Seeley Ultra Grows, Thrives
Tor Gormundsen, a 53-year-old from Helena, smiles after winning the 50K in 4:24:19. Gormundsen was the second oldest man in the race and beat runners less than half his age.
Samantha Mundel, 20, attempts to recover after winning the women's 50K. The Carroll athlete is an All-American on the track in the 3K.
Ryan Walther, 38, hugs his son after finishing third in the morning race. Walther and his family traveled from Malawi to spend time in their second home near Columbia Falls.
Former Seeley Lake resident Riley Devins shows off his muscles at mile eight of 30 in his first 50K race.
Devins recovers from his race with water and beer. Devins finished in 5:56:20.
Aleksandra Sleziak throws up a peace sign near the first aid station. Sleziak traveled from Austin, Texas to run the Seeley 50K as her first ultramarathon.
Tommy Harrold dances with his two kids Skye and JohnJohn while National Park Radio plays the main stage Friday afternoon after he ran the 50K in the morning. Harrold and his family traveled to Seeley Lake from their home in Rwanda. He finished in 6:12:14.
SEELEY LAKE - Six miles up Rice Ridge Road, a line of vehicles slowed to a stop. Dirt roads spread out to the left and right until they disappeared in to the trees along the ridge.
Race Coordinator Chris Stout emerged from the lead vehicle and began giving instructions. Behind him, several people opened car doors and carried out coolers, water jugs and milk crates filled with various foods.
In the crisp not-yet-above-60-degree air, volunteers set up an aid station-the first of four along the 50-kilometer (30-mile) course.
The second annual Seeley Lake 50K was underway.
"It's just satisfying to go out, put in all that work, mark the course and then have people go run it and say 'It's a great course,'" said Stout.
At 6 a.m., the 31 registered participants-along with Stout and a few volunteers-rendezvoused at the ski trails just north of Seeley Lake.
The pre-dawn start was anticlimactic. A simple count down and the group of runners surged forward down the trail-but at a reasonable pace that could be held for hours on end.
Eight miles later, James Heyboer, a doctor out of Kalispell, was the first runner to reach the aid station, with 53-year-old Tor Gormundsen from Helena close behind.
The two runners ran together for the majority of the race, even taking a wrong turn together and missing an aid station somewhere around the 20-mile mark.
In the end, Gormundsen pulled out the win by two minutes-finishing in 4:24:19.
While Heyboer was a little dismayed at his wrong turn and missed aid station, he felt good about his race-he was using it as a tune up for his first 100 mile race, the IMTUF in McCall, Idaho.
In the women's race, the youngest runner was also the fastest. Twenty-year-old Samantha Mundel came through the first aid station with a solid lead over the next woman and over the remaining 22 miles it continued to grow.
Mundel, running in her first race over six miles, finished fourth overall with a time of 5:33:23. Rebecca King from Missoula was second in 5:38:10 and 21-year-old Elle Limesand was third in 5:47:37.
"I didn't try as hard as I could," said Mundel, who is an All-American track athlete for Carroll College.
Of all the races run, biked or paddled over the course of the music festival, the ultra had the most diverse field. While the majority of runners were from around Big Sky Country, two runners flew in from Texas to run, one from Rwanda and one from Malawi.
"It was the closest race I could find," said Thomas Harrold, who traveled with his wife and two kids from Kigali, Rwanda. Harrold's wife's family was having a reunion in Jackson Hole and he wanted to get in a race while he was stateside. His next event will be in England this fall.
Other than a few wrong turns-the mountain bike course markers were confused with the 55K markers-and some minor first aid needs, the race went well according to Stout.
"We had three repeat runners, that says something considering we had 17 to begin with last year," Stout said after the event. "Everybody's safe and sound and had a good time for the most part."
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