Running Up for Air | Mt Sentinel
About this race
Who's ready to run or hike laps up Mt. Sentinel... in February?! Tackling air quality and climate issues is a figurative mountain of a challenge. There's no better way to start tackling those issues while building community than by climbing a literal mountain. From that concept, RUFA was born.
Running Up for Air (RUFA) Mt. Sentinel is a 3, 6, 12 or 24-hour winter endurance challenge on Mt. Sentinel (5,158’ elevation), the iconic mountain on the edge of Missoula, that turns your physical effort into funding that supports clean air and local climate solutions right here in our valley.
Missoulians are lucky enough to have some of the best access to trails and wild places in the country. However, our beautiful valley is often plagued by poor air quality - from wildfire smoke in the summer and wintertime inversions, to year-long air pollution from transportation, buildings, waste management and more. Participants of RUFA Mt. Sentinel will attempt to summit the mountain as many times as possible to raise awareness and money to address air quality issues affecting our valley and home. With each registration, a fundraising page will be created on your behalf. Participants are encouraged to gather pledges from friends and family for each lap completed up the mountain.
All proceeds from this event go to Climate Smart Missoula and their efforts to improve air quality and health for all Montanans. This Missoula-based nonprofit has over 10 years of experience building and accelerating local climate solutions, from helping folks keep their indoor air clean during wildfire smoke season and planting trees, to transitioning methane-gas powered systems to efficient electric ones and going solar!
RUFA Mt. Sentinel is a part of the Up For Air Series, which states, "working for clean air is an endurance sport. Whether you’re accruing vert in one of our races, volunteering your time to make our events unforgettable, donating to fuel the cause, or becoming part of our incredible family of sponsors, RUFA is all about taking action. Every contribution makes a difference, so come be a part of something special and help us breathe new life into our communities."
Let's do this!
Past race photos by Anastasia Wilde:
2024, 2023, 2022
Pick your distance
Trail running
24 hr
Traction devices are REQUIRED
12 hr
Traction devices are REQUIRED
6 hr
Traction devices are REQUIRED
3 hr
Traction devices are REQUIRED
Typical race-day weather
Based on 7 years of Open-Meteo archive data for this event's race dates in Missoula, plus the 3 days either side.
The sun rises at 7:44 AM and sets at 5:55 PM local time (MST) in Missoula on February 12, 2027 — 10h 11m of daylight.
Course
No course map published yet.
The organizer hasn't released a route for this event, and we don't publish guesses. If you're the organizer, send us a GPX file and we'll draw the profile.
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Results — Running Up for Air | Mt Sentinel
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Where this page comes from. Race details were last updated on . We re-check listings regularly and again in the week before race day.
- Entries, prices, waves and inclusions — the event's official registration page
- Temperature and humidity — Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0)
- Elevation and terrain relief — Copernicus DEM GLO-90, ESA (CC BY 4.0)
- Comparisons and counts — Race Discovery calendar, 68 Missoula events
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