Skotnicki Defends Title in 42nd Big Mountain Run, Kaplan Claims Queen of the Hill
More than 100 runners made the lung-popping ascent up the Danny On Trail to raise money for the Glacier Nordic Club
By Micah Drew
Back in the days before mountain running was trendy and filled with brightly colored technical trail shoe options, there was the Big Mountain Run, a fundraiser for the Glacier Nordic Club. Since 1983, athletic members of the Flathead Valley community have united on a summer day to fulfill the common question anyone who’s stared up at a mountaintop asks: Can I get to the top?
On Saturday, 104 racers made it to the summit of Big Mountain during the 42nd annual Big Mountain Run, ascending the 3.8-mile Danny On Trail during a warm July morning.
Repeating his winning ways from 2023, Whitefish’s Ryan Skotnicki secured the overall title in 35:17, four minutes clear of second place-finisher Brett Winegar. Skotnicki, a year-round uphill aficionado, ran a “comfortably hard” race to finish just a handful of seconds slower than last year. He said the hot conditions led to him downshifting from his goal of aiming for the all-time record ascent record set in 2001 by Kalispell’s David Vidal.
“I’ve been part of this race three times now and plan to continue in the future as I really enjoy the crowd and tradition this race brings,” Skotnicki said.
The Queen of the Mountain title was claimed by Scarlet Kaplan, a former professional triathlete and trainer at The Wave Aquatic and Fitness Center in Whitefish. Kaplan, who placed second last year, ran a minute faster to earn her crown in 44 minutes, 30 seconds, also more than four minutes clear of the next competitor.
Olivia Skillings, the new Glacier Nordic Comp Team coach, was second in 49:32.
The Big Mountain Run had 104 official finishers, ranging in age from 9 to 74, making it one of the largest turnouts in event history. The race recognizes the top overall and top junior finishers, as well as the top dog. Glacier Nordic athlete Boden Dezzani and 11-year-old Samantha Rucker of Bozeman earned the Prince and Princess of the mountain titles for participants under 16 years old, while Martin Unrein was the first to the top with a four-legged companion.
The Big Mountain Run also annoints members of the “birthday club” – men who complete the run in less time than their age or women who do so within 10 minutes of their age. This year’s 13 members of the birthday club tied the all-time event record.
The Big Mountain Run is a fundraiser for the Glacier Nordic Club, a nonprofit that grooms the local cross country ski trails and offers opportunities for competitive athletes and beginners to try out the winter flatland modality. Last year, the Glacier Nordic Club (GNC) had more than 250 kids participate in winter programs. At the competitive end, GNC sent three elite athletes to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association’s Junior National Championships in Lake Placid, including three-time national champion Maeve Ingelfinger.
Jennie Bender, executive director of the Glacier Nordic Club, was thrilled with the event’s turnout.
“We’re always happy when we see more than 100 members of the community show up to support the Nordic club,” Bender said. “This race has a long history and has always been a big part of the valley and is an even bigger part of the history of the club. This fundraiser goes a long way to helping us fund our winter operations.”
While Nordic skiing is a winter sport, the competitive skiers spend the summer doing dryland training, which includes bouts of roller skiing on the roads and lots of running uphill, either on Big Mountain or through Glacier National Park. That training clearly pays off, as five members of the junior podium were Glacier Nordic Club members.
To learn more or support the club’s programs, operations and trails, visit glaciernordicclub.org or donate through the Great Fish Community Challenge.