BUTTE — It would be hard to overstate just how challenging the Butte 100 is.
Riders traverse a 100-mile course that's filled with rocky, sandy and technically challenging terrain while amassing nearly three miles of elevation gain along the way. Oh, and it all unfolds during a scorching July day.
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Just finishing this race is an undertaking that requires tremendous training and willpower. Despite the physically and mentally punishing nature of this ultra-endurance event, it's only continued to grow in popularity and its reputation as one of the toughest races of its kind in the country has brought in plenty of riders who've completed it multiple times.
"People want to come back year after year," said race owner Stephanie Sorini. "They want to challenge themselves and these trails allow them to challenge themselves."
The 19th iteration of the Butte 100 is set to unfold July 19 with some 500 racers expected to compete in the 100 and the shorter races, the Butte 50 and the Sorini 25.
Chris Bessler of Golden, Colo., won last year's race in 9 hours, 7 minutes and 37 seconds, averaging a pace of just under 11 mph over the course of the race.
The 100-mile race typically takes place on a north loop that largely covers the continental divide trail and then a south loop that cuts through the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forrest. Last year, because of forest fires, the 100 was altered to two laps around the north loop.
This year, the race organizers decided to do the mirror image of that and have the race comprised of two loops around the south loop which is considered significantly more challenging that the north loop.
"It's the prettiest loops but it's also the most difficult," said Chad Godbout, whose preparing do the Butte 50 for the 11th time, coinciding with his 50th birthday. "There's a ton of elevation and climbing.
"It is so difficult and I think that's part of the reason it's so rewarding if you can complete something like this."
