Jimmy Grant of Missoula won the 12th annual Two Bear Marathon in record fashion on Sunday when he completed 26.2 miles in 2:51:34.91.
Grant, 38, averaged a pace of 6:33 minutes per mile along the point-to-point course, which begins at the Lion Mountain trailhead and tracks along the Whitefish Trail before spitting runners out on North Lakeshore Drive. At that point, the course transitions to pavement and continues through downtown Whitefish before finishing at The Wave.
Grant was the only runner to break the three-hour barrier, and edged out Brian Rhodes-Davey’s 2014 course record of 2:53:19.10.
Austin Allen, 35, of Moiese, was the second-place finisher with a time of 3:15:00.04, while Caleb Deitz, 21, of Whitefish, finished in 3:18:39:58.97 for third place.
Jenny Wolfe, 39, of Bozeman, was the first-place woman with a time of 3:37:49.36, with Jaimee Beauvais, 19, of Columbus, Nebraska, finishing second in 4:10:47.44, and Brittany Savoy, 28, of Missoula, placing third with a time of 4:14:46.58.