When the thought of running across rocks during the Ridge Run is a bit intimidating, come join us with a nice gentle run around River Rock in Belgrade
There will be the standard a 1,3,5 mile options. It will start on the east side of the River Rock Pond. There is parking along the road on River Rock Rd as well as The Cove Parking Lot.
On September 17th the club will be having a memorial run and potluck for John Dudas’ family. It will be held at the Glen Lake/Bozeman Beach Pavilion starting at 5:30. There will be a memorial run around the lake after a presentation to Mia and her boys. We will start the potluck after the memorial run, but running out and around the Cherry Creek area will be great for those who so choose.
Others from the community are very welcome to join us that evening. So if you know someone, or groups who knew John, please invite them to come.
Join us for a special event Saturday July 12th at Missouri Headwaters State Park. There will be a fun run with the usual distances followed by a BBQ and a special guest lecture about John Coulter
Please bring your own chair for this event.
5:00 PM Fun run at the state park. The usual short, medium, and long distances will be available.
6:00 PM BBQ with refreshments for all participants and park visitors
7:00 PM – Listen to an amazing Guest Lecture around the fire pit in one of the most beautiful MT Parks right in our backyard! Missouri Headwaters State Park Speaker Series: The life of John Coulter by Duane Buchi
https://fwp.mt.gov/stateparks/missouri-headwaters/
Each year, the Big Sky Wind Drinkers present scholarships to deserving local high school students. The 2025 scholarship process wrapped up with strong participation, thanks in part to the board’s decision to increase the award amount to $1,500 per student. We received 11 applications from students across seven schools in Gallatin Valley. This year’s committee—Kristin Harbuck, Patrick Hatfield and Mark Genito—selected three outstanding recipients:
Patrick Hatfield presented certificates to the recipients in person, including at the Manhattan High School awards assembly. Below are each recipient’s essay and photo, published with permission.
Ella Miller – What Running Means to Me
As my legs hit the ground in a steady rhythm, my breathing lines up with each step. The music in my airpods cancels out any other sounds, and my lungs are filled with fresh, clean air. Sunlight hits my back as the mountains pierce the horizon of the bright blue sky. Air flows into my body, and I feel as if I can finally take a true deep breath. My mind goes quiet as my muscles focus on carrying my body another mile. My brain and my soul are at peace.
The sound of laughter fills my ears as my teammates and I sink into a steady rhythm for our long run. “American Pie” by Don Mclean is on repeat while everyone sings along to the lyrics. We run under the huge trees that shade the entire street to keep cool for just a couple minutes. Travelling as a pack, we cross the street and make our way to the overpass that sits right above the highway. Even when we run in a single file line, you can still hear faint singing, laughter, and chatter. Once we get to the back roads, our group slowly widens. We take turns being in front, and the conversations never seem to end. The run ends with just as much energy as we started with, and the laughter carries into the stretch circle afterwards.
My quads start to feel heavy as I push myself to run up yet another hill. I only have one mile left. My eyes point ahead, just angled enough to see my target running a couple steps ahead of me. I relax my shoulders, gain control of my breathing, and slowly start to speed up the cadence of my steps. My mind is completely at peace, and I am focusing only on crossing the finish line. As I gain ground on my target, my body starts to feel light. In the last 400, I run past her and keep pushing. My strong legs pound into the ground and carry my body effortlessly. The lactic acid begins, but I pump my arms to ignore the pain. I sprint across the finish line and relief rushes over me, a feeling only a PR can bring.
Above, I gave three examples of times I have felt my true love for running: running alone, running with my teammates, and racing my heart out. Running is both an art and a sport. This art has helped me find peace in my own head in multiple ways. When I am running, my mind finally has a place to truly relax. Whether I am on my own, with my teammates, or even racing, I now find peace inside my head in a way I never had before. This sport has also introduced me to some of the most important people in my life. My coach and my teammates are my family, and running with them has shown me what teamwork should truly feel like. Yes, winning state championships with my teammates is an unbeatable feeling, but it was the love and hard work from my best friends that made the trophies so meaningful. My coach has shown us endless love and support, and it shows in my race performances. When you switch the mindset of running to an opportunity rather than a chore, it opens your mind in the most positive way. This sport is not about winning, it is about pushing yourself to the point where you feel accomplished. Running has taught me it is okay to be uncomfortable while I am racing because I know I can push my limits both physically and mentally. Running means loving your body, cherishing your team, and finding peace inside your own mind.
Bella Jones – What Running Means to Me
Sometimes it is easier to understand what something means to you once it is taken away. I discovered this when I tore my ACL playing basketball this past season. As I entered the spring track season, I found myself reflecting on the time I participated in running and the growth it has provided me with. Running, to me, has taught me discipline, grit, and commitment. It’s also been an escape– a way to disconnect from life’s pressures.
From as far back as I can remember, my mom has been a dedicated runner. Every morning, she would get up and head off on a run, starting small and eventually working her way up to completing the Chicago Marathon. I remember supporting her in her training from making a smoothie for her as she got home, to biking ten miles to her to give her water. My mom was my first inspiration to start running, and every time I had the chance to run a 5k with her I eagerly took it. By sixth grade, I decided to take running seriously and joined cross country and track. Little did I know the impact these sports would have on my life.
Running has become my outlet when times are hard; a way to move my body when I am overwhelmed. I have always been the type to stress over school, especially my grades, but going to practice after school gave me a break from it all. Each time I begin a run I feel like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. For those moments, I can focus on my breathing, pace, and rhythm of my footsteps as I run along feeling like any doubt is being left behind. The relief has not only given me a physical escape but also helped me to build mental resilience.
Over time, I have noticed a stronger ability to manage stress because of the mental discipline I have developed from running. Through every tough workout and every race, I learned how to stay mentally tough even when faced with the overwhelming challenges
involved. There’s nothing quite like trying to stay mentally in a race when your body wants to quit. But that is where hard work and resilience come in. Pushing through those moments– when every part of you is screaming to stop– has taught me the value of hard work and perseverance. It’s in those times that I’ve learned to dig deep, remind myself why I started, and keep going. That determination to keep pushing forward, even when things get hard, is most important to me and I have learned to apply it to everyday life.
Overall, running has taught me lessons in life that nothing else ever could. Although there has been a bump in my road, I will always cherish my middle school and high school years in track and cross country. Without the journey of running, I would not have the tools to understand my ability to persevere through a tough time mentally and physically. The challenges I’ve faced– on the track, course, and life– have given me the resilience to keep moving forward. As I look forward, I am excited to get back to running and continue pushing myself, taking my growth further than before.
Hadley Jones – What Running Means to Me
Being a multi sport athlete, I have competed on many teams. On most teams and in most sports you heavily rely on others to win or to find success. Racing on the other hand is very individual and self driven. I love running because it gives me a time to mentally escape from the stresses of high school, it is truly a form of freedom, it challenges me personally, and it allows me to meet and make new friends and connections.
When it comes to school, homework, grades, and other pressures from high school I tend to stress a lot and worry myself to a point where I cry a lot. I love high school and most everything about it but it stresses me out a lot, especially all the “senior things” you have to figure out before you graduate. Running has given me a healthy outlet for this stress. During all sports seasons I am in, if I stress myself out too much I know to take a deep breath and go for a run. Even if the run is a short fifteen minutes, that gives my brain enough time to slow down. While I am running I try to listen to my breathing and slow my heart rate down. Listening to my feet hitting the gravel or pavement in a rhythmic beating also helps slow my mind. Taking these runs no matter the length of time or distance I go, always slows my mind and re-centers me so I am ready to go back to what I was doing before freeing my mind of all the stress.
Running never was a challenge before high school. In middle school I would run for fun all the time, and at middle school track meets I thought I was super fast! Then I got to high school and everything changed. I wasn’t racing against middle schoolers anymore, but sometimes kids four years older than me. I realised I was going to have to put in a lot more work and effort if I wanted to be competitive. The workouts we did were much longer and harder than I had ever done before, I told myself I would train hard and do the best I could. My freshman year I was the alternate for our 4×400 meter relay at state and even though I did not get to run, I still felt a sense of accomplishment with my season. Even now, as a senior, some days I don’t feel like working out but I know I have to push through and continue running if I want to succeed. It takes a lot of mental toughness to power through the last rep of a workout when you are dog tired and your legs are jelly. But, I could not honestly tell you a better feeling than after you have finished a hard workout or race and you gave it your all.
Running has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people I never would have before. Indoor track and high school track have opened so many doors that I never would have had opened before. I have amazing coaches who I know have my back in any situation, and life long running buddies. When you find people who love running as much as you do, you truly have lifelong friends.
Throughout my life running has impacted me in many ways. It has given me an outlet to cope with stress, a way to challenge myself, and I have met so many wonderful people. What does running mean to me? Running means escaping the world for a short while with your best friends doing what you love.
The fun run will start at 6:30pm at Tuckerman Park parking lot, a small space on the N side of Goldenstein between Morning Sun Drive and Gardner Park Dr (7979 Goldenstein Lane). Try to carpool if possible but you may find some overflow parking in the local neighborhoods.
Traditional low-key, high-snow, suffer-fest! What’s not to love? Read more
By David Summerfield
I have to start with Dakotah Lindwurm, who I wrote about after her surprising 3rd place finish at the February Olympics qualifying race in Florida. I had a great picture of her utter disbelief at the finish line, when she realized she was going to Paris! A relative unknown, she became the USA’s least known qualifier, but exuded such genuine amazement and thrill at getting onto the Paris Olympics team.
Dakotah knowing she’s on her way to Paris via teamusa.com.
A few words summed up her elation and determination to make us all proud. She wrote three words on her left hand: “Strong, fast, and last.” That needs interpretation! To her, this meant “I am strong,” “I am fast,” and “My speed will last.” I read that her coach had her push a sled on an uphill course, where she acknowledged her body felt like it was parallel to the ground—and she could barely walk the next day. Over time, it made her incredibly strong. Knowing the Olympic marathon course had been judged to be among the most difficult/challenging of all the Olympics, her coach knew she needed strength.
I listened to a podcast after the race, with Runner’s World’s Sarah Lorge Butler (from Aug. 11). It had to do with Dakotah recounting what it was like in the middle of the race. She stayed up with the lead pack, and at one point found herself in the actual lead, which was not her intention! But she definitely ran her own race—staying as even-paced as possible. One issue I had forgotten about while racing in Europe was that the course only had kilometer markers—no mileage markers. And of course her “pace” was using mileage numbers. So, around the mid-race area, a young boy ran onto the course to run along beside her, yelling “Go Dakotah”. She said it was so inspiring—and she put a call out to find this boy, an obvious American, about 10 years old. It lifted her spirits and after the race she put out the call to find him. But that’s when, her boyfriend (named Montana) found her and gave her an engagement ring, and she said “yes”—so finding the 10-year old boy was put on hold!
Dakotah ended up being the 1st American across the finish line, in 12th place. Someone is in definite heaven. When asked why she attended the opening ceremony on the USA river boat on the Seine river, she said that even though most of the long distance runners opted out, trying to reserve their energy (the marathon was 3 weeks away) – she was there with her family, in an airbnb and wanted to “rub elbows” with the more famous Americans and she did mention she wanted to indulge in as many croissants as possible.
Dakotah finishing 12th in Paris. Photo via Kevin Morris @kevmofoto, Citrus Magazine.
And this brings us to the 1500 meter race, which had been billed as a match-up of Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr—who both openly taunted each other leading up to the race. Jakob took the lead early in the race and kept himself in the lead—looking like he was daring everyone else to catch him. This race is usually run more conservatively, with the all-out sprint during the last straightaway. Unfortunately for Jakob, he just plain ran out of steam, and faded in the last 20-30 meters, allowing Josh Kerr to secure the silver medal and while no one saw it coming, an unheralded American, Cole Hocker, snuck up behind everyone, and captured the gold! That’s a race worth looking at! I don’t think Americans are accustomed to winning Olympic gold in these races—the Ethiopians or Kenyans have always scooped up the Olympic medals for these races. So, with Cole in 1st place (3:27:65 – Olympic record), Josh Kerr in 2nd (3:27:79 – British record), then America Yared Nuguse was 3rd (3:27:80 – personal best). A crowded 1-2-3, all within 15/100ths of a second apart. Ingebrigsten was 4th (3:28:24), which was only 59/100ths of a second off 1st place.
Final 10 seconds of Paris 1500m final – see the order of runners….Jakob still in 1st, Kerr in 2nd and closing, Cole sneaking up behind, and Nuguse a distant 4th, who will pass Jakob in a few seconds! Photo via nbcolympics.com/videos/
Then, right after the Paris Olympics, the next big international track meet was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. What? I know that place. Here comes David tooting his horn once again! I was a student at the University of Lausanne (1978-1981) and they had just completed building a world class track right next to Lake Geneva (Lac Leman in French). The public was invited to run on the track – with the latest in artificial, spongy brightly colored surface. We all felt like world class runners. European universities don’t pay for/sponsor athletic teams – that’s for the local clubs to do. But….Switzerland did have an “all-comers” yearly track meet for all Swiss university runners. I entered the 10,000 meter race which was one of the early meets ever held on this track. As I remember it, there were something like a dozen runners. I took 1st place in (around) 34:04 as my memory tells me. It was a “non-event” – no publicity, no mention in any publication—just great memories. We students had organized our own “club”—we ran together twice a week – usually about 2-3 of us. Pretty low-key, right?
Anyway, back to the just invented Ingebrigsten/Hocker rivalry…since Cole had run down Jakob the week before, it was time for Jakob to get his “revenge,” something the press loves to tout. So, Jakob had his “redemption” and beat Cole in Lausanne. This time he ran a 3:27:83 (to Cole’s 3:29) to rack-up points in what’s called the “Diamond League” after the Olympics. Each weekend, track types travel around Europe to get points, and then the “final” is in Brussels in September. The next week in Selisia, Poland, Jakob did set a new world record in the 3000 meter – a “non-Olympian” distance, but he did break Daniel Komen’s WR set in 1996 – the longest standing running record. Jakob ran a 7:17.55, 3 seconds faster than Daniel.
So, that’s about it for my Olympics wrap-up. I trust many of you were able to follow your favorite events. Now, back to training for the Colter Run, and all that the Bozeman area has to offer—non-Olympic type!
The Gallatin Gateway School Foundation is having a fun run on Aug. 24 in Gallatin Gateway. It’s the 10th anniversary the Gateway Gallop with 5k and 1 mile options for all pace-levels. For more info visit https://www.gallatingatewayschool.com/About-Us/Support-Organizations/Gallatin-Gateway-School-Foundation/index.html or email carlykundert@gmail.com
The Bobcat Trail Challenge is a unique trail race, taking place on the challenging 5km XC Ski Race Loop at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. Compete in 20k, 10k, or 5k runs or as a 2 or 4-person team in the 20k Relay!
Register and more info: https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Bozeman/BobcatTrailChallengeatCrosscut
By David Summerfield
A few months ago, I featured the Norwegian Ingebrigtsen Trio setting all sorts of records. In particular, the 2-mile outdoor record, which fell to Jakob Ingebrigtsen (7:54.10) in Paris. Little did I know that lurking behind the whole time was a Scottish runner named Josh Kerr. He wears the Great Britain running singlet (which reminded me that Scotland is still firmly part of the British Empire!). Anyway, Josh became known last year by winning the World Athletics Championship 1500m race in Budapest, Hungary, and ended Jakob’s winning streak. Thus was born (at least to the track fans) the rivalry of these two “middle distance” phenomenons. This article is not very complex – it is solely based on these 2 runners, and is being written only because of a picture I found of Josh arriving at the finish line with Jakob right beside him, but less than 6 inches behind! And that was the moment Josh chose to play his hand, as you’ll see: he takes the energy and time to point his finger at Jakob at that last second when he knew he’d beaten him, and thus can put in full display his bravado, or ego, or triumphant arrogance to all the flashing cameras!
Josh beats Jakob and lets everyone know it! via olympics.com
In 2021, Jakob won the 1500m at the Tokyo Olympics, and Josh came in 3rd. A similar scenario happened several times over the next few years. Then along came 2023, and Josh showed he could beat Jakob. Here we are in 2024, and the rivalry keeps ramping up. Just to spice things up, Jakob told the press that in their upcoming races, he could beat Josh with his eyes closed. Oh…that’s just what the press wants, right?
Then along came 2024, and the press couldn’t wait to add fuel to the fire between Jakob and Josh. On Feb 11th, Josh’s 1st race of the year, he set a world record for the indoor two mile at the famed Millrose Games in New York (8:00:67). It was great fun watching the video of the race – he contented himself to run behind the USA Grant Fisher, until the final lap and a half (these guys were flying – it’s a 200 meter track!). Then Josh just exploded past Grant – the 1st mile was in a “slow” 4:03, and this 2nd mile was a 3:57! In the following interview, Josh said he took the subway to the Armory (built long ago in Manhattan) and almost lost his way. This track has become a legend for track fans, since the seats are so close to the actual track – I understand the screaming is intense.
Happy Josh! via flotrack.org/articles/Josh-kerr-shatters-2-mile-world-indoor-record-at-millrose
An interesting part of Josh’s life is how he got to the University of New Mexico. He had already established several British Junior records as a teenager, and was wanting to take it to the next level. He had trouble finding a school that would “hire” him – until he secured a full athletic scholarship in Albuquerque. He ran 3 years with the UNM team – securing NCAA records along the way. Then he opted out of his senior year to join the Brooks Beasts track team, and just kept getting better. Meanwhile, Jakob did run a world record outdoor 2-mile in 2023 (7:54:10) at the Diamond Meet in Paris, May 9th – so these 2 runners are definitely on a par – fitness-wise. The big anticipation is now taking place for the Paris Olympics, where they will meet head-to-head in the 1500m (the mile “equivalent”).
Jakob’s newest WR in the 2-mile via watchathletics.com
In Josh’s build-up to the Olympics, he did run a new British record in the 1500m at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, OR on May 25th – 3:45:34 (and who was 26/100ths of a second behind him? Jakob Ingebrigtsen of course). Making sure the public was fully riled up for this event, they called this race the “Mile Race of the Century”. Eeeegads.
Just for your Olympic viewing pleasure, the Round 1 of the 1500m is on Aug. 2 at 11:05 am. The men’s final 1500m is on Aug. 6 at 8:50 pm. See you there???
