Are you looking for a kick in the pants early season attitude adjustment trail run with a great after run gathering?

NEW THIS YEAR – RACER SHUTTLE FROM THE FAIRGROUNDS! Everyone loves the M and we need to be good neighbors for other trail users. Please don’t park at the M or Drinking Horse parking lots. There will be a shuttle from the Fairgrounds, and of course running or biking to the start is always fun!

See the ‘Bus’ section below for more details.

Ready to tackle eight-plus miles of gnarly unmarked, unsupported trail running with two quad and hamstring crushing hills?!  Run straight up to the summit of Baldy for 4.1 miles and then fight to stay upright as you run straight back down. Throw in unpredictable weather, snow, mud, rain, blizzards, post holing and winds strong enough to blow runners off their feet and you have the perfect ingredients to kick off the summer trail run season.

Baldy Blitz starts at 9am sharp and runs straight up the M trail to the top of Baldy, making sure EVERYONE touches the pipe on top, then returns back to the M parking lot via the same route (NOTE:  the Sypes Spur Trail is NOT to be used on either the ascent or descent!).

Sounds easy and straight forward right? Throw in unknown early season Bozeman mountain weather, trails covered in multiple feet of snow and rotten ice, and we have the “Blitz”.

SPECIAL NOTE:  RACER SHUTTLE FROM THE FAIRGROUNDS! Everyone loves the M and we need to be good neighbors for other trail users. Please don’t park at the M or Drinking Horse parking lots. There will be a shuttle from the Fairgrounds, and of course running or biking to the start is always fun!

BIG THANKS goes out to the CUSTER-GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST for managing our public lands and allowing us to hold this event at the M every year!

You must pre-register for the race!  There is a fixed entry fee of $20 – proceeds will go to Friends of Hyalite!.  Register online ONLY – no race-day registration!

The Baldy Blitz is now offering a bus shuttle for racers from the Gallatin County Fairgrounds to the Fish Technology Center located across the street from the starting line at the M trailhead. This shuttle is not mandatory but encouraged in an effort to reduce any potential for parking chaos as this is an open and popular trail for lots of people in the community.

Park at the SW corner of the Oak lot at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds (see map).
A First Student bus with a capacity for 50 individuals will depart twice, first at 8am and again at 8:30am. Arrive at least 5-minutes before departure to allow time to board the bus so the bus can leave on time.

The bus will drop-off racers in the parking lot of the Fish Technology Center, just below the Drinking Horse TH across from the M. From the Drinking Horse TH, racers should walk through the tunnel that passes under the road and take the paved trail to the starting line for check-in at the M trailhead.

Do not cross the road, please use the tunnel and path for safe crossing.
Race starts at 9am.

Once racers are finished with the race, they should stay and drink beer, play cornhole and cheer on other racers as they finish, but once they’re done hanging out, racers can return to the Fish Technology Center for a bus shuttle back to their vehicles at the fairgrounds.

Buses will depart from the Fish Technology Center at 12pm, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm.
If you plan to stay longer than 3pm then you must arrange for your own transportation or pick-up.

This gnarly mountain race has grown in the number of runners over the past years as we see more and more trail runners in our area, and as Bozeman becomes better known for beautiful but challenging mountain runs.   The Blitz kicks off the summer trail running series followed by the The Jim Bridger 10 mile Trail run, then the toughest 50K in the country The Old Gabe 50K, then the unparalleled, unmarked, unsupported Devil’s Backbone 50 Miler and the infamous Bridger Ridge Run and finishing the season with the most eclectic and diverse trail run of the series, The John Colter run.

The race was founded by Aaron Hjelt and Tom Kalakay in 2001. Aaron back then was a sophomore at MSU and president of the Climbing Club there (now known as Vert-I-Go Mountaineering Club). He was training for a mountaineering trip to Alaska and Baldy was just the perfect fit; steep, long, challenging, and close to town.

Tom joined Aaron at his training runs from time to time. Together they schemed the idea of holding an early season trail run to the top of the Bridgers… a scramble, of sorts. The first 3 years, the race ended on top. This was the original intention. The name came from the song Ballroom Blitz.

Originally, it was a fundraiser for the Climbing Club. The first year, we held it on a beautiful Saturday at the end of April 2001. Scott Creel beat the support crew (me and a friend) to the top. We were on the last stage up the peak as he was coming down. I made medals for everyone who finished from rocks glued to ribbons.

Then Tom Hayes and Big Sky Wind Drinkers became more involved as the race began to grow and become more formal requiring Forest Service plans, permits and running insurance, which looking at the trail and conditions is actually a pretty darn good idea! The focus of the Blitz is to keep it as pure and simple as possible focusing on the run itself. Therefore, there are no trail markings, no course aid, and no race sweeps – just pure trail enjoyment.

Baldy Blitz is “I don’t think the average runner can do this” tough as nails, memory creating trail run as both a fundraiser and awareness run – this year supporting the Friends of Hyalite.