With Record Field of Finishers, Whitefish Marathon Reaches New Heights

Nearly 1,100 runners crossed the finish line of the Whitefish Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K on May 18, establishing a new record for the number of finishers and lifting the homegrown event’s ranking as one of the three largest marathons in the state.

According to race organizers, the 17th annual event brought runners and walkers from 44 states and three countries to Whitefish, where local runners leveraged their home-field advantage to dominate the podium, with seven from Whitefish and more than 75% from Montana.

In the marathon, Sam Avery, of Whitefish, won on the women’s side, clocking a time of 3:05:49 and placing seventh overall in a field of 178 finishers. For the men, Andrew Griffin, of Spokane, Wash., won the overall race with a time of 2:50:20.

Whitefish resident Micah Drew returned to break his own half-marathon course record from 2022 by 0.6 seconds (determined by clock time), registering a time of 1:11:07.5. Katrina Ivancic, of Bozeman, won the women’s half-marathon with a time of 1:23:05. Alyssa Foote, of Missoula, defended her 5K title from 2023, with 2022 winner Kari Eberline, of Kalispell, close on her heels. 

For the fourth consecutive year, the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) selected the Hammer Nutrition-sponsored Whitefish Marathon to host one of its championship events, providing an extra incentive for podium contenders to earn the RRCA Western Region Championship. Thanks to the support of Hammer Nutrition, event organizers were able to offer a cash purse to the top finishers of the full and half marathons for the third time.

Race winners and podium finishers include:

Whitefish Marathon

• Male 1 (overall) – Andrew Griffin, 2:50:20, Spokane, Wash.
• Male 2 – Ryan Wilbur, 2:55:05, Kalispell
• Male 3 – Jared Thigpen, 2:56:55, Louisville, Colo. 
• Female 1 – Sam Avery, 3:05:49, Whitefish
• Female 2 – Scarlet Kaplan, 3:13:42, Whitefish
• Female 3 – Charlene Leroux, 3:27:57, Lethbridge, Alberta

Whitefish Half Marathon

• Male 1 (overall and new course record) – Micah Drew, 1:11:07, Whitefish
• Male 2 – Peter Schommer, 1:12:19, Helena
• Male 3 – Cody Moore, 1:12:45, Whitefish
• Female 1 – Katrina Ivancic, 1:23:05, Bozeman
• Female 2 – Nicole Murray, 1:27:21, Missoula
• Female 3 – Flavie Dokken, 1:31:12, Whitefish

The Wave 5K

• Male 1 (overall) – Peter Frank, 17:12, Whitefish
• Male 2 – Michael Mancoske, 18:00, Kalispell
• Male 3 – Liam Gallagher, 18:41, Whitefish
• Female 1 – Alyssa Foote, 18:54, Missoula
• Female 2 – Kari Eberline, 21:35, Kalispell
• Female 3 – Kendall Jasco, 24:28, Chico, Calif. 

To view full race results and future event information, please visit WhitefishMarathon.com.