Letter to the Editor - Thanks for helping make a dream come true

Editor,

On June 5, I watched a dream come true.

When I moved back to Montana in 2009, I was running a half marathon every year. To train for them, I did a lot of shorter runs in town, but I dislike running loops, so for the long ones I went out to the Bear Paws and ran the highway.

I loved my hours running in the park. The mountains and lakes are so beautiful, and so good for my soul. I wanted to share this experience, and do something good for my town.

And I thought: the park to town is almost 26 miles ...We should host a marathon.

Fast-forward to this weekend, after years of scheming and planning and false starts, and now Havre Has It: the Bear Paw Marathon, hosted by the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce and supported by just about every organization you can think of, including city council, county commissioners, the park board, fire, search and rescue, medical, water station sponsors, photographers, bands, food trucks, bounce houses. … So many people caught the vision, and together we brought it to life.

Thank you Havre. The Paws are beautiful, but it really is the people who make this a special place.

Rachel Hutchison

Havre