What it takes for the Governor's Cup to "run" each year

Early on Saturday morning, there will be hundreds of runners from across the nation hitting the pavement as the Governor's Cup will be under way across the Helena area.

The iconic, and historic, race will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and offer runs like the full marathon, to a marathon relay, half marathon, 10k, 5k, kids marathon, and a fun run for everyone to enjoy. The Governor’s Cup Race Director, Bryan Haines, says they are expecting around 2,300 participants to run in the races including more than 130 marathon runners.

More information about the races and race routes can be found here.

"We have runners coming from 38 different states. We're up to runners from 40 different Montana counties and, you know, our bread and butter, our huge support of course is the Helena Valley. But the Governor's Cup is a statewide, and really nationwide, event every year," said Haines.

It's a huge event to put together for runners to enjoy the Helena area, as well as to keep the history of the race alive. Haines says that they would appreciate any help the community could lend with volunteers for the race, but also other ways the community can help.

"Obviously running the event supports the Governor's Cup, and we're very fortunate that every registration dollar and every sponsorship dollar goes through the Governor's Cup goes right to The Caring Foundation of Montana, which supports our CareVan Program. So even if you make donations to the Caring Foundation, you are directly supporting our CareVan Program, indirectly supporting the Governor's Cup.

Haines is also appreciative of everyone helping and participating in the races, for them to put it on year in and year out.

"We just love the Helena community... Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana, we take great pride in putting this event on. It really speaks to what we care about. We care about the physical wellness, as well as the mental wellness of of our of our communities, of our people across the state."

All races will end at the finish line near Anchor Park, where there will be booths set up for all to enjoy the festivities. Packet pickup for the race will be on Friday at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Downtown Helena.

The races will begin as early as 6 a.m. and will end at noon, so remember, if you are heading out the door on Saturday, plan ahead for traffic and closed-off roads for the race.