It’s Bozeman Marathon weekend! Even though I’m not tackling the 26.2 this year, I will be putting in plenty of running miles. There are over 1,000 runners signed up for tomorrow’s Half Marathon, and a few hundred for the Full.

Running Bozeman 5k

Today, the inaugural 5k race was added to the Bozeman Marathon weekend events by the Bozeman Running Company. The race began on Main Street in Historic Downtown, traveled down pavement sidewalks for .85 miles, then hit the gravel trail for a full 1.05 mile. And the remainder of the run (3.22 miles) went back downtown through quiet residential neighborhoods.

running bozeman 5kThis was a great route, flat, nothing to exciting. I hadn’t set in to do anything spectacular other than gather 2 finisher medals for the weekend — just took a nice easy pace to enjoy the view.

Ended up finishing in 22:08 and was disappointed I missed a sub-22 5k by a few seconds (you always gotta make those milestone marks!). Then, when I went to look at the race track, I saw the extra distance. Looks like I set a new PR with a 21:20 5k — 7:08 pace. I placed 9th overall and 4th in the 20–29 male division! Another top 10 finish of the year!

There were 165 runners. 1st place took a 5:22 pace.

running bozeman 5k finish medal

Collegiate CattleWomen 5k

After that race and grabbing some chocolate milk to refuel, I headed down to campus to cheer on runners at the Montana State Collegiate CattleWomen’s ‘Meat Me at the Finish Line’ 5k Fun Run! The CattleWomen are great supporters of beef, so naturally, we have to have some #TeamBeef representation!

There were about 50 participants in this race with the top runners finishing in 26 minutes. The route circled MSU campus and passed several landmarks along the way.

running bozeman cattlewomen 5k

It’s great fun to volunteer for a race once in a while and be on the flip side of cheering people on for their accomplishments. There was a great mix of ag and non-ag folks at the event, so it was great exposure for the Collegiate CattleWomen to share their beef messages written in chalk along the route.

They fired up the grill once everyone finished and passed around some great burgers. I’ll see many of these folks next weekend at a 25-mile relay ranch run the CattleWomen are hosting.

running bozeman college cattlewomen

Now, time to refuel with some good dairy and beef this afternoon to prepare for tomorrow morning’s Half Marathon. Might be a nap and football on the agenda too!

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Published by Ryan Goodman

Ryan Goodman works in grassroots advocacy as a communications consultant with beef cattle farmers and ranchers across the United States. He is a proud alumnus of Oklahoma State University, with studies focusing on cattle reproduction and nutrition. Ryan's experience in the beef industry range from family farms and ranches in several states to large feedlots and non-profit policy organizations. Ryan is an avid trail and ultrarunner, proudly showing how beef can be an important part of a healthy diet and active lifestyle. Find Ryan on social media as @BeefRunner.