2025 RACE
A big thanks to everyone that came to a fabulous weekend of racing on July 12th &13, 2025 on the great Herron Park trail system!
We are working hard on securing next year’s race permits and dates. Registration will open January 1st, 2026, so stay tuned!
These races are the first in the new Flathead Race Series! See below for details.
We hope to expand the series beyond ours, the Whitefish Trail Blazer and Le Grizz races, and will likely announce the additions this Fall (2025).
Check out this cool interactive map from onX… but wait for a second for it to load
HERRON HALF MARATHON | 10K | 5K
Foy’s to Blacktail Trails Organization
The money raised from the races goes directly to building and maintaining trails in the 34-mile FTBT system. (see Foys to Blacktail Trails Organization to learn more about FTBT’s mission). In addition to event fees, our trails thrive largely in part to our dedicated sponsors and individual donors. These races are our largest annual fundraisers. We’ve kept registration fees low over the last 12 years to keep the events affordable. Please consider adding a donation to your race fee!
The schedule is as follows:
Friday: Bib pick up at Flathead Running Company in downtown Kalispell
Saturday: Bib pick up also available starting at 6:00 am. Pre-race meetings will be 10 minutes before each race.
Official start race times: 1/2 Marathon – 7:00 am; 10k – 7:15 am; 5k – 7:30 am; Kids’ race: 9:30 am;
Awards ceremony: after kids’ race – around 10:30-11 am. S&M Tacos will provide all-you-can-eat taco bar starting at 11 am for $20 per person
Registration
Prices are listed on the Registration Page
Please carry your own bottle in order to utilize water or electrolyte drinks at aid stations. There will be NO CUPS.
Race Bibs and Packets
Race bibs can be picked up at Flathead Running Company, 132 S. Main Street, Kalispell on Friday, June 11 between 10 am and 6 pm AND on race day at the pavilion in Herron Park starting at 6:00 a.m. Swag bags, including give away stuff from sponsors will be handed out to racers at the end as racers complete the race.
Kids’ Race
At 9:30 am, we will provide an informal kids’ race for those under the age of 13. There is no charge for this race. Bibs will be provided but there will be no official timing. We will recognize the top 3 racers of each gender. Kids will get stickers with the FTBT Races logo when completing the race.
Parking
Parking is available in the main Herron parking lot, with many helpers guiding you to your spot in order to optimize the space we have. Additional parking is available in the stable parking lot, past the main Herron lot on the right side. Please look for the bright color vests of volunteers assisting with parking. We are expecting the same large number of participants this year, which will fill all parking areas, so PLEASE CARPOOL!
Dogs
Herron Park is part of the Flathead County Parks & Recreation system, and please follow county rules regarding dogs: spectator dogs must be leashed and cleaned up after. Sorry, no dogs allowed in the races.
Walkers/Hikers
There has been a growing interest in walking/fast hiking these courses. The 5k is the best fit for walkers as it takes about 60-90 minutes to walk. However, for the 10k and Half Marathon courses, walkers’ and fast hikers’ finish time will likely extend beyond the noon clean up time for this event. If you are interested in walking/fast hiking the longer courses, please let the Race Director (brian@runflathead.com) know and we will make arrangements for an early start on the day of the event.
Volunteers
We can’t do it without all of the great volunteers! Please contact the Race Director (brian@runflathead.com) if you would be willing to help with any of the many tasks, such as staffing an aid station, directing cars toward parking options, helping with registration, giving out awards, marking the course ahead of time, directing racers at tricky intersections, or taking down the course afterwards. Go to Run Sign Up page under the drop down menu, “More” then “Volunteer” to see what areas still need helpers.
After Party/Awards Ceremony
We will randomly give away over a $1000 worth of cool stuff (i.e. running shoes, nice gear from local stores) donated by our sponsors only to those racers present for the ceremony! This will be held after the kids’ race.
Food: all-you-can-eat taco/burrito bar prepared by the House of S&M, will be available for $20 at the Foys Community Center by the main Herron Park parking lot.
Massages: Our friends at Flourish Massage and Yoga will be providing free massages after the races on a first come-first serve, sign up process. Tips/donations to the massage therapists are welcome.
Don't forget to support the sponsors who helped the race with monetary support and/or in-kind donations:
The Flathead Race Series!
We have joined with the Whitefish Trail Blazer and Le Grizz races to form the Flathead Race Series! Everyone who participates in at least one of the FTBT races on July 12th &13th, one of the Whitefish Trail Blazer races on October 4th & 5th, and one of the Le Grizz races on October 11th will be part of this series. Series participants will receive a buff, discounts on next year’s races, and will be ranked by Competitive Timing at the end of the series. Those completing the FTBT Marathon, the WTB 50k, and the Le Grizz 50 mile race will be part of the Crown of the Continent Champion’s League. Each CCCL member will receive a buff as well as a mug, a beanie with the race series logo made by Sam Avery, and a free entry into one of the series’ races in 2026! The awards ceremony for the race series will be held during the Le Grizz award ceremony on October 11th.
Race Results
Past Herron Half Marathon,10k and 5k races can be found at Competitive Timing.
ROUTES
Shoe demos! Our friends at Rocky Mountain Outfitter in downtown Kalispell will be providing free demonstrations of the new Nnormal trail running shoe developed by ultrarunning phenom Kilian Jornet. Look for the tent near the pavilion at Herron Park.
Lodging options: The County Parks Department will let us allow up to 20 camping units in the field by the stables. If you are interested, contact Brian Miller, race director, at brian@runflathead.com and we can make arrangements. Cost will be $25 per unit. A unit is defined as one camper or one tent. If we fill up, we may have options with a local land owner near the race staging area.
Cancellation/Wildfire Policy: Wildfires and smoke conditions vary over the course of the summer in Montana. Often, even when the Flathead area does not have active fires, smoke is blown in from the west causing poor air quality. Wildfire conditions are variable, unpredictable, and can change daily in northwest Montana. As we experienced in prior years, smoky conditions were persistent until race weekend where we experienced rain and clear skies. In the event of an active wildfire posing a safety threat to the Foy’s to Blacktail Trail Marathon (FTBTM) participants or volunteers, the race organizers reserve the right to cancel the event at any time. Please keep in mind that we work with multiple different land owners that will also be looking out for the health and safety of everyone in our event.
If the FTBTM is canceled due to a wildfire or other natural disaster, participants will have the options to (i) defer their registration at 50% value to the next year; or (ii) donate their registration to help cover operation costs.
As noted below, we will wait until race morning to determine cancellation, which means we incur the costs of operating the event (insurance, permits, etc) and compensating all of our local vendors, regardless of whether the race takes place or not. As organizers, we invest our lives into this event and want nothing more than a flawless weekend, so we thank you in advance for understanding and respecting this policy.
In the event of smoky conditions causing variable air-quality, FTBTM organizers reserve the right to make a final race cancellation decision by 6:00am on the race morning based on AirNow.gov for Kalispell, MT. The Specific Air Quality Index chart we will refer to can be viewed here.
The event will not be canceled for AQI 0 (green) to 100 (yellow).
AQI reaching between 101-150 (orange), runners will have the choice to (i) complete the event, (ii) defer their registration at 50% value to the next year, or (iii) donate their registration.
AQI reaching > 151 (Red, Purple, or Maroon), the event will be canceled and runners will have the choice to (i) defer their registration at 50% value to the next year, or (ii) donate their registration.
2025 RACE SPONSORS
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor for 2025, please contact info@foystoblacktailtrails.org or brian@runflathead.com.
Thank You Partners! Your volunteer and financial contributions make this trail system thrive.
Thank You Sponsors! Some of you have supported us for more than a decade!
FTBT would like to recognize the following sponsors for their financial & in-kind commitments for 2025:
Title Sponsor
Logan Health
Gold Level
A7 Cycles
Advanced Rehabilitation Services
Jordahl & Sliter PLLC
Silver Level
Flathead Running Company
Glacier Bank
Loretta Merriman Massage
Parkside Credit Union
Rocky Mountain Outfitter
Nomad GCS
YWAM - Endurance Adventures
Bronze Level
Big Mountain Family Medicine
Crowley Fleck Law Firm
Glacier Centre for Dentistry
Hammer Nutrition
Skratch Labs
Sportsman and Ski Haus
Stockman Bank
Tamarack Brewing
Additional Support has also come from:
Flourish Yoga & Massage
Natural Grocers
REI Co-Op
Salt Hydration & Wellness
Seth Capon/Darkhorse Design Group
Steve Kreitner, Esq.
Topo Athletic Shoes
