Spartan Race to attract thousands to Bigfork

More than 3,000 people have registered for Bigfork’s May 11-12 running of Montana’s first Spartan Race, an obstacle course event that could feature mud, fire, wall-climbing, spear-throwing, sandbag-carrying, a gladiator throwdown and other challenging surprises.

“For anyone who’s been training hard, I’d encourage them to train a little harder in this last month,” Doug Averill, owner of the Flathead Lake Lodge, said.

Though Spartan Race officials won’t reveal the final obstacles plan, Averill has perhaps the best local knowledge of the course. The race is being held on 2,000 acres above Flathead Lake Lodge, and Averill and his lodge staff have spent much of the winter clearing brush and creating open spaces to prepare for the onslaught of adventurers.

“It’s going to be a really spectacular race site,” said Diane Medler, director of the sponsoring Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau. “There will be pretty significant elevation, and there will be incredible views of Flathead Lake and Glacier.”

Averill said the Spartan Race organizers are calling the 3- to 4-mile course a “sprint-beast,” which means it falls somewhere between two categories of Spartan Race. He expects to see a wire crawl, jousting pits, climbing walls, rope nets and mud pits.

“The Spartan people were here and laying things out, and they thought it was one of the two best courses they’ve seen around the country,” Averill said. “They were pleased with it.”

Offering a special Flathead Valley experience is not only a boost for the Spartan Race brand, but also is greatly beneficial to the valley’s tourism industry in general. More than 60 percent of the current entrants are from more than 60 miles away, and Medler said another 500 to 1,000 registrations are expected by the May 8 deadline.

So far, 400 participants are from Canada, Medler said, and otherwise they’re from all over the United States. She said she’s even seen some entries from the East Coast.

“It’s already evident this will create significant visitations to our hotels, restaurants and retail establishments,” Medler said.

Averill said he was told the Spartan race calculates 1.5 spectators per entrant, which could mean up to 10,000 people will visit the site throughout the weekend. The course will loop partially through a spectator area, the Spartan Race festival grounds, where there will be a host of food and retail vendors. Spectator admission is $20 for tickets purchased online in advance. Admission will be $25 at the gate.

Children’s races for ages 5 to 13 are also part of the weekend, with 1/2-mile Junior Spartan and 1-mile Varsity Spartan events offered.

On Friday, May 10, a pre-race party will be held in the vacant lot next to Sportsman & Ski Haus in Kalispell, featuring live music, sample food provided by local restaurants and beer for sale from local breweries.

Medler said the Spartan Race is not quite as labor intensive for her office as the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau’s last sponsored signature event, The Montana Dragon Boat festival, because the Spartan organization takes care of the race itself.

“Spartan is a well-oiled machine,” Medler said. “They run these races all over the U.S. and internationally. They come in and build the course and support our local businesses, they run the race, then clean it all up and leave.”

The bureau is working hard on the rest of the details, though. Parking is the biggest logistical issue because there will be no parking at the race site, Medler said, except for some designated handicap spots.

Both participants and spectators will be shuttled to the race from one of three spots. The parking area closest to Bigfork will be in an open field on the corner of Montana highways 35 and 82 (the cut-across road from Somers). Parking will be $10 per vehicle there.

Free parking and bus service are available from the Flathead Valley Community College parking lot, as well as at another site in Kalispell that is yet to be determined.

WasteNot, a Flathead Valley recycling program, is helping to take care of the trash generated at the race site.

“We want to make sure our big events are as environmentally responsible as possible,” Medler said.