Ovando's Madeline Swanberg (blue headband behind the man in the bright green windbreaker) finished first overall for the women with a time of 1:35:19. Snow Jokers filled the southbound lane in Seeley Lake for nearly 10 minutes Saturday morning.
Seeley Lake's Joan Dellwo and Karen Ayers having fun as they head north leaving Seeley Lake during the 2018 Snow Joke Half Marathon Feb. 24.
Seeley Lakers Cera Strumpfer, Logan Maughan, Sawyer Shelmerdine, Caleb Maughan and Ella Batchelder. This was Ella, Logan and Sawyer's third year running the Snow Joke, Caleb's second and Cera's first. They all shaved more than five minutes off their slowest time.
Felicity Derry improved her time by nine minutes from 2017. She finished this year in 2:02:36.
Huskies Echo and Kuma represented the Canines for Seeley Lake with their owner Heather Silva. They finished in 3:24:07.
Riley Devins returned for his second Snow Joke. He shaved five minutes off his time in 2016.
Layne Ryerson of Helena, Mont (right) and Jason Delaney of Polson, Mont. took the lead in Seeley Lake and maintained it to the finish. Ryerson won the 39th annual Snow Joke with a time of 1:13. Delaney was 43 seconds behind him for second.
SEELEY LAKE – A field of more than 700 runners descended upon Seeley Lake for the 39th Annual Snow Joke Half Marathon. Temperatures were in the low 20s when the race started and the snow packed course made for nicer running conditions than the icy conditions in the past. More than 510 racers and 54 dogs crossed the finish line.
While the majority of racers were from Montana, runners from Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Canada, Washington, Alaska, New York, Idaho, Wyoming, California and Virginia came to put themselves to the test in the snowy conditions.
This year only ten local racers took to the course.
This was past Seeley Lake resident Riley Devins' second year running the race. He finished 66 for the men with a time of 1:43:09. This was five and a half minutes faster than his time in 2016.
"I felt pretty good. This was actually faster than I thought I was going to do," said Devins.
This year, Devins started in the front after getting stuck behind people the last time. That helped improve his time.
He also enjoyed running the race with friends and loved the support along the way including his brother Blaze and family with noise makers on the home stretch of Boy Scout Road.
"This is my favorite race just because of the ambiance and I love winter. It's a tie in of where I'm from," said Devins. "Just running around the course I get to see people I haven't seen in 10 years. It motivates you to keep going and go faster."
Another Seeley-Swan High School graduate Cera Strumpfer returned for her first Snow Joke. Since she has never done a half marathon her goal was under 2:30. She finished in 2:25:50.
"I did way better than I thought I would do," said Strumpfer who hasn't been able to train very much because she has a full time job and works two jobs. "Definitely going to do it again next year but I recommend training for it."
Strumpfer said that focusing on the mile markers was one motivator to finish.
"Also watching everyone else out here that are running just as hard as I am, especially since you see a lot of older folks do it. When they pass you it is like, wow, you inspire me," said Strumpfer. "I definitely recommend people get out here and do it. You don't have to be really good at running. There are people that walked the majority of it and they are still finishing."
Layne Ryerson of Helena, Mont. won the race finishing in 1:13, running a blistering 5:34 minute mile. Kalispell's Annie Hill was first to cross the finish line for the women in 1:27:03, a pace of 6:39 miles per mile.
Local Race Results Females (Places overall of 293 racers): Madeline Swanberg, Ovando, 5th, 1:35:19; Felicity Derry, Seeley Lake, 83th, 2:02:36; Cera Strumpfer, Seeley Lake, 178th, 2:25:50; Ella Batchelder, Seeley Lake, 238th, 2:46:50; Heather Silva, 282nd, Seeley Lake, 3:24:07; Joan Dellwo, Seeley Lake, 288th, 3:29:53 and Karen Ayers, Seeley Lake 289th, 3:32:10
Local Race Results Males (Places overall of 221 racers): Riley Devins, Missoula, 66th, 1:43:09; Caleb Maughan, Seeley Lake, 115th, 1:56:39; Logan Maughan, Seeley Lake, 18th, 1:58:17; Sawyer Shelmerdine, Seeley Lake, 153rd, 2:11:06
Local Race Results Canine (Place overall of 54 dogs): Echo and Kuma Silva, Seeley Lake, 53rd, 3:24:07
For complete results visit mtsnowjoke.com and click on Results.
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