Whitefish runner Scarlat Kaplan blazed a new women’s course record at the annual 50-mile Le Grizz ultramarathon Saturday, finishing in 6 hours, 31 minutes and 38 seconds to take out the record of 6:33.3 set in 2024.  

Kaplan maintained an average pace of 7:50 a mile to accomplish the fastest time by a woman in the race’s 44-year history. The prior record was held by Evie Tate of Missoula, who in 2024 broke a 1985 mark by Roberta “Bobbie” Pomroy by 5 minutes.  

Kaplan, 30, has been on a roll this summer, starting by smashing the course record at the Whitefish marathon, and going on to win the Foys to Blacktail marathon, the Big Mountain run, and the Whitefish Trail Blazer 50k.  

Le Grizz, organized by the Glacier Institute, featured a slightly adjusted course this year, starting and ending at the Glacier Institute’s Big Creek Education Center rather than at the Polebridge Mercantile in recent years.  

The course began with a 7 a.m. shotgun blast at the Institute and ran along the North Fork of the Flathead River for 25 miles with a turnaround a mile past Whale Creek. The course remained true to its Hungry Horse Reservoir gravel road roots with about 2,400 feet of undulating elevation gain.  

A dose of winter rolled in as the miles ticked by Saturday. It was mostly cloudy with a few bouts of rain, which turned to mixed precipitation by about 4 p.m.  

A participant who registered as anonymous was the first overall finisher of the day in 5:54.31. Adam Sommers, 31, of Columbia Falls was the fifth overall participant and the second Flathead Valley local.  

Seventeen-year-old Jack Austin from Coram completed the ultra-feat in 8:06.37, an average of 9:44 a mile.  

Kathie Lang, 77, added her 27th Le Grizz finish to her accolades, finishing around midnight.  

Participation overall was up. 

About 140 people registered for the 50 miler and 103 completed it. Sixteen relay teams completed the 50-mile course with “Runcrustables,” “Bear Bait” and “Mustachioed Musketeers of Montana” being the three fastest teams. About another 70 people participated in the 15k and 5k races.