Spartan Race at Crosscut: A Balance of Recreation, Sustainability, and Community Impact
Last year, Crosscut Mountain Sports Center hosted a Spartan Race for the first time — welcoming nearly 7,000 participants to the property. Spartan Races are high-intensity events that combine trail running with a series of challenging obstacles such as climbing walls, carrying heavy objects, and navigating rope climbs. While the event brings energy and excitement to Bozeman, last year’s event also raised some concerns about its impact, particularly due to unseasonably wet and snowy conditions leading up to the early-June race. We heard the concerns from our community and combined them with our own evaluation of last year’s event to guide changes for this second year of the Spartan Race at Crosscut. A top priority for us is to ensure impacts from the event do not impact Crosscut’s programs and services.
This year Crosscut Mountain Sports Center is again partnering with the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce for this event. The Chamber is serving as the local event host of the Montana Spartan Trifecta Weekend, while Crosscut will serve as the event venue.
We’ve made important changes to ensure that hosting the Spartan Race aligns with our mission of land stewardship and community engagement:
Race Date Moved Back: The 2025 race will be held in late June, allowing significantly more time for the property to dry out and recover from spring snowmelt and rain. The late June date aligns with when we typically open our single-track trails to mountain biking.
Strategic Course Design: Crosscut worked closely with the Spartan Race to designate specific areas for course use and protection. This year’s courses will avoid all Crosscut singletrack summer trails and most of our Nordic ski trail system, just as they did last year — but with even more targeted planning to steer clear of wetlands and sensitive zones.
Expert Oversight: Following last year’s race, Crosscut brought in a wetland specialist to evaluate the impact. The assessment confirmed that race-related damage was temporary and provided us with best practices to rehabilitate the land — practices that have already helped restore impacted areas.
The Spartan Race aligns with Crosscut Mountain Sports Center’s role as a mountain sports facility serving our community and visitors. Considerations that we made as we weighed whether and how to serve as the venue this year included:
Community Recreation: Crosscut is located within the Bridger Recreation Emphasis Area — a region designated for high-use, recreation-focused access to public and private lands. As a community nonprofit, part of our role is to steward this landscape in ways that support a wide range of shared outdoor experiences. Events like the Spartan Race contribute to that collective use. We’re committed to creating a welcoming space for participants across all the races we host or serve as a venue for.
Positive Participant Feedback: Thousands of racers and their families enjoyed their Spartan Race experience at Crosscut. We received messages from locals and visitors alike expressing how much they appreciated the setting, the challenge, and the hospitality.
Local Economic Benefits: Local businesses — many of which also support Crosscut — reported increased traffic and sales during the event weekend. For some, it was one of the busiest stretches of the summer. We value the opportunity to contribute to our local tourism economy.
We’re proud to host events that bring people together — and equally proud of the steps we’re taking to do it responsibly. We are looking forward to welcoming folks participating in the Spartan event at Crosscut once again.
