The Ladies of Le Grizz

Last month, Missoula-based runner Evie Tate lowered the women’s record at the 50-mile Le Grizz footrace for the first time in nearly four decades. But even as a new generation of athletes rewrites the record books at one of the oldest ultramarathons in the world, they’re preserving the race’s rich tradition while supporting the nonprofit Glacier Institute.
Ever since Evie Tate won her debut Le Grizz 50-mile Ultramarathon in 2021, the Missoula-based physical therapist and endurance athlete has known she would need to summon a near-perfect performance to lower the women’s overall record, set in 1985 by Roberta “Bobbie” Pomroy. Many old-timers regarded Pomroy’s blazing time of 6 hours, 37 minutes and 53 seconds as bulletproof, enduring as it did for nearly 40 years.