The name of this race captures perfectly the scenery runners can expect to encounter here in eastern Idaho, where the mountains on either side of the Montana-Idaho border meet among the trees of the Lolo and Clearwater National Forests, and the route from the start to the finish descends along a combination of dirt and gravel roads, with wide-open fields of wildflowers in the meadows along the course.
However beautiful the scenery is, though, runners need to be prepared for a run at a high elevation — the race starts at an elevation of over 5,200 feet above sea level, at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center on the Idaho side of the Idaho-Montana border. There are some long uphill stretches during the middle portions of the race especially, though they’re followed by equally long downhill stretches.
The “Mountain to Meadow” race follows an out-and-back loop course that starts and finishes at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, which lies just off Highway 12 and where a historical plaque marks the spot where Lewis & Clark and their expedition party crossed on their journey in 1805.
From there, runners follow a counter-clockwise loop that starts out along Road 5670 and heads gently downhill, and then turns onto Road 5671 between the first and second mile markers, after which point the course begins a gradual ascent to mile 5 marker.
Once runners pass the fifth-mile marker, just after passing through the southernmost point in the race, they then get to enjoy a gradual descent over the next couple of miles.
Between the seventh and eighth mile markers, the course then meets up with Elk Meadows Road and begins heading uphill again, followed by two tight turns along the road through the mountains, and then a nice, gradual downhill over the last few miles into the finish line back at the visitor center.
To see what the race course looks like up close, view this set of photos posted by the race organizers on Flickr.
