A day trip across the Bob Marshall

Mike Murray didn't think too much about running 50 miles through the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Once he set his goal, there was no changing his mind.

"Everybody talks about going to the Bob," he said. "It was my first time, and I just decided to blast through it. Once the seed was planted, I couldn't let it go."

On Sept. 10 at 5 a.m., Murray set out with a headlamp and a small pack at Benchmark on the east side of the Rocky Mountain Front. He ran through 80-degree weather over two mountain passes and 17 hours later arrived at Pyramid Pass near Seeley Lake.

Murray, 56, of Whitefish, had seen the Bob for the first time.

"It was beautiful," he said last week. "I plan on going back and spending some leisure time there."

Murray reflects on the trip matter-of-factly. It was his goal and he did it. Not unlike last summer when he says he swam the length of Whitefish Lake. He also runs marathons and does Ironman triathlons.

He packed light for the trip. No water filter. No emergency blanket. No bear spray.

On his back was a small pack for food and in his hand he carried a 12-ounce water bottle that he filled in creeks. He ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, oatmeal raisin cookies, Twix bars and hard candies. Murray wore running shoes and covered his feet in petroleum jelly to keep from getting blisters.

"I tried to be as light as possible," he said. "There's usually enough water in streams. Peanut butter and jelly is what I eat for Ironman races. It has all you need - carbs and protein."

The Bob trip was Murray's first major trail-running trip. He ran about 150 miles in Glacier National Park this summer preparing for the Bob. He considered running the Le Grizz Ultramarathon, a 50 mile race along Hungry Horse Reservoir, but decided that running a gravel road wasn't for him.

"I enjoy trail running much better than running on pavement because it's hard on you," he said.

Murray doesn't consider himself a swimmer even though he swam Whitefish Lake. He only began marathon running roughly a decade ago after being teased by his brothers to try it.

"It keeps me out of the bar in the morning," he said with a laugh. "It keeps me active. I have a problem going to The Wave and just working out. I have to go towards a goal."

The Bob trip was also about pushing himself. Murray said the trip was worth it, but he's also happy he finished. It was harder than his other athletic endeavors and climbing Mount Rainier and Kilimanjaro.

"This (the Bob) was the hardest because it was the longest," he said. "The Ironman is faster, and you summit a mountain in 12 to 14 hours. I was glad when it was over. I have a lot of admiration for those who do the Swan Crest 100. I got a taste of a little bit of that."

He doesn't plan on running the Bob again, but he's open to more challenges.

"I don't know about 2012, but I'm open to suggestions," he said.