In It For The Long Run

Connecting:Colter, Christensen, and Community

In certain instances, the concept of family refers not to blood relatives, but to a community of like-minded folk who share a common interest or passion. Such is the case with fans of the John Colter Half Marathon.

The race is contested in the spirit of a nineteenth-century Kentucky farmer-turned explorer and trapper; a mountain man captured by Blackfeet Indians at the headwaters of the Missouri River, stripped naked, and given a head start—literally running for his life as he was pursued by the Indians. The fascinating tale, whether or not it’s a tall one, is part of the reason John Colter became a legend.

The story goes that Colter, at the time not long separated from the Lewis and Clark expedition, sprinted a ways before hiding himself in brush along the banks of the Madison River. His ultimate survival, the result of his determination and stamina, was ensured only after he had covered some two hundred miles in eleven days, reclaiming Fort Remon at the confluence of the Bighorn and Yellowstone rivers.
Colter’s fitness and fortitude are honored every year at more than one footrace in the Rockies. Among them is the John Colter Half Marathon, held on the first Saturday of August in Teton Valley—sans nudity and angered Indians.

Nine runners lined up for Teton Valley’s first half marathon in 1976. The 13.1-mile course began near the Teton River and stretched to the uppermost campground in Teton Canyon. Being familiar with Colter’s story, race founder Jim Christensen sought to commemorate the mountain man’s extraordinary escape.

“It was romantic,” Jim says, “and if it’s true, it offers very powerful reasons why we should be in shape.”

The launching of the Colter Run stemmed from Jim’s desire to motivate his family members to pursue a healthy lifestyle. Running a half marathon requires proper training and diet, so he thought the race would be a perfect goal to promote healthy choices.

“You have to decide what food you’re going to eat, or you have to stop running,” Jim says. “Running is a very revealing process.” But he understood at the time that a full 26.2-mile marathon might have been a bit too revealing. So, he chose the 13.1-mile distance instead, hoping that it would be an attainable goal for a larger number of current and would-be runners.

Though it began with his personal goals for his children, Jim has witnessed the race become much more than that: “My dream was that it would benefit my family. It has done way more.”

Early on, Jim extended the invitation from beyond just family to friends. “I thought it would be really neat to have someone to run with, so I started inviting friends,” he says. As the word spread among locals and the regional running community, the race began to grow. Jim advertised a bit in the local paper, but he believes the growth was due primarily to word of mouth.

The homegrown event offered a family experience for all who entered. Race T-shirts were silk-screened by the Christensen family with Jim’s hand-drawn Colter logo. The aid stations were manned by Christensens, and the post-race party was held at the family’s home in Alta. Jim recalls the homemade whole-wheat waffles and community atmosphere being as essential to the event as the race itself. He even carved his own traveling trophy, a replica of the Colter Stone [see page 19], again tying the run back to John Colter lore. He awarded his hand-carved trophy to the first year’s winner, who diligently returned it the following year. (Unfortunately, Jim was a bit offended when the next winner refused the trophy, so he placed it permanently under a tree in the family’s yard.)

As the attention of runners grew, so did that of the Teton Valley Chamber of Commerce. Intrigued by the potential draw of the Colter Run, the chamber elected to incorporate the race into the Pierre’s Hole Rendezvous, a celebration of the mountain man that was held in Teton Valley for several years.

In 2008, the chamber recruited Jay Batchen of Driggs-based Dreamchasers Outdoor Adventures to share his event-organizing expertise. As a chamber board member and longtime race director, Jay recognized the strength and potential of the Colter Run. “We wanted to keep the intimate, small town feeling of the race,” he says. “It’s always been a rather informal gathering, which I think is great.”

Ron Weston, a Teton Valley native who has run the Colter twelve times since 1997, agrees. “I grew up in Teton Valley and started running marathons in 1981, so it was natural that I ran the John Colter when I visited Driggs in the summer. The reason that I kept running this race was the personal attention given to all runners, regardless of abilities.”

Today, the race offers the same amenities as much larger races—online registration, a detailed course map, mile markers, energy gels at the aid stations, and accurate timing. Keeping the race management up to date is important, but Jay Batchen also feels the history of the Colter Run needs to remain an integral part of it. He looks forward to incorporating more of that into the event, including the use of past logos and poster art, and the naming of awards.

The roots of the John Colter Half Marathon go back to the core values of family, friends, and fitness. For Jim Christensen, that’s what the race has been about for thirty-five years.

Runners and joggers will toe the line at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 6 for the 35th running of the John Colter Half Marathon. Also on tap is a 2-mile fun run/walk beginning at 8:10 a.m.