Big Sky to Host Rut 50K and Vertical Kilometer Races

The reigning international Skyrunner World Series Champion and 2014 National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year, Kilian Jornet, will be running in the Rut 50 Kilometer, September 13, 2014, and Vertical Kilometer, September 12, 2014, races held at Big Sky Resort . The event’s title sponsor, Salomon, has entered their professional racers for the 50K race with 14 members from their International Team and nine members from their United States Team, among are Cameron Clayton, Gary Robbins, Adam Campbell, Anna Frost, Cassie Scallon, and Emelie Forsberg, who is the reigning Skyrunner Queen.

The second annual Rut Ultra-marathon being held at Big Sky Resort September 12-13, 2014 has sold out the 50 Kilometer, Vertical Kilometer and 12 Kilometer races. Registration caps were increased from 200 entries last year to 500 entries in each of the 50 and 12 Kilometer races. The Vertical Kilometer race is new this year and is the only Skyrunner VK in the United States. The Rut, organized by Runner’s Edge in Missoula, Montana, has been chosen as the Skyrunner World Series Ultra® marathon final event for 2014.

Other notable runners competing in the 50K are Team Nike’s David Laney, Ryan Gelfi, and Daniel Kraft, who has the second fastest time ever on the Bridger Ridge Run held in Bozeman, Montana; Team Hoka One One’s Sage Canaday; Team Scott’s Jodee Adams-Moore; and Team Montrail/ Mountain Hardware’s Ellie Howe, the 2012 Female Ultra Runner of the Year. The winner of last year’s Rut 50K race, Paul Hamilton, will be back to defend his title.

The Rut 50K, a 10,000 foot gain in elevation, tests runners with off-trail exposed ridgelines, forested single-track trails, rugged jeep roads and the lofty summit of the iconic Lone Peak. The Rut 12K will gain 2,100 vertical feet and new this year, The Lone Peak Vertical Kilometer®, a 2.4 mile race with a vertical gain of 3,280 feet up Lone Peak.

The Rut, a world class style race, is the brainchild of race directors and world-class trail runners, Mike Foote and Mike Wolfe, both of Missoula, Montana and athletes for The North Face ultra-running team who have partnered up with Sky Runner World Series®.

Visit www.bigskyresort.com/rut for more information.

About Big Sky Resort: Big Sky Resort, established in 1973, is located in the Northern Rockies of southwest Montana between Bozeman, Montana and Yellowstone National Park. Big Sky Resort is the largest ski resort in the United States with 5,800 acres. Big Sky Resort is owned by Boyne Resorts, a Michigan-based corporation and the largest family-run four-season resort company in North America. Boyne Resorts also owns Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, British Columbia; Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, and The Inn at Bay Harbor, all in Michigan; Brighton in Utah; Crystal Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington; Loon Mountain in New Hampshire; Sugarloaf and Sunday River Resort in Maine; and Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Tennessee.