Races Abound During Festival

Change Your Pace Challenge

SEELEY LAKE - Seventy-two runners braved the late morning heat to run in the Change Your Pace Challenge 10K, 5K and 2K races.

Micah Drew from Seeley Lake finished first in the 10K with a time of 33:40.96. Forty-year-old Daisy Zell of Bozeman led the women in the 10K with a time of 51:38.03.

In the 5K, Seeley Lake eighth-grader Hannah Ayers finished first for the women, and third overall, with a time of 21:53.33. Chris Boland of Cascade, Mont. won the race with a time of 21:05.54.

Local Participant Results:

10K Men: 1 - Micah Drew, 33:40 10K Women: 10 - Adrianne Evans, 1:05:17 5K Men: 5 - Matt Raible, 30:16 5K Women: 1 - Hannah Ayers, 21:53; 9 - Anne Dahl, 30:58; 10 - Diann Ericson, 31:54

Mountain Bike Races

SEELEY LAKE - On a Saturday morning packed with events, sixty-five riders participated in the Seeley Lake Mountain Bike races.

The races were part of the Western Montana Trail Series, a group of backcountry cycling races put on by MTB Missoula. Along with the Seeley Races, the series includes Missoula XC, Phillipsburg 46 and the Iron Daisy Enduro.

In Seeley Lake, participants chose between a 22-, 35- and 55-mile race on dirt roads and single track on the edge of the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

"People really like this course-it's beautiful," said Race Director Ben Horan. "It is also a pretty fast 50 mile course."

The longest race drew the most riders. Thirty-four cyclists tackled the 55-mile course. Matt Butterfield, 36, took home top honors, finishing the race a shade over three hours-and three minutes ahead of second place Josh Tack.

Amber Steed won the women's race in 3:28:41, nearly 15 minutes ahead of runner-up Michela Westhoff.

On the shorter side, Keith Robinson won the 35-mile race in 2:19:41; Jake Green won the 22-mile race in 1:34:00; and Alena Lovi-Borgmann won the women's 22-miler in 1:47:02.

"It was cool to see people out racing and having fun with each other," said Green. "Thankfully it stayed cool for most of the time"

The races were held an hour earlier due to a forecast of high temperatures on race day. This allowed finishers plenty of time to rest and recover before heading to the festival grounds to listen to the music.

"People like to get out, get their racing out of the way and hit the festival," said Horan. "We are just stoked to be out here."

Standup Paddle Board Race

The second annual Stand-Up Paddleboard race at Lindey's Prime Steakhouse drew a crowd of less than a dozen but went off without a hitch over the calm morning waters.

Top Three Finishers:

1-Greg Findley, Bozeman, 15:30

2-Kristin Wadle, Livingston, 16:31

3-Chris Saale, Clinton, 16:53

 

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