Glacier Challenge runs for a cause

Of all the difficulties the annual Glacier Challenge endurance race presents, it seems one of the biggest has been to keep it running smoothly.

Entering its 10th year on July 15, the seven-event, 50-mile race has gone through a number of changes since its inception, but faced its biggest hurdle earlier this year after the Environmental Protection Agency shut down Whitefish River to clean up fuel contamination. The race, which features legs of both canoeing and kayaking, nearly had to shut down for a year because of the apparent road block.

“At first we were looking at if we could reroute (the water events),” race founder Will Schmautz said.

But, like its participants, race organizers found a way to fight through the obstacle. The group got in contact with Sen. Jon Tester’s office in Washington, which was able to convince the EPA to open up the river for one day, allowing the race to go on.

“That was kind of a really cool deal to see they could make it work and make room for this opportunity for our community,” Schmautz said.

Schmautz started the race with his wife as a fundraiser for the Flathead Youth Home. After competing in the Ski to Sea in Bellingham, Wash., Schmautz figured that type of race could be adapted to highlight the terrain and features of northwest Montana.

Even that was met with obstacles. The course was originally meant to begin near Glacier National Park, but was moved to Whitefish after the 2003 fires prevented them from running near the park.

Since then it has thrived, while going through changes to centralize the transition areas and minimize places the race crosses the highway. It’s first year the race saw about 80 competitors and raised $3,000 for the youth home. In the years since it has grown to host more than 400 racers and raised $27,000 at last year’s event.

“We’ve had a lot of local sponsorship that’s really changed the event from something fun that was going on to a real fundraiser for the Flathead Youth Home,” FYH development coordinator Hannah Plumb said. “The Glacier Challenge is a huge chunk of filling in that gap, just for the basic amenities: food, shelter, getting kids to school, surrounding them with staff.”

This year, Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger will be speaking at the event, and they hope to raise more than $30,000.

Helping to raise that number will be racers like Steve Muller, who has competed in every challenge so far, including running the last seven solo. Racers can run as an individual, in pairs or in full teams.

“It’s a great race for a great cause and it gets better every year,” Muller said.

In an event that combines running, biking, kayaking and canoeing over 50 miles of undulating terrain, the then-55-year-old finished fourth at last year’s race, crossing the line in 4 hours, 13 minutes, 47.9 seconds.

“It is pretty grueling,” Muller said. “Most people do it as a team and it’s divided into manageable chunks. They are all activities I like doing. I figured I could do it myself.”

He’ll be running as part of a team this year after injuring his back in the spring. He said he’s looking forward to giving Schmautz’s Nomad team, the defending champs, a run for their money.

“It’s become a great community event for a great cause,” Muller said. “It’s grown from a small race into something big. I hope we can do it for another 10 years.”