A couple of weeks ago, I went ahead and registered for my first ultramarathon - the 50K event in the inaugural Trail Rail Run!
The course starts near Lookout Pass and travels former rail beds through the forest along Interstate 90 to St. Regis. There's only one real hill and the route has an easy grade, which appealed to me since I last ran a marathon three years ago. It also seems like a fun course due to a couple of trestles and a tunnel.
Running has been going well this spring after posting a PR in February in the Snow Joke Half Marathon. I've been sticking primarily to trails and have logged a couple of fast 20-mile mornings so far. A training plan I'll roughly be following works up to a couple of 26-mile runs before tapering. (Perhaps I should have just entered a couple of marathons!)
Along the way, I'm also entered in the 11 Miles to Paradise trail race, which runs through the woods along the Clark Fork River and ends with lunch at a hot springs resort. I ran it last year, and it's quite pleasant overall.
If you're looking for more information on scenic races - mostly trail, but some road - in western Montana this spring, read this article I wrote for Missoula magazine and the Missoulian.
