Runners take on 100-mile challenge in Butte's Copper Kings 100
“It is harder than it looks,” cites the website for the Copper Kings 100, an endurance race that starts and ends in Butte.
And to most non-endurance runners who peruse the details of the course, it looks hard.
From left, Dylan Malloy and Eric Limprecht run on the Continental Divide Trail during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
The 100-mile loop starts and ends at the Belmont Mine. The course works its way out of town and onto the Continental Divide Trail. The total vertical gain and loss is 13,960 feet, and most of the course sits more 6,500 feet above sea level. Runners have 40 hours to finish.
A total of 150 participants, the cap for the race, signed up for the challenge.
The event kicked off at 4 a.m. on Friday. By the time runners reached the Highland Trailhead, the second of eight aid stations along the course, they already had 25 miles under their belts.
Brooke Morgan, at left, and Troy Huisman help massage Lexi Pitt’s legs at a rest stop during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
Runners were greeted on the stretch down to the aid station by applause and cowbells, as race crew and supporters cheered them on.
The course promised runners forest scenery, mountain vistas, panoramic views of Butte from beneath Our Lady of the Rockies, and a glimpse at the area’s mining history, as the final leg of the race takes runners past historic mines and neighborhoods.
For Wes Plate, founder and race director, Butte has a special place in his heart. Both his parents were born and raised there.
“The idea of this run started as a way to honor my family’s connection to Butte,” Plate wrote in the event details for the race.
The Copper Kings 100 is put on by Onward Endurance and the Montana Endurance Trail Foundation. Proceeds from the event benefit Our Lady of the Rockies, the Mile High Nordic Ski Education Foundation and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition.
Janelle Garza hikes on the Continental Divide Trail during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
From left, Sarah Fredlund, Becky Hyle and Chris Hyle cheer on daughter and granddaughter Corinne Fredlund during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday. The event is the first 100-mile race for Fredlund, who is 18 and from Butte.
From left, Shannon Knodel hugs race participant Kara Damon during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
Pere Codina hikes on the Continental Divide Trail during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
Jackson Wolf runs on the Continental Divide Trail during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday.
From left, Gerald Peterson kisses his fiancée Molly Taylor at a rest stop during the Copper Kings 100 near Highlands Camp in Silver Bow County on Friday. The event is both participants’ first 100-mile race.
Megan Nielsen is a photographer for the Montana Standard newspaper.