While some of the best track athletes in Western Montana gathered in Kalispell for the Archie Roe Invitational last weekend, Bigfork freshman Makena Morley was on her way to Spokane for the 36th annual Bloomsday Run.
She has to be happy with the result.
On Sunday, Makena finished the 12-kilometer (7.46-mile) race in 45 minutes, 24 seconds and placed 167th out of 47,841 runners. She averaged 6:05 per mile. The average pace for all 15-year-olds was 14:22.
In more perspective, she placed first out of all 959 15-year-olds and was 22nd out of 28,636 women.
The rest of Makena’s family raced remarkably well, too. Her father, Steve, placed 56th overall, clocking 40:51. He averaged 5:28 per mile and finished 51st out of 19,205 men.
The Bloomsday race is the latest chapter in Makena’s exciting running career. It’s only her first year in high school and she’s already broken the Class B cross country record and turned in some of the fastest times on the track this spring. She currently has the third-fastest 800 (2:16.77), trailing Billings’ Dani Aragon by two seconds; the second-fastest 1,600 (5:01.3), five seconds behind Aragon; and tied for the best 3,200 (10:44.5) with Missoula’s Paige Gilchrist.
The final weeks of the season should be just as exciting to see how Makena will follow up this latest performance.