Spartans bring early boost to Flathead Valley
The unofficial start of summer in the Flathead Valley arrives caked in mud and sweat when the Montana Spartan Beast and Sprint races return to Quarter Circle Ranch at Averill’s Flathead Lake Lodge in Bigfork this weekend.
The obstacle course races first came to town in 2013 and since then have marked the first major influx of springtime visitors to the valley. Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Diane Medler said 62 percent of last year’s registered racers were from out of state and that the event has succeeded in stretching the valley’s summers into the end of the so-called shoulder season.
“Historically, our visitors season kicked off when the Going-to-the-Sun Road opened and it shut off when the road closed,” Medler said. “The Spartan in May was a good way to stretch that out, the same reason as we started the Dragon Boats in October. It has been a good kickoff to summer and racing.”
Medler added that Bigfork hotels, restaurants and other businesses, some of which close during the town’s sleepy winters, have started reopening their doors earlier to make sure they can take advantage of Spartan Race weekend. That’s the case at the host hotel, Flathead Lake Lodge, which General Manager Kevin Barrows said welcomed its first guest of 2017 on Thursday.
“We’ve been closed all winter so it’s nice to have people back here,” Barrows said. “I think it’s been great for the area and it’s great for us. We’ve really enjoyed it.”
There has been no significant change in the number of competitors since 2015, when the 12-14 mile, 30-35 obstacle Beast was added to schedule along with the shorter Sprint race, but both Medler and Barrows pointed to the benefits of bringing people like the race’s typical competitor to a region they might not otherwise be familiar with.
“You just are exposing all of these people that might not come here for any other reason so it’s great for everybody,” Barrows said. “They’re all outdoor people, they’re active, so they might come back and hike Glacier (National Park) or do some other activity.”
The setting, in fact, is part of what compelled Spartan organizers to choose the Flathead Valley and Quarter Circle Ranch (on the Flathead Lake Lodge’s property) as a race site in the first place.
“We had a Spartan rep come out here,” Medler said of her initial recruitment. “And we drove him up there and there was no question at that point. Once he saw the views, the elk roaming nearby; all the Spartan employees, race directors, they love Montana.
“I think if it’s not the, then it’s one of the most scenic races in their inventory.”
This year, the convention bureau and Spartan organizers are trying to tap even further into the out-of-town visitors, organizing an attempt at a Guinness World Record Saturday in Kalispell’s Depot Park at 6 p.m. There, the plan is to get more than 689 people to perform two consecutive minutes of burpees in order to break an existing record. The event isn’t just open to those competing in a Spartan race, but to competitors the burpee is a familiar, if not particularly pleasant, part of the experience. Doing them is the punishment for skipping any obstacle.
“The purpose of us doing this burpee world record event is to get Spartan folks into downtown Kalispell,” Medler said. “It’s in their bailiwick.”
No pre-registration is required for the burpee event, which Medler stressed is open to all ages and that participants need only to be in motion throughout the two minutes “so that can be really slow if that’s your pace.”
Burpee participants will also receive a token for a free beer or non-alcoholic beverage at either Moose’s Saloon, Kalispell Brewing Co. or Brannigan’s Pub.
Spartan races begin Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m., first with elite competitors taking off before the rest of the field tackles the course. Select competitor spots can still be purchased today by visiting www.spartan.com.
Entertainment editor Andy Viano can be reached at 406-758-4439 or aviano@dailyinterlake.com.