Welcome to Missoula’s most spectator friendly race!  We have handpicked 12 of Montana’s best runners (6 Men & 6 Women) to duke it out treadmill style in front of a live audience for the title of King and Queen of the Treadmill!

We’ll have a prediction contest, Big Sky Brewing beer, music and live announcing – all for a great cause – with 100% of the proceeds going to Missoula Youth Homes.

Don’t let the costumes fool you – the fields that we have lined up include world class athletes: previous competitors have won UTMB, Western States, run a sub 4 minute mile, multiple sub 2:40 marathoners, and numerous Division 1 cross country runners. Bring your best cheering voice and sign up as spots are limited!

Charity:

• All donations from the event will go to Youth Homes, a Missoula-based organization which provides services and shelters for children facing abuse, neglect, emotional trauma and substance abuse problems in Western Montana.  For more information, click here.

Beer:

• Big Sky Brewing has generously donated beer for the event.

How does this race work?

• The Treadmill Challenge will test who can run the farthest distance in 10 minutes on a treadmill set to a 12% grade.
• There will be 6 men, 6 women, and 3 treadmills, with two prelims and one final for each gender.
• Each heat will have three competitors.  Whoever goes the farthest in 10 minutes will win the prelim.  The winner of each prelim plus the holder of the next farthest distance will advance to the final.
• The three athletes lucky (or unlucky) enough to make the final get to do it all over again.  Winners will be crowned King & Queen of the Mill!

Schedule of Events:

• 7:00pm – Men’s Prelim Heat #1
• 7:15pm – Men’s Prelim Heat #2
• 7:30pm – Women’s Prelim Heat #1
• 7:45pm – Women’s Prelim Heat #2
• 8:00pm – Men’s Final Heat
• 8:15pm – Women’s Final Heat
• 8:30pm – Crowning of the King and Queen of the Treadmill and announcement of the prediction contest winner

Prediction Contest:

We will have a bracket-style prediction contest the night of the event for spectators to join in on the fun. The brackets must be filled out before 7:00pm when the races start! Brackets are $5 each.

Alyssa Foote

Alyssa took the Missoula running scene by storm when, as a surprise entry, she won the Montana Cup back in November of 2024 with a thrilling sprint finish. Before moving to Montana she ran at Oregon State University, which makes this speedster from Beaverton a natural arch nemesis of Eugene-born Erin Clark. Alyssa is making her Treadmill Challenge debut, rounding out a women's field in which all six runners ran at the NCAA Division 1 level. 

Erin Clark

The credentials are just ridiculous. After collecting All-American honors like Phelps collecting Olympic medals, Erin took her talents to the trails and has been at the top end of American ultrarunning since. A pro runner for Nike, Erin is coming off a 7th place finish at the incredibly stacked Black Canyon 100k just a few short weeks ago. Was that race as competitive as this year's Treadmill Challenge? We'll see if Erin can finish higher than 7th in this field.

Jenn Lichter

The 2023 winner of the Treadmill Challenge is back, perhaps reluctantly, having just defended her title at the Transgrancanaria 47k on some remote island in the middle of nowhere. A pro runner for The North Face and one of the world's best short distance ultrarunners (oxymoron?), Jenn is a notoriously fierce competitor on any terrain, and is as much a favorite as anyone in this incredibly stacked field.

Makena Morley

Yet another overachiever in the field, Makena is a many-time All-American, a team NCAA National Champ, an Olympic Trials qualifier, now a professional runner for Asics, and she has the school record in the 10,000 meters at THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, HEARD OF IT? She has had her sights set on the Treadmill Challenge for years, but various professional running conflicts have kept her out of the event. Whomst can relate?

Maya Rayle

What's this? Yet another DI runner in this race? A former Harvard and University of Wisconsin runner with a 15:52 5k PR to her name, Maya is one of the fastest athletes in the field (I feel like I've said that before). Maya recently moved to town, and there's no better hazing ritual for a new Missoula runner than to sign them up for the Treadmill Challenge.

Sam Lewis

Last year's winner of this event is back and eager to defend her crown. Not to say that last year's field wasn't great, but sheesh, have you seen the entries this year? They're not going to make it easy on her! Sam was the 2019 USATF Sub-Ultra Trail Runner of the Year, has more great results than we can count, and currently runs for the blazing hot On Athletic Club.

Grady Anderson

A staple of the Missoula running community, some of Grady's accomplishments include leading the first switchback of the Sentinel Hill Climb and generally wearing brighter colors than his peers. Grady rides a split board, runs about twice a week, and is currently remodeling his basement. As a federal employee, perhaps this notoriously difficult event will offer Grady a much needed opportunity to focus on something other than his grim and uncertain future. 

Jack Baumes

A senior at Hellgate High School known as one of the toughest runners on the team, Jack is coming off a successful cross country season with hopes to defy a long history at the Treadmill Challenge of the token high school runner not making the finals.

Jake Perrin

With a sub-14:00 5k time to his name, Jake has some of the best track credentials of any athlete in the field. He's also Treadmill Challenge royalty as the brother of Zach Perrin, runner-up in one of the greatest duels in the history of the event. Jake is coming off of a big win at the Snow Joke Half Marathon last weekend, so expect him to be either fired up or super fatigued.

Koby Pederson

A former DI runner at Loyola Marymount, Koby posted a 3:49 for 1500 meters, making him one of the fastest runners in the field. Since moving to Missoula Koby has turned to the trails. Has he been able to convert that flat speed into mountain legs? Do mountain legs even matter in the Treadmill Challenge? Will Scooby and the gang solve the mystery of the cursed ghost ship? Find out after the break.

Luke Galloway

Luke comes into this event with the most uphill running credentials of any of our athletes. In addition to solid races at The Rut VK and 50k, and the City to Sky 50k, Luke is the first and only runner to complete 13 laps in the RUFA 12 hour race AND 4 laps in the 3 hour race. Luke works for Competitive Timing, so no matter how the race goes, we know he has the ability to modify the results so that he comes out on top.

Scott Davis

Scott is a Tuesday Track specialist who recently helped Missoula capture its 98th consecutive Montana Cup Victory. Prior to that, he was narrowly outkicked by just over an hour by Adam Peterman at the City to Sky 50k. Scott is extremely confident coming into this race, telling race organizers "I have not really been running much," and "I don't think I'm terribly out of shape, but I'm certainly not going to win this event."