Trail run draws a crowd

A record number of participants, 172, took on the Whitefish Legacy Partner’s Trail Blazer 50k on Saturday.  

The skies threatened to storm as runners lined up at the village at Whitefish Mountain Resort to begin the 31-mile course with 6,300 feet of elevation, but it was mostly a tease, at least until about 3 p.m., when heavy rain finally fell. 

Nick Cornell of Missoula blazed to the finish, setting a new course record in 4:02.02, while Whitefish’s own Sam Avery represented as the first female finisher, taking ninth overall in 4:49.50.  

Podium status also went to second-place Micah Drew of Whitefish, followed by Andrew Newell of Bozeman, Hayes Pateidl of Butte, and Eric Holdhusen of Kalispell, all of whom ran faster than the first-place finisher from 2024.  

Following Avery on the women’s podium was Erika Flowers of Bozeman, Ellie Hull of Bozeman, Olivia Skillings of Whitefish, and Jill Miller of Missoula.  

During Sunday’s races in the Beaver Lakes area, Elizabeth Wasserman of Columbia Falls ran a 1:44.51 to finish first in the half-marathon out of 143 men and women. 

Porter Shehan, a 14-year-old from Whitefish, finished first out of 47 runners in the 5k-plus. A runner from Libby, S. Delorasa, finished first out of 104 people in the 10k+, and Kalispell teen siblings Nolan and Lauren Bissen were not far behind. 

The 1.4-mile family fun-run was a blast for 50 participants, who ranged in age from three to 72, plus a few babies carried along.  

For full results see runsignup.com/Race/MT/Whitefish/WhitefishTrailBlazer