State #33: Montana

Date: June 25, 2023

I really enjoyed the Missoula Half Marathon and it’s probably in my top 10 favorite states I’ve done so far. The logistics were relatively easy, the swag was nice, the city of Missoula is awesome, and it was a well-supported course. Read on for more details about the race if you’re thinking about running it!

General travel logistics:

I flew into the Missoula airport, while my friends flew into Bozeman and drove over. Missoula is the easiest logistically, and if you don’t need a car to explore outside of Missoula, it cuts down that cost. Depending on where you’re flying from and when you book your tickets, however, the cost of flights can vary quite a bit. It’s a really small airport and it’s summer travel season, so flights can get expensive. I booked my flight with credit card points, so I was able to save some money that way.
If you are only going to Missoula for the race, you’re staying downtown, and you won’t be exploring outside of the downtown area, you do NOT need to rent a car. The airport is a quick ride from any accommodations you would be staying in the downtown area, and it’s very walkable.
Ubers and Lyfts [and other rideshares] are harder to come by in Missoula, especially if you are flying in/out really early or late [like I was]. I called the Missoula airport ahead of time to ask about this and they gave me Tony’s information for Need A Lift. He’s great – I highly recommend reaching out to him ahead of time to schedule a ride if you need a ride to/from the airport, especially at odd hours and if your hotel doesn’t have a shuttle.
I stayed in an AirBnB right by the river. It was super convenient to the expo + the finish line [just across the bridge], less than a mile to the shuttles to the start line, and close to tons of restaurants and shops downtown. I stayed solo, so this was the least expensive option for me [if you have 2 people in your party, though, this spot would also work]. The only downside to this AirBnB is that the bathrooms are dorm style, so there wasn’t a bathroom in my room. It was never an issue with using the restroom or shower, but not my preference since college was a long time ago 😂
There is a list of hotels and other lodging options on this website. Montana is a popular summer destination, so I do recommend looking into lodging sooner rather than later. I booked my AirBnB in early April and there weren’t a ton of options left in my price range.

Race logistics:

The expo was held in the same location as the finish line festival. It was small, but had the basics [if you forget anything at home] and some vendors. It was easy to navigate and didn’t take long to pick up my packet.
It’s a point to point course, and you need to take a bus shuttle to get to the start line. It is a very short ride to the half marathon start line, so you if you don’t need a lot of time at the start line, you can get there in the later part of the window they give you. I was expecting a much longer bus ride, but I ended up having to hang out for 45 minutes at the starting area.
I ran to the bus shuttles, as they were less than a mile from my AirBnB, but there seemed to be adequate parking.
There were plenty of portapotties at the starting area, as well as room to do a warm up.
There weren’t any official corrals for this race – you just lined up by projected finish time, but it’s not a huge race, so that didn’t present any issues.

Course highlights:

Overall it’s a pretty flat + fast course. It does have a small amount of altitude [about 3200 ft], so if you don’t live at altitude, you may notice it. It didn’t really bother me.
The weather was on the cooler side – cool enough to need a long sleeve shirt before starting. It’s an early start [6am] so that does help with any potential heat concerns, at least for the half distance.
This is a very well organized race and has a lot of aid stations and portapotties along the course. I didn’t have a great race and had to stop at a lot of portapotties, so I definitely appreciated how many were available!
It’s a pretty course, and while it wasn’t packed with spectators, it had a decent amount. Someone had a table with bacon, pickle juice, shots of fireball, mimosas, and some other goodies, around mile 12, which was much appreciated. There were also some good signs – my favorite was “run like you saw someone from high school.”

Race goodies:

I thought this race had above average swag + post race goodies. The race shirt was made with a dry fit material and available in gender-specific sizing.

*Post-race food plate. This pasta salad slapped. It was the perfect combo of carbs, protein, and sodium after a race.*

*Your bib includes a free beer + there are local food trucks to purchase additional food and drinks.*

Additional race highlights:

There are FREE race photos and they upload them pretty quickly after the race.
It’s friendly for back of the pack runners, with a 7.5 hour cut off time for both the half and full marathons.
There is a non-binary division [that gives awards].

Things to do in Missoula:

While it’s not a huge city, there is a lot to do while you’re in town for the race! Here are some of my top spots to check out if you only have a few days:

Hike to the “M” – you may want to save this for after the race if you’re gunning after a fast time. While it’s a short hike, it’s very steep. I hiked it as a part of my shakeout run on Saturday before the race, but I didn’t care about my race time. You get a view of the entire city of Missoula. The entrance to the trail is near the University of Montana’s football stadium.
Run/walk/bike along the Milwaukee Trail - this trail runs along the river and is a great place to do a shakeout or recovery run/walk/bike. It also brings you close to the trailhead for the M.

Shop local – there is a cute downtown area with a lot of local shops
- Runner’s Edge: This is the local running store, and they are also a sponsor of the race. It’s a large store with all the gear + fuel you’d need, in case you forget anything at home or just want more. Super friendly staff!
- Fact + Fiction: If you love local bookshops and are progressive-minded, be sure to stop in here.
- The visitor’s center is helpful if you want to get some brochures for the area or ask a local for their recommendations. The lady I talked to was super friendly.
Food + drink highlights
- Veera Donuts – if you like donuts, these are a must. Some of the best donuts I’ve had and they’re also vegan friendly!
- Imagine Nation Brewing – this was my favorite brewery we visited. All of the beer was great, the homemade ginger beer was delish, and there was a good view from the patio.
- Clyde Coffee – Really good cold brew and good sandwiches, as well. Only downside is that there was a longer wait for food, but if you’re just going for coffee, it’s solid.
- Market on Front – Delicious breakfast burritos and cold brew coffee. Vegan friendly. Also has a little market for quick food + drink grabs. Expect a wait if you order a burrito or other food.
- Reviews of all the places I ate and drank can be found in my Missoula collection on my Yelp page!

If you want to make it into a longer vacation…

There is plenty to do in Montana and surrounding states if you are looking to get outside of Missoula and so some exploring.

We went to Glacier National Park, which is a little over 2 hours from Missoula. I detail more about that part of the trip in this post. We took 1.5 days for this part of the trip, so you don’t need to add a ton of time if you are limited with vacation days.

Depending on how much time you have and how far you want to drive, you can easily drive to places in Washington State, Idaho, and Wyoming, as well as other cities in Montana, in 5 hours or less. I went to Banff National Park before Missoula, so I didn’t have a lot of extra time in Montana, but I definitely plan on going back to explore the area more!

Ninepipes Lodge in Montana — *Lunch view at Ninepipes Lodge, on the drive to Glacier NP*

Have you run Missoula? What were your favorite parts about the race? Let me know in the comments!

Missoula Half Marathon