Review and a course map of the Madison Marathon, Montana

7/22/2012 - Review and a course map of the Madison Marathon, Montana (SextH / HHHHHH)

Madison Montana marathon is the, arguably, highest road marathon in the USA. It took place in Montana near the town of Ennis on NF-290 also known as Gravelly Range Road. The very scenic course provided unparalleled views of mountains and valleys. This is a limited-support, high altitude course with the low point as low as 8,334ft above sea level and as high as 9,558 ft. I can't stress enough these 2 points, so once again limited-support, high altitude course. SextH / HHHHHH on my hRank system!

More details and review of the course with a map are below.

The start

Black Butte

Monument Ridge

Mile 9

Sample aid station - limited support indeed

Course views

Mile 20 hill

Ranking: SextH, high altitude marathon, very few aid stations (mostly just with water) and even fewer staffed with electrolytes, hilly course, late start so you will hit temperatures in the 70s, humid, windy.  

Distance: 26.2 miles

Course: The marathon run started on NF-290, Gravelly Range rd, near the base of Black Butte. We ran on NF-290 north passing the finish line after 13 miles and headed north for additional 6 miles where we turned around for the last 6 miles to the finish line at Clover Meadows. Detailed elevation and course map is below.

Crowd: many  Mostly locals, I didn't confirm this but heard that I was honored to run alongside Larry Macon (Most sanctioned marathons in a calendar year Guinness record holder, and more than 900 of them in total), Bill Whipp (280 marathons) and Angela Tortorice (288 marathons)

The easy part: Scenic, fresh air

The challenging part: 9,000 ft above sea level, bring your own water and food, hilly with total elevation gain of more than 2,500.

Price: $80

Pacers:No

Timing: Stop watch

Qualifying: None

Official website: Madison Montana Marathon

My 2 cents:
1) This is a difficult course, in 2012 there was an early start option to start at 7am this can help with the heat.
2) I had less air running that high, but the little I had was the freshest I could ask for.
3) My training included running Mt. Baldy twice once for distance and once for time.
4) If you are a pure road-runner and would never step a foot off the blacktop - this is not a road marathon


Thanks for reading and as always please don't hesitate to email/reach out with any questions.
Thanks!

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