Missoula’s best running store, Runner’s Edge, hosted their annual Treadmill Challenge Wednesday, Mar. 5. As per usual, the competition featured a wildly talented cast of world class runners, some local and some not, including Hellgate senior, Jack Baumes. Hellgate’s own was narrowly bested in the first round, with Jake Perrin taking the win on the men’s side and Makena Morley winning for the women.
This legendary and spectator-friendly race is simple. Three treadmills are elevated on a stage inside of Missoula’s premier location to buy running shoes. Spectators are packed wall to wall, drinks in hand, as some of Missoula’s most cardiovascularly athletic specimens are forced to run as far and fast as they can up a 12% grade for ten minutes. They’re in charge of setting their treadmills to whatever speed they think they can sustain but will also keep them ahead of their competition.
This year, both mens and womens sides of the challenge consisted of Missoula’s best. Alyssa Foote, Erin Clark, Jenn Lichter, Makena Morley, Maya Rayle, and Sam Lewis competed for the womens title, with Grady Anderson, Jake Perrin, Koby Pederson, Luke Galloway, Scott Davis, and Jack Baumes gunning for the mens. This was Baumes’ first year representing Hellgate Cross Country in the Treadmill Challenge.
The competition got off to a fast start, with a fiery round of mens prelims followed by an equally electric womens round. Baumes was narrowly eliminated and didn’t progress to the finals.
When asked about his performance, Baumes said “it went well, except I was quite sick when I went into it. I’m very happy with how I performed.” Baumes teammates showed up in droves, with “we love Jack” chants occurring every few minutes while he competed.
Perrin, Galloway, and Davis advanced in the men’s bracket to the finals, with Rayle, Lichter, and Morley joining them. The three men took the stage sporting shirts reading “STOP PETERMAN,” referencing Missoula running legend and Hellgate alumni Adam Peterman. After a brutal fight, Perrin out ran the two other men by a large margin, and Morley just barely took the win over Rayle and Lichter.
“My competition… They were very cool people and I was very honored to run with them,” said Baumes. He went on to say how positive and kind these world class runners were to him as a highschool runner before and after the competition.
The Runner’s Edge Treadmill Challenge is a testament to Missoula’s vibrant running community, and the 2025 variant was no exception. Missoulians can look forward to this creative competition next year around the same time, where another Hellgate runner is sure to put on another wonderful performance.
