⏵ Course guide · Montana trail marathon
Foy's to Blacktail is a point-to-point mountain marathon near Kalispell, Montana: 26.2 miles of mostly singletrack with roughly 5,000 ft of climbing, front-loaded with a brutal early push to the top of Blacktail Mountain. I will walk you through the course and the Emmons Saddle checkpoint, then give you a pacing and fueling plan built for a capped-field mountain marathon. There are free calculators along the way to dial in your own numbers.
These facts come from the official Foy's to Blacktail Trails site. Check the current year details before you commit. Race logistics can change year to year.
The race starts with a shuttle to the Lakeside to Blacktail trailhead, about 25 miles from the staging area, and runs point-to-point on mostly singletrack to Herron Park in Kalispell.
The defining feature of this race comes almost immediately: 2,800 ft of climbing in just over 5 miles to the top of Blacktail Mountain. There is no easing into this one, so an honest, controlled effort in these first miles matters more than it would in a race that front-loads flat terrain.
The climbing does not stop once you crest Blacktail Mountain. The remaining 21 miles into Herron Park add more than 2,000 additional feet of gain, spread across rolling singletrack rather than one more single push. Pace the back half with the knowledge that the terrain keeps asking something of your legs.
The race caps entries at the first 100 registrants and runs 5 aid stations, at approximately miles 5, 13, 17.5, 21, and 24, stocked with Skratch Labs and Hammer Nutrition products. Bear spray is required on your person for the whole route, so plan your gear accordingly.
With a 12:00 PM cutoff to reach Emmons Saddle from a 7:00 AM start, roughly a 25 min/mile pace to that checkpoint, your biggest planning question is how to manage the early 2,800 ft climb without burning the margin you need later.
A 25 min/mile average pace to Emmons Saddle sounds forgiving on paper, but a 2,800 ft climb in the first 5 miles eats time fast if you go out too conservatively. Use a race-time prediction built off your own fitness to sanity-check whether your planned early pace leaves real margin against the checkpoint.
With more than 2,000 additional feet of climbing after Blacktail Mountain, resist the temptation to treat the summit as the hard part being over. Pace the back half of the course with the same respect you gave the first 5 miles.
⏵ Free tools to plan your effort
This is marathon distance, so keep fueling simple: use the 5 aid stations for water and calories, and carry a bit extra between the longer gaps, especially across the exposed early climb.
A reasonable starting point is 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour while moving, more toward the top of that range once the climbing gets sustained. Run your goal pace through the race-time calculator first to know roughly how long you will be out there, then browse the rest of the free tools at the tools hub.
⏵ Train for it with Summit Line
Get a training plan built around YOUR fitness and the 2,800 ft climb this race throws at you before mile 5. Summit Line reads your real training, builds the vertical strength this course demands, and rehearses your fueling so race day is something you execute, not guess at.
Roughly 5,000 ft over the full 26.2 miles, front-loaded hard: the first segment alone climbs 2,800 ft in just over 5 miles to the top of Blacktail Mountain. The final 21 miles add more than 2,000 ft on top of that, so this is a mountain marathon in every sense, not a flat marathon that happens to be on dirt.
The published checkpoint cutoff is 12:00 PM to reach Emmons Saddle, which works out to roughly a 25 min/mile pace requirement to that point given the 7:00 AM start. The race did not publish a separate overall finish cutoff at the time this guide was written, so confirm the current-year cutoff details before race day.
It is a serious one. With roughly 5,000 ft of climbing on mostly singletrack and a field capped at 100 runners, this suits a runner who already has some real vertical gain under their legs rather than a true first trail race. If you have run flatter trail races or road marathons and want your first genuine mountain marathon, this is a well-organized, intimate way to try one.
Yes. The race requires participants to carry bear spray on their person and know how to use it, a real requirement given the backcountry terrain near Kalispell, not a suggestion.
The start at the Lakeside to Blacktail trailhead is shuttle-accessed, about 25 miles from the staging area, so plan your morning around the shuttle logistics rather than driving directly to the start line yourself. Arrival is 5:30 AM with a 5:45 AM pre-race meeting ahead of the 7:00 AM start.
The race is capped at the first 100 registrants, keeping the field small and the trail experience on mostly singletrack from feeling crowded even on the tight early climbing.
Link this guide
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<a href="https://runsummitline.com/guides/foys-to-blacktail-trail-marathon">The Foy's to Blacktail Trail Marathon course guide</a><iframe src="https://runsummitline.com/embed/race/foys-to-blacktail-trail-marathon" style="width:100%;max-width:420px;height:180px;border:0;" loading="lazy" title="Foy's to Blacktail Trail Marathon course guide by Summit Line"></iframe>This guide is independent and for planning only. The course, cutoffs, and logistics come from public sources and can change year to year, so confirm the current specifics with the official race before you register or run. The fueling and pacing advice is general and not medical advice.
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