Keeping The Cup All Shined Up

One of the largely unseen and unknown tasks behind the Montana Cup is a yearly organizational meeting that takes place by the core steering committee. This commitee is made up of representatives from all of the 7 cities/regions. Traveling from across the state, we met today in Whitehall as Ray (and Nicole and Eon) Hunt hosted the meeting in his hometown.

Present were Ray and Nicole Hunt (Butte), Jeff Thomas and Pat Judge (Helena), Alan King (Billings - 2010 race host city), Dewey Peacock (Bozeman), Anders Brooker (Missoula) and Tony Banovich (Plains/Kalispell). Unable to attend were John Zombro (Bozeman - 2009 meet director) and Bob Boland & Jaquie Maillet (Great Falls).

Yeah, we did take care of some important race business. We made a few decisions and adjusted some rules that should benefit and improve the race in years to come. Ray will get the rules and updated information up on the website (www.montanacup.com) in the very near future.

But, the best parts of the day come in a couple of different forms. First is the pleasure of seeing a dedicated group of runners who have a passion for the sport and a desire to see this event continue to gow and thrive. We travel great distances to make this meeting, we all do it on a volunteer basis, and there's no compensation or perks for our efforts.

Well that's not entirely true - which brings me to the other best part of the day - the big perk/payoff is the honor of being able to go for the obligatory pre-meeting run with some great folks. Today, Ray took the group out so that we could have the wind at our backs. Part of the group ran about 10 kilometers. Nicole, Alan and I ran about 15 to 16 kilometers. With the exception of the last 1,200 meters, the whole run was on gravel & dirt roads and trails. On a pleasant day of about -2 degrees celsius, we ran across some great high prarie areas with some wonderful views of the Tobacco Roots and the Highlands. Last year, it was a nice run on a crisp day on the snow covered trails around Bozeman. In the end, this is all payment enough for me.

See you on the roads tracks and trails.

The Muddy Buzzard