It's Race Week! That means Team Rut is up on Lone Peak marking the courses and getting very excited to welcome you all in Big Sky beginning this Friday. We have all sorts of info, updates, and opportunities for you to check out. Read below, rest up, and see you soon!
Photo by Ryan Thrower
Photo by Ely Gerbin
Speaker Series with North Face Global Athlete Kaytlyn Gerbin (9/4 @ 7 PM)
We are so lucky to have The North Face Ultrarunner Kaytlyn Gerbin share with us about her recent adventure setting an FKT on the iconic Wonderland Trail circumnavigating Mt. Rainier.

Join us in the Big Sky Resort Base area on the Vista Hall Deck in The Exchange on Saturday night at 7 PM to hear from Kaytlyn about her record-setting run, as well as insight into what it takes to tackle the highs and lows of ultrarunning. From winning some of the largest races in the world to overcoming injuries and setbacks, Kaytlyn will share her journey. As an added bonus, 2019 Rut 50K Champion and The North Face Athlete, Erika Flowers will be emceeing the event. We are so excited and hope you will join us!
Shakeout Run w/ The North Face Athletes
Join The North Face athletes for your pre-race shake-out run on Friday at 5 PM or Saturday at 10 AM. Runs will be easy and social paced, and leave from the large North Face tent next to the race start line. All are welcome. See you there!
Spectating
We believe every Rut Runner deserves a good cheer squad, and we want to help our spectators out in cheering on their runner!
The Rut Mountain Runs App
Download our Rut App, which is hosted by our partners at Competitive Timing, and enjoy these benefits!

  • Be the first to get any last-minute race updates through app notifications.
  • Access to course maps
  • Schedule of events
  • Race info
  • Runner Progress Update- Get notified when your runner crosses a split mat on the course.
Air Quality & Wildfire Smoke

As many of you know, wildfire smoke has been rolling in and out of the area this summer and even this week. While the skies are currently clear and the forecast looks favorable, there is always a chance we could deal with smoky skies on race day. If air quality is a concern we will be communicating through email and push notifications on our app if adjustments to race weekend need to be made. Due to the transient nature of the smoke, we will wait until the morning of each day to discuss options. For now, let's hope the clear skies stay!
Weather:

If you have run The Rut before, you know we can get all types of weather over the race weekend. Extreme heat, extreme cold, rain, snow, lightning, and wind can all be experienced in a single day. The moral of the story? Be prepared for anything!

As a reminder, in the case of severe weather, all of our courses could be adjusted to keep runners safe and off the high ridges and summit of Lone Peak. We will keep you updated via e-mail and The Rut App if this needs to happen. Please be sure to check your inboxes over the weekend with any last-minute updates we may have. Also, take a look at our recommended equipment page for a reminder of the gear we suggest carrying for safe passage in the mountains.
Rut Rules:

Yes, we have rules. Nothing too strict. Just some good reminders so that we all know what is and isn't ok over race week. Take a look and get familiar with them!
Course Marking

The Rut is not an orienteering race. We work hard to mark the courses so that you don't have to waste energy worrying if you are still on course. If you haven't seen a course marking in over a minute, you are likely off route. No worries, just turn around and go back to the last marking you saw and get back on course from there. Below is a reminder of which distances correspond with which colors. When in doubt, look at the color of your bib, which corresponds with your racecourse marking color!

  • 50K is marked with ORANGE
  • 28K is marked with BLUE
  • 11K is marked with RED
  • VK is marked with PINK
COVID Updates:

Please read out the most up-to-date COVID protocols HERE. Note that we now are requiring masks at the start line of our events and VK Runners must wear a mask while downloading in the Lone Peak Tram from the summit finish area.
ID required for packet pickup

You must show your ID to receive your Rut packet and bib. If you do not have your ID our volunteers will kindly ask you to go and get it. Thanks for bringing it and making the check-in process run smoothly!
Cupless & Contactless Aid Stations

The Rut is a cupless event, which means you must have your own vessels for taking in fluids on the course. This includes water, but also broth and soda at some of the 28K and 50K aid stations. If you don't want that in your bottles, we highly recommend you bring a collapsible cup!

Also, our aid stations are contactless this year. This means our aid station volunteers will be pouring liquids into your containers with pitchers. You will need to hold your container out for them. They will not be taking it from you. Also, they will be pouring non-packaged foods into your collapsible cups or hands, instead of grabbing it yourself.
2021 Rut Merchandise
As in years past, you can expect lots of Rut merchandise for sale at our packet pick up and expo in the Big Sky Resort Base Area. We do our best to stock up every year but are often out of goodies by Sunday, so be sure to swing by and check out what's in stock before it disappears!
Keep up to date this weekend by following along via our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Lastly, if you missed previous updates, our past newsletters from this summer can be found HERE.**
Thank You Rut Partners!
The Rut Mountain Runs | Website