EBS STAFF
During the first weekend of June, the 2024 Montana Spartan Trifecta Weekend will come to Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in the Bridger Range in Bozeman. There will be five races with varying distances and numbers of obstacles on the schedule, including a kids obstacle race.
The Spartan event will make its Bozeman debut in partnership with Crosscut and the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce.
The courses will challenge racers “at altitude with steep climbs and treacherous descents in the Bridger Mountain Range,” the Spartan Race website states. The weekend will offer the Sprint 5K, Super 10K and Beast 21K, all including varying numbers of obstacles. A participant who completes all three in one weekend, the Trifecta, will have overcome the Spartan Race’s “ultimate challenge,” according to the website.
The weekend will also offer an Ultra 50K with 60 obstacles. Participants can purchase tickets at the level they wish to race in. Categories are competitive, early morning or open.
Ryan Krueger, marketing and events senior manager for Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, answered questions via email about the event. Krueger wrote that hosting a Spartan event directly serves the nonprofit Crosscut’s mission and purpose: “to provide year-round recreation, sports training, and outdoor education opportunities for everyone through our simple yet exceptional facilities and trails,” he wrote. The Spartan partnership will bring more awareness and allow Crosscut to engage with new individuals.
Spartan’s Montana event had been held in Bigfork for many successful years, and last year, the company contacted Crosscut in pursuit of a new venue.
“Crosscut is in an ideal location due to its close proximity to the amenities of Bozeman, and because it has a developed trail system that can serve the event routes,” Krueger wrote. “Spartan staff members visited and toured Crosscut to make sure it was a good fit, and since then, we have been working through the specifics of making the 2024 event a success.”
Krueger emphasized Crosscut’s commitment to its existing activities and year-round community, with added excitement for hosting Bozeman’s first Spartan Race.
“In this first year, our organization is focused on making sure the event is a good match for Crosscut, and that it is a benefit to the Bozeman area,” he wrote.
The Bozeman Chamber of Commerce has a 10-year contract with Spartan Race; however, Crosscut has only agreed to hosting the 2024 competition.