About the GYAS

The inspiration for the Greater Yellowstone Adventure Series (GYAS) sparked on top of a ridge line near Bozeman, Montana in 2007.   Specifically, it sparked when Sam Korsmoe, the founder and current owner of the race series, read a page one headline in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle.  In big, above the fold fonts, the headline read:

Bridger Ridge Run Sells Out in Eight Minutes

The Bridger Ridge Run is a 20-mile competitive trail running race on the very spine of the Bridger Mountain Range near Bozeman. After a decade of just 50 or so runners signing up each year, the Bridger Ridge Run suddenly boomed in popularity.  It started selling out, and in 2007 it did so in just eight minutes.  This was reflective of a new national and international trend in sports for competitive distance events in running, cycling, swimming, duathlons, triathlons, and other races such as ultra-marathons, mud runs, Spartan races, and IRONMANs.  There were new races sprouting up all over the globe.

At the time, Korsmoe was the executive director of the Madison County Economic Development Council.  His job was to spur economic development in a county that had a year-round population of less than 8,000 residents. It had a lot more mama cows (around 45,000) and elk (the Madison Valley herd on its own is estimated to be several thousand on the Madison and Gravelly Range). Though it was sparsely populated year-round, Madison County had a large summer community due to tourism and second home residents.  Its Southwest Montana location featured the blue ribbon Madison River, a border with Yellowstone Park, extensive wildlife, and a preponderance of beautiful public land.  All this has made Madison County a very popular tourist and retirement destination for people from across the United States and numerous foreign countries.

Korsmoe’s economic development strategy – labeled ‘Economic Gardening’ – was to leverage these assets for the benefit of the community, i.e. bring people into the community to spur economic development and business.  Thus in 2008, he launched the Madison Marathon within the Beaverhead Deerlodge National Forest.  The route was on the Gravelly Range Road which runs on top of the entire length of the Gravelly Range.  For the first several years, the Madison Marathon was the highest road marathon in the world in terms of elevation.  The average elevation of the route is around 9,000 feet above sea level and it offers grand vistas to the runners competing in the race. 

The plan was to market the race as a destination event that the entire family could enjoy.  While the athletes in the family did the marathon, the others could visit Yellowstone Park, fly fish the Madison River, camp and hike in the national forest, ride horses, and/or do many other Montana outdoor activities.  Instead of a solo runner traveling to a marathon for a one-day event, the entire family would make the trip for a week-long vacation. 

This was the spirit of ‘Economic Gardening’ as an economic development strategy, and it had the added feature of being un-replicable anywhere else in the United States.  Meaning, no other marathon or race series in America or the world could combine the route elevation, extensive public land, proximity to an iconic destination like Yellowstone, small town community appeal, niche feel, and an unusually difficult athletic challenge within such an incredibly beautiful environment. There are marathons with a few of these features but not with all of them. With the Madison Marathon, this was all in one package.  It quickly became a national Bucket List marathon destination and it sold out in just its fourth year of operation. 

The begetting of new races began in 2012 with the launch of the Madison Duathlon and the Madison Triathlon. This formed a new competitive event called the Madison Trifecta whereby an athlete takes on the challenge of completing all three races. The Big Sky Marathon was launched in 2015 to offer Montana’s first double (full and half) marathon.  The Big Sky is a downhill marathon that starts up on the Gravelly Range at an elevation of 8,600 feet and then drops down into the Madison Valley (net drop of 3,600 feet).  Also in 2015, the race series absorbed the Madison River Run, a 5K fun run that had been managed by the Ennis Chamber of Commerce and was already in its 20th year.  In 2017, the Tour de Gravelly was launched.  This is a 55-mile gravel road cycling race that starts in Ennis and goes up and over the Gravelly Range Mountains to the finish line in the Ruby Valley.  It has a net elevation gain of over 6,000 feet in approximately 40 miles.  In 2020, the Madison Ultra was launched.  Initially, this Ultra race had two categories for runners – 50K up or 50K down.  The start/finish line was at the very peak of the Gravelly Range Road at Monument Ridge (9,587 feet) and extends to the other start/finish line at Varney Bridge which crosses the Madison River on the Madison Valley floor.  The distance between those two points is almost exactly 50 kilometers.  In 2023, the Madison Ultra 50 was launched on its own. It is a 50-kilometer downhill race from Monument Ridge to Varney Bridge that crosses the Madison River. 

With the launch of the Madison Ultra 50, the GYAS became a nine-event race series:  Madison Triathlon, Madison Duathlon, Madison Marathon, Madison Half Marathon, Big Sky Marathon, Big Sky Half Marathon, Madison Ultra 50, Madison River Run (a.k.a. Water to Whiskey 5K), and the Tour de Gravelly.  With the bundling together of several races (e.g. the Madison Trifecta, double marathon, etc..), there are several different race categories available for signup. The races are on public land (except for the 5K) and are limited to 150 athletes per US Forest Service regulations. The race headquarters and staging point for all these races is in Ennis, Montana. The starting lines are spread throughout Madison County and nearly all of them are on public land.

In 2024, the Madison Marathon will be in its 17th year.  It’s been an incredible journey. With this new website, the newsletter, and the new mission of the GYAS to become a leverage tool for communities from around the world, we’re just getting started at the GYAS. 

Thanks for reading our story.

Sam and Colter Korsmoe

Race Directors of the Greater Yellowstone Adventure Series races