Lone Mountain terrain.
Men:
Luke Nelson, Pocatello… fresh off a strong 6th place showing against a stacked field at the challenging Speedgoat 50K, this Patagonia athlete and world class ski mountaineer is well suited for the steep Lone Mountain terrain.
Jeremy Wolf, Missoula… MTC’s own, Wolf has proven
his speed with podium finishes at numerous Montana trail races over the past
two seasons and recorded a 3:38 50K trail debut in April. A missed turn led him
to drop from Speedgoat, but his recent training (see Glacier loop) suggests he’s
ready to throw down another solid performance.
Jeff Rome, Livingston… an experienced
ultra-runner at age 24, Montana mountain running suites him well as evidenced
by his 3rd place finish at this year’s Bridger Ridge Run. He
followed that up a week later with a sub 21 hour finish at the Leadville 100.
Zack Strong, Bozeman… the former Dartmouth
steepler is past champion of numerous races throughout Montana, including the
Bridger Ridge Run, Pengelly Double Dip, and Montana Cup.
Matt Shryock, Missoula… 2:36 marathoner, 1:09
half marathoner, and competitive triathlete.
Mark Handelman, Missoula… 2:42 at 2013 Missoula
Marathon and winner of 2013 Pengelly Single Dip.
Women:
Cheryl Beatty, Calgary… Winner of numerous 50Ks and
champion of the 2013 Ultra Trail Lavaredo in Italy.
Minde Erickson, Bozeman… 2012 Bridger Ridge Run
Champion, 2013 runner-up.
The Rut 50K & 12K - By Sprout Films from Sprout Films on Vimeo.
Keep an eye out for local athlete Melinda Turner in Saturday's 50K.
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