Excellent course, support and food, and aid. Really had fun with this race and posted a decent time. I'm going for 50 states and this marked my 44th completed state in 2019. Point to point courses do however require you to wake up much earlier...so for this marathon I was up with Nicole at at 3:30am for a 4:30am bus ride to the start which was 17 miles outside of Missoula. The entire course was on pavement generally good condition. There was a significant hill at 13 miles of about 300ft climb, but you did get a down hill after that of approximately the same so it all washes out. Aid stations were every 2 miles. The start had two cannons going off with a Big Bang during the National Anthem, and even had fireworks at the start. Pretty cool. They also had pacers which helped me during the race. I decided to initially stick with 3:20 pacers but after 2 miles joined another couple as the pace felt a little too easy. The last marathon I had raced in a banana suit in Chicago which was in 3:25 and change. I wasn't going to repeat that here so decided to go comfortable at the first half of the race (1:36) and then pull all the stops off my wheels for the remaining 13 miles negative splitting in (1:30) for a total chip time of 3:06:53. Still a little over 3 hours but next year I will be cracking 3 hours for sure. I was 46th overall and 1st in the 45-49 age group. Nicole managed a nice race too in under 5 hours in a time of 4:55. Glad we both had nice races. In Montana there is no better marathon. The race food was excellent. One free beer ticket from Big Sky brewing company. The meals you had a choice of Quinoa salad or lemon pasta with sides of sliced watermelon, fig bar, banana. All the stuff you need to recover well. read more

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Super fun! Great marathon! Very well supported! Highly recommended. The scenery was amazing the weather was perfect! There were lots of water/sports drink stops. Toward the end they had sponges. There was a gel stop.... several other unaffiliated aid stations.... I took a shot of vodka around mile 22 which I think helped get me to the finish line. Only one major hill in the middle of the course around mile 13...... it is a big one tho. I loved Missoula marathon read more

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I finished the 2011 Missoula marathon in Missoula, Montana on July 10, 2011. It was definitely my first time in Montana for anything and the marathon provided me an opportunity to travel to Big Sky country to run 26.2 miles for fun and love to tell about it in Montana. It was my 22nd lifetime marathon and 12th marathon state to make a bid to run a marathon in all 50 states from Hawaii. Flying into this one was fairly simple, as Missoula has its own regional airport. The logistics were the same, as always, and it was definitely a swell time. The experience was good and met some wonderful people out there in the process, whom turned out to be lifelong friends. It was a pleasure to have been in Missoula, MT that July day and run a marathon. One of the simple pleasures of life. The Missoula Marathon is a small race that caps out at about 2,500 runners. There is a half marathon event as well. The marathon starts at 7am, but also features an early start option at 6am, which I did. It's pretty cool how much people do the early start, so it was nice to have a large group of early starters. Even at 6am in July, the sun doesn't come up till about 7:15am anyhow. Nowadays, it starts at 6am, with no early starts. The race essentially was a one way ticket back into downtown Missoula. We get bussed out from town to a place near the airport and we just need to run back. Talk about running back to civilization. The air is pretty crisp out there and the scenery was pretty good. It's all open country out there, so best believe that running in Montana is what the doctor ordered! After 18 miles of open country, we arrive in the city of Missoula and weave around residential areas before arriving at the finish line in the downtown district. Quite fitting, since my hotel is in downtown and wanted to get there as soon as possible! The Missoula Marathon packet pick up is at Caracas Park in downtown Missoula. It's really a big outside tent with a few expo vendors and it's quite a sight to see. You can get everything done in under 45 minutes, under 20 if you don't want to stand around too long. The volunteers along the course we're great and happy to see us do the marathon. The aid stations were about 2 miles apart and the fact that you were in Montana was already priceless and breathtaking. It was an incredible race. A small town race with a lot of homespun charm attached to it. The whole community gathers around to this marathon. It's a race that has gained popularity over the years and continues to grow. Although there is a cap of about 1,750 people for the marathon, rest assure that there will be demand for the years to come. Nothing like running in Montana though, I guarantee you this. Nice small town marathon and a nice vacation destination to get away from it all. Plus Glacier National park is about a 2 hour drive from Missoula. My experience here at the Missoula marathon was good and positive. The finish line gala was always an amazing experience. Weather is always a factor, so be prepared to be cold at the start, but gradually warm up as the day progresses. It's still July, after all, but being in the upper latitudes here in Montana gives a small reprieve. If you are in need of a marathon in Montana, Missoula's your best bet. Friendly community and voted Runners World magazine's favorite races. Run more! Support local! A read more

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