The momentum of a sweeping summer of victories, built on grit and a desire for redemption, drove Scarlet Kaplan to the Le Grizz ultramarathon's finish line in record-breaking time.  

“I feel a little bit invincible,” Kaplan said about the race result. 

The 30-year-old Whitefish fitness trainer wasn’t anticipating running the classic 50-mile gravel race, one of the oldest ultramarathons in the country.  

But two days before the race, she realized it was a part of the Flathead Race Series, a “Crown of the Continent Champions League” that strings together points from several trail races held in the region throughout the season.  

Kaplan said the organizer reached out to her and said, “‘You’re in the lead. If you do the 50-mile, you’ll win it.’ And I like to win. So, I was like, I’ll do it.”  

Leading up to Le Grizz, Kaplan demolished the Whitefish Marathon course record in 3:03:05. She won a Spartan trifecta of obstacle-laden races and competed in a Hyrox event in the spring. 

She did the double-dip half marathon in Missoula and won that. She then ran the Foys to Blacktail half marathon – and full marathon – in a weekend double header in July, winning both not just for women but overall.  

She did the annual Big Mountain run and the inaugural Cedar Flats trail run 10k and won both. 

In September, she headed to Big Sky for the infamously technical The Rut, a mountainous 50k that draws professional level talent from across the country, taking fifth out of several hundred participants.  

She won the Whitefish Trail Blazer 50k on Oct. 3 and expected to end her momentous season there. But then on the Thursday before Le Grizz, Kaplan found herself calling Drew Coco, who owns the Le Grizz men’s course record, and asking for advice on tackling her longest run ever.  

“He told me to go a minute a mile slower than my marathon pace,” Kaplan said, shrugging her shoulders. “I was like OK, I’ll trust you.”  

Kaplan figured the pace and realized it was on top of the current women’s course record, which stood at 6 hours, 33 minutes and 3 seconds.  

The record belonged to Evie Tate of Missoula. It was extraordinary when Tate took down the four-decade old record in 2024. The prior record of 6:37.53 was set in 1985 by Roberta “Bobbie” Pomroy.  

This year, Kaplan held pace at 7:50 a mile as she ran 25 miles along the North Fork past Polebridge and back. The weather looked foreboding as a cold front moved in, but the snow held off, and Kaplan dug in. She doubled her marathon nutrition, taking in about 18 gels plus electrolytes over the race. 

She crossed the finish line at Glacier Institute’s Big Creek Education Center in 6:31.38 and etched her name in the record books.  

It was the largest Le Grizz ever, with 140 people registering for the 50-miler and 103 crossing the finish line.  

Reflecting on the race, Kaplan said that as a fitness trainer she often gets the question: When is it going to be easy?  

“Never,” she said. “You’re never going to keep progressing if you stay in your comfort zone.”  

That carries into her own racing, she said.  

“It’s hard when people don’t understand – they're like, oh you’re going to win, right?” Kaplan said, shaking her head. “Every race, I have to go hard.” 

An Arlee native, Kaplan’s endurance roots go back to horse racing. In college as a triathlete at University of Colorado, Boulder, she put up impressive performances, although a femur fracture her junior year caused heartbreak and adversity.  

Only after graduating and entering adulthood did Kaplan realize, “I’m not done. I can get better,” she said.  

Kaplan, a trainer at The Wave fitness center since 2019, recognizes it’s a boost to have working out as her job. She teaches about 12 fitness classes each week, from cycling to dance to winter sports conditioning, and does personal training sessions. She runs during her lunch break or after work and does longer miles on the weekend.  

Kaplan said her training “proves to everybody that I can. If you say I can’t do something, I’m going to do it.” 

As a trainer, she “loves working with people who are motivated to get better, and people who don’t know their own potential – and then discover it,” she said. 

Last summer, Kaplan fractured her femur again, on the other leg, and tore her labrum. In September, she opted for surgery and had three screws placed. She was on crutches for almost eight months, so she adapted. She swam and taught spin classes with one foot on the handlebars, one on the pedals. It was miserable, she said.  

“That’s been my biggest motivator this year,” she said. “It’s my comeback.”  

As she built momentum throughout the season, Kaplan felt motivated by the community.  

“At the Trail Blazer, there were so many people cheering,” Kaplan said. “It was cool to have that support, specifically from women in the community.  

“I don’t think a lot of the guys consider me a competitor. And I’m like, well. It’s a good year to show people what women can do.”  

    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)