Photos: Runners of all ages take on Le Grizz ultramarathon
KELSEY EVANS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 weeks, 6 days AGO
Kalispell's Seth Knudsen begins his leg for the "Where's Waldo" 50-mile relay team during Le Grizz Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Connor Arnell of Saratogo Springs, Colorado placed second overall at the 2026 Le Grizz Ultramarathon on Saturday, Oct. 10. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Seventeen-year-old Jack Austin repping Coram finished the Le Grizz 50-miler in 10th place. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
David Pokorny representing hometown Polebridge was fully stoked at mile 35 of Le Grizz on Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Pete Behrends, 52, of Helena placed fourth overall at Le Grizz Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish runner Scarlet Kaplan digs deep as she nears the finish line of the Le Grizz 50-mile ultramarathon on Saturday. Kaplan broke the course record finishing in 6:31.38. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
McKenna Hyman of Salt Lake City dashes out of the Polebridge Mercantile mile-35 aid station during Le Grizz Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
A break in the mostly cloudly skies near Polebridge as runners completed Le Grizz ultramarathons on Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish runner Scarlat Kaplan blazed a new course record at the annual 50-mile Le Grizz ultramarathon Saturday, finishing in six 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 five minutes.
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 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.
Pete Behrends, 52, of Helena set a new male seniors record with a time of 6:40:14. Women's senior record holder Debbie Gibson, 61, from Helena, was the second-place woman in 7:58.39.
Participation was record breaking. 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.
Connor Arnell of Saratogo Springs, Colorado placed second overall at the 2026 Le Grizz Ultramarathon on Saturday, Oct. 10. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Seventeen-year-old Jack Austin repping Coram finished the Le Grizz 50-miler in 10th place. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
David Pokorny representing hometown Polebridge was fully stoked at mile 35 of Le Grizz on Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Pete Behrends, 52, of Helena placed fourth overall at Le Grizz Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
Whitefish runner Scarlet Kaplan digs deep as she nears the finish line of the Le Grizz 50-mile ultramarathon on Saturday. Kaplan broke the course record finishing in 6:31.38. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
McKenna Hyman of Salt Lake City dashes out of the Polebridge Mercantile mile-35 aid station during Le Grizz Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)
A break in the mostly cloudly skies near Polebridge as runners completed Le Grizz ultramarathons on Saturday. (Kelsey Evans/Whitefish Pilot)ARTICLES BY KELSEY EVANS
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