Cross-valley run raises more than $4,000

Zach Perrin crossed the finish line and didn't collapse or throw up or even drop his hands to his knees. He just smiled.

Perrin ran 50 miles from his home in Lakeside to the west entrance of Glacier National Park on Saturday, Dec. 17. The run was a fundraiser he put together himself to raise money for Jamie Founds, a 12-year-old girl from Marion who has acute lymphoid leukemia.

Her family has no health insurance, and Perrin wanted to help the girl out, so he decided to complete a run-a-thon. Problem was, Perrin had never before run more than 20 miles at one time.

"It feels nice to be done," Perrin said after the run. "At 30 miles in, it was kind of crazy."

Perrin, a stand-out member of the Flathead High School cross-country team, had a lot of support from fellow runners.

Derrick Williams, of the Columbia Falls cross-country team, ran 29 miles with Perrin and rode a bicycle the rest of the way. Williams started out from Lakeside riding the bike, but when they got to Evergreen, Williams said he was freezing, so he started to run. Prior to Saturday, Williams said, he'd never run more than 10-12 miles, tops.

Other friends also kept pace with Perrin, including Benjamin Moon, who ran 27 miles, Adam Peterman, 23 miles, Chelsea Olson and Katie French, 19 miles each, as well as many others, including Perrin's father Mike, his coach Jesse Rumsey and friend Brandon French.

"Everyone was so nice. It's great to have my friends with me," Perrin said. "They're so kind."

The run raised more than $4,000, Perrin said.

The route had one detour - because of dense fog, they didn't run through the Bad Rock Canyon. Instead, they made up the 2.4 miles by running up and down the South Fork Road in Martin City.

With a few breaks along the way, Perrin completed the run in 9 hours, 40 minutes.