Montana's weather put us to the test this season. With a fire season that forced the cancellation of several events, we've now had snow that has cancelled others. Despite that, there is still a ton happening and plenty to look forward to now that the fall racing season is in full swing:
Treasure State Trail Series: Early season snow forced the cancellation of the Nitty Gritty, but the past couple of weeks have seen plenty of action with both the John Colter Run and Big Bear Stampede putting some Southwest Montana runners in the mix in the overall series rankings. With just three races to go the top five runners in the standings are Missoula's Sara Boughner, Amy Friedman, and Leah Handelman, and Bozeman's Ana Brown, Michelle Flenniken. For the men, Missoula's Nico Composto leads fellow Garden City runner Forrest Boughner, while Bozeman's Alan Adams and Chad Carr are currently just ahead of Missoula's Mark Handelman. Remember the series prize purse from Altra Footwear goes five deep and we've decided the waive the five race completion requirement. So if you think you've got what it takes to put down some fast times over the next month you might just find yourself in the thick of things. This weekend, the series visits Great Falls (check out our preview Q&A) and next week it'll be in Whitefish. The series finale takes place in Missoula at Run Wild's Mount Jumbo Elk Ramble.
Mountain Running Film Festival: Missoula will be the center of the universe for the trail running community on the weekend of November 4th. We're pleased to announce that for the fifth year in a row, The Wilma Theater will be the site of the Mountain Running Film Festival. This end of season party is a celebration of our community and the trails and open space we love. Check back with us in the coming weeks to find out more about some of the new features of the now classic event.
Here's what Run Wild Missoula has to say about the weekend:
Imagine Missoula without its conservation lands
No backdoor trails, no resident elk herd, no native wild flowers, and no Mount Jumbo Elk Ramble trail race... Thankfully, the Missoula community had the foresight to preserve open spaces around Missoula with the passage of the Open Space Bond in 1997. 3,000+ acres around Missoula were preserved in areas like Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel, North Hills, Fort Missoula and Tower Street Conservation Area. The City of Missoula continues to manage these lands for our benefit and enjoyment - find out more about these great lands by visiting the City's Open Space Website.
But, it all started with Mount Jumbo. In 1996, Elk Ramble sponsor Five Valleys Land Trust was instrumental in securing funding and purchase agreements to acquire the original 1,500 acres of open space lands on Mount Jumbo.
And, Mount Jumbo represents one of the largest areas of open space protected to date. The result is an incredible space providing recreation opportunities; protected views; wintering range for the local elk populations; and, habitat protection for a wide array of flora and fauna. And, as a registered runner, you get the unique chance to traverse the area on foot and experience firsthand the grandeur of this great space.
Make It A Complete Day -
Race in the Morning, Film Festival & Treasure State Trail Series Awards in the Evening
Part of Montana Trail Crew's mission, with the support of their parent organization Run Wild Missoula, is to improve and expand trail running across the state of Montana. To help meet that mission, they have organized a sub-ultra trail race series utilizing established races throughout Montana.
The Elk Ramble will be the last race of the series and series awards will be presented at the film fest the night of the race. More information about the film festival coming soon.
National Public Lands Day:
On Saturday, September 30th, our friends at Five Valleys Land Trust will be partnering with REI, the Montana Conservation Corps, MTB Missoula, and Missoula Parks and Recreation to conduct a National Public Lands Work Day! We would love to see some the trail running community take advantage of this opportunity for trail building and sign installation on Mount Dean Stone.
As many of you know, some of the proceeds from our 3rd Mountain Running Film Festival went toward trail building on the South Hills Spur of Dean Stone (not to mention the considerable contributions made by our parent organization, Run Wild Missoula). This is a opportunity to take those contributions a step further and actually put some running shoes on the ground to help makes these trails ours. The new trails will provide an important link in Missoula trail system and the first in what we hope will be an extensive trail system on Mount Dean Stone.
The work day will take place from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on The South Hills Spur and will be followed by a BBQ lunch. This is a great chance to give back and do good!
For more information about the work day, follow this link: http://www.fvlt.org/blog/national-public-lands-day-on-mount-dean-stone
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| Whitefish Trail Legacy Run, one of the next stops on the Treasure State Trail Series. Credit: Burket Kniveton |
Treasure State Trail Series: Early season snow forced the cancellation of the Nitty Gritty, but the past couple of weeks have seen plenty of action with both the John Colter Run and Big Bear Stampede putting some Southwest Montana runners in the mix in the overall series rankings. With just three races to go the top five runners in the standings are Missoula's Sara Boughner, Amy Friedman, and Leah Handelman, and Bozeman's Ana Brown, Michelle Flenniken. For the men, Missoula's Nico Composto leads fellow Garden City runner Forrest Boughner, while Bozeman's Alan Adams and Chad Carr are currently just ahead of Missoula's Mark Handelman. Remember the series prize purse from Altra Footwear goes five deep and we've decided the waive the five race completion requirement. So if you think you've got what it takes to put down some fast times over the next month you might just find yourself in the thick of things. This weekend, the series visits Great Falls (check out our preview Q&A) and next week it'll be in Whitefish. The series finale takes place in Missoula at Run Wild's Mount Jumbo Elk Ramble.
Mountain Running Film Festival: Missoula will be the center of the universe for the trail running community on the weekend of November 4th. We're pleased to announce that for the fifth year in a row, The Wilma Theater will be the site of the Mountain Running Film Festival. This end of season party is a celebration of our community and the trails and open space we love. Check back with us in the coming weeks to find out more about some of the new features of the now classic event.
Here's what Run Wild Missoula has to say about the weekend:
Imagine Missoula without its conservation lands
No backdoor trails, no resident elk herd, no native wild flowers, and no Mount Jumbo Elk Ramble trail race... Thankfully, the Missoula community had the foresight to preserve open spaces around Missoula with the passage of the Open Space Bond in 1997. 3,000+ acres around Missoula were preserved in areas like Mount Jumbo, Mount Sentinel, North Hills, Fort Missoula and Tower Street Conservation Area. The City of Missoula continues to manage these lands for our benefit and enjoyment - find out more about these great lands by visiting the City's Open Space Website.
But, it all started with Mount Jumbo. In 1996, Elk Ramble sponsor Five Valleys Land Trust was instrumental in securing funding and purchase agreements to acquire the original 1,500 acres of open space lands on Mount Jumbo.
And, Mount Jumbo represents one of the largest areas of open space protected to date. The result is an incredible space providing recreation opportunities; protected views; wintering range for the local elk populations; and, habitat protection for a wide array of flora and fauna. And, as a registered runner, you get the unique chance to traverse the area on foot and experience firsthand the grandeur of this great space.
Make It A Complete Day -
Race in the Morning, Film Festival & Treasure State Trail Series Awards in the Evening
Part of Montana Trail Crew's mission, with the support of their parent organization Run Wild Missoula, is to improve and expand trail running across the state of Montana. To help meet that mission, they have organized a sub-ultra trail race series utilizing established races throughout Montana.
The Elk Ramble will be the last race of the series and series awards will be presented at the film fest the night of the race. More information about the film festival coming soon.
National Public Lands Day:
On Saturday, September 30th, our friends at Five Valleys Land Trust will be partnering with REI, the Montana Conservation Corps, MTB Missoula, and Missoula Parks and Recreation to conduct a National Public Lands Work Day! We would love to see some the trail running community take advantage of this opportunity for trail building and sign installation on Mount Dean Stone.
As many of you know, some of the proceeds from our 3rd Mountain Running Film Festival went toward trail building on the South Hills Spur of Dean Stone (not to mention the considerable contributions made by our parent organization, Run Wild Missoula). This is a opportunity to take those contributions a step further and actually put some running shoes on the ground to help makes these trails ours. The new trails will provide an important link in Missoula trail system and the first in what we hope will be an extensive trail system on Mount Dean Stone.
The work day will take place from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM on The South Hills Spur and will be followed by a BBQ lunch. This is a great chance to give back and do good!
For more information about the work day, follow this link: http://www.fvlt.org/blog/national-public-lands-day-on-mount-dean-stone