A group of racers in the Seeley Lake portion of the Mountain Trail Series run through a field of lupine in a remote section of the 25K and 50K course.
Racers in the Seeley Lake 25K take off after the starting gun. The 25K brought competitors up East Morrell Road, along Forest Service roads and through fields of wildflowers.
Matthew Winter of Billings, Mont. crosses the finish line and wins the 50K in a time of 4:58:23. Winter also won the 50K last year.
Katie Moore of Missoula, Mont. crosses the finish line just minutes after the course champion. Moore won the 50K event for the women in 5:01:00 and placed second overall.
SEELEY LAKE - The Mountain Trail Series ultramarathon trail race stopped in Seeley Lake and brought a variety of runners to explore the wilderness in the East Morrell Complex on Saturday, June 22.
Each race in the series consists of a 10K, 25K and 50K option for competitors. In the Seeley Lake race, the 10K stuck to the Seeley Creek Nordic Trails, while the 25K and 50K explored the East Morrell Complex through a variety of Forest Service roads, single track trails and primitive areas through lupine fields. The 50K brought runners to Pyramid Pass Road, and over Rice Ridge before finishing at the Auggie-Morrell Road. Both the 10K and 25K finished at the Seeley Creek trailhead.
"It had a brutal, long climb," said Joe Klempel of Seeley Lake who completed the 50K race. "Overall, it was really beautiful with great scenery."
This was Klempel's first 50K trail race. He was the only local participant registered in the three races. He explained that he had been training for the event consistently over the past seven months on trails around town and in town at the Double Arrow Lodge. He finished third for the men in 5:27:24.
Despite not bringing many local competitors, the race brought runners from all around Montana, and several out of state competitors from North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Tennessee. There were even runners from Alberta competing in the field of 33 finishers.
"I'm not doing this to attract people from out of state but it seems to bring them in to explore our community," said Race Organizer Chris Stout.
The route for both the 25K and 50K wove through portions of the 2017 Rice Ridge fire scar. The lush shrubbery and vivid colors from bear grass, lupine, indian paintbrush and other wild flowers were a stark contrast to the blackened trees. Stout said that the courses for the 25K and 50K ran in reverse order from last year.
Matthew Winter of Billings, Mont. won the 50K outright for the second year in a row with a time of 4:58:23, nearly an hour behind his champion time from the previous year. Katie Moore of Missoula, Mont. trailed Winter closely and finished with a time of 5:01:00, winning the 50K for the women, and second overall.
Both Winter and Moore expressed confusion with course markings. Moore claimed she was lost for a portion of the race. Winter said all of the colors made it difficult to pick out the course flags.
The series began in West Virginia and has made two stops in the Seeley Lake area, the first race was held from Placid Lake to Gold Creek June 1. Later this summer, the series will move to Butte, Jackson Hole and will conclude in Michigan.
For more information visit https://www.50ktrailseries.com/
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