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| Missoula training grounds - Nelson Kenter |
However the events during the last weekend in June 2014 went
a long way to changing my perspective. Three
of the biggest global ultra trail races of the year were for scheduled for June
27th and 28th. The
first race was the 2014 Skyrunning World Championships 80k in Chamonix,
France. This event is held once every
four years and has a grueling 20,000 feet of elevation gain. Among this world class field, Missoula’s Mike
Wolfe, ran near the front from the start and finished in 8th
place.
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| Mike Wolfe on route to 8th place at the Skyrunning World Championships 80k - Ian Corless |
Later that evening was the start to the 119km, Lavaredo Ultra
Trail in Cortina, Italy. This race was
part of the Ultra-Trail World Tour series and hosted another deep international
field. Mike Foote ran his text book race
moving up through the field as the miles went on finishing in 2nd
place.
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| Mike Foote moving up to 2nd place at Lavaredo Ultra Trail 119km - Alberto Orlandi |
The Montana Mike’s have been placing at the top of these
large international races for a few years now.
Their top finishes this weekend were no surprise, and results like these
have come to be expected of them. These
two have done the most to put Missoula on the map as a hotbed for trail and ultra
running. However, it was a Missoula
runner not named Mike whose performance would alter my perception on the
direction of our local trail running talent.
On June 28th, what can be considered the Super
Bowl of ultra running was held. The forty year old Western States 100 Mile
Endurance Run takes runners from Squaw Valley to Auburn, CA. A star studded international field was in
this lineup along with unheralded Missoulian Seth Swanson. Those that run with Seth know that he is a
super strong and fast trail runner. He
has many first place finishes at lower profile Montana and Pacific North West
ultra races over the past three years. To
this point, Seth’s talents had never been on display on a large stage against
the best in the country or world. That
is until he ran with the leaders from the start of Western States and finished
an amazing 2nd place! I’m not
sure anyone besides Seth knew he was capable of such a feat.
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| Seth Swanson finishing 2nd at Western States 100 mile - Bryon Powell |
To recap, in one weekend three runners from Missoula raced
three of the most competitive ultra races of the year, and finished in 8th,
2nd, and 2nd. No
other city in the world can match that success.
Not Boulder, not Flagstaff, not “insert your favorite running city here”
can compare. It truly is a special time to be a trail runner in Missoula, Montana.
While the depth of Missoula men’s trail runners may have taken a hit in 2014 with the exodus of Jason, Chris, & Jed; the events over the past weekend showed that we have more world class talent then we knew about. And right behind Mike, Mike, and Seth stands a fine stable of other Missoula trail runners whose goals and aspirations are now aimed slightly higher thanks to the performances these men displayed the weekend Missoula sat on top of the ultra running world.
While the depth of Missoula men’s trail runners may have taken a hit in 2014 with the exodus of Jason, Chris, & Jed; the events over the past weekend showed that we have more world class talent then we knew about. And right behind Mike, Mike, and Seth stands a fine stable of other Missoula trail runners whose goals and aspirations are now aimed slightly higher thanks to the performances these men displayed the weekend Missoula sat on top of the ultra running world.
- Jeremy Wolf
www.wolfjeremy.comhttps://twitter.com/jeremywolfRun
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