Local running club formed

It's before dawn, there are just a handful of cars parked along Central Avenue and already a line seven-deep is forming outside of Montana Coffee Traders.

But this group isn't here for the huckleberry scones, a slice of quiche or even a French press — all that will come later. Nope, this group has gathered at 7 a.m. on their day off to go running.

Matthew Smeltzer recently created Run Whitefish, a club that meets twice a week for group runs and once a week for friendly races. Every Saturday for the past month, the club has gathered at Coffee Traders before the doors are unlocked to decide on a running route.

This Saturday, three men and four women brave the winter temperatures and early start. They split into two groups — one will go for a three-mile run near City Beach, and the other will go for about eight miles on the south side of town.

Smeltzer hands each runner a safety vest and offers cleats for traction on the icy roads. He says they were using headlamps earlier in the month, but the sun is rising sooner now and the lamps are no longer necessary.

After a brief stretching session and some small talk, the groups are off and running toward Pine Avenue. The larger group heads out along the new Rocksund Trail to the hospital before crossing U.S. 93 and tracking back along Karrow Avenue toward town, where they will reconvene at the coffee shop and indulge in a few sweet treats — all before 9 a.m.

Smeltzer, an avid mountaineer who just started running seriously in August, said he was inspired to start the club somewhat out of necessity.

"The whole idea of starting a club came to mind over Thanksgiving," he said. "I wanted to do a turkey trot and realized that we don't have one here. The closest one was in Polson."

He decided that since no one else was going to put together a traditional turkey-day race, he'd do it himself. Yet, Smeltzer took it a few steps further and created a formal running club, too.

The club meets on Tuesday mornings at 6 a.m. in front of The Wave and on Saturdays at 7 a.m. at Coffee Traders.

Smeltzer said the group runs at a casual pace and typically split up into varying distances.

"If people feel nervous about going too slow or too fast, they can use the group as motivation to get out the door and then run at their own pace," he said. "So far, we're sticking together and even stop when someone has to pee."

Thursday is an informal race night with a marked 5-kilometer course. Smeltzer said he'll use a chip-timing system to keep the most accurate tabs of finish times at the races. There are no prizes or awards for these races, Smeltzer warned, just the satisfaction of a job well done.

The formal races he has planned include a Thanksgiving turkey trot, a run to support the Wag Park, a trail race possibly on Big Mountain and maybe even a marathon.

As a nonprofit, Run Whitefish will be giving any money accrued at these races back to the community through the Wag Park, the Fish Trails bike paths, the Rotary and the food bank.

Membership in Run Whitefish is $10 a year, which includes fees for all of the Thursday night races. For more information, visit online at www.runwhitefish.com or call Smeltzer at 212-2842.