'Real' racing is back

Competitive in-person running is back.

After more than a year of virtual runs where folks competed against each other only by the clock due to the COVID-19 pandemic, real-life, real-time running events are finally back.

As a result, Clark Fork Valley Running Club officials indicate there are two traditional, in-person upcoming runs scheduled in Sanders County.

A Pediatric Cancer Run/Walk will be held in Thompson Falls with two options for runners July 23-24, and the 42nd annual Huckleberry 5K Run will be run in Trout Creek August 14.

The Pediatric Cancer 5K Run/Walk has two separate times for runners to compete.

On July 23, by the light of the moon at 10:30 p.m., runners will meet up at Wild Goose Landing on the east end of Thompson Falls and run back through town ending up on the trail heading towards the Rimrock Lodge.

The race Saturday, July 24 at 8 a.m., will begin at the Power Park and will be run on the Power Park trails along the Clark Fork River. A one-mile course on the trails will also be set up for Saturday.

All proceeds volunteered to the race will be donated and event shirts will be available, Sarah Naegeli of the Clark Fork Valley Running Club said, adding that the event is posted on Facebook, and that prospective runners can contact her for more information.

The Huckleberry 5K Run will be held Saturday, August 14 beginning at 8:30 a.m. from its traditional starting point at the Trout Creek Hotel.

Naegeli says that, as always the course will be flat and fast, and that Runners will be urged to head to the Trout Creek Firehall after the race for a delicious huckleberry pancake breakfast.

The $25 entry fee for the race includes a t-shirt, and online registration is available at https:runsignup.com/Race/MT/TroutCreek/HuckleberryRunTCMT through August 8.