Year five the biggest ever for the Jackass Half

KELLOGG –– When Kelton Enich and the rest of her organizing committee contemplated hosting a half-marathon in the Silver Valley, the idea was to offer something new to the community and they didn’t care if only a small group of runners turned out.  

Five years later, the Jackass Half-Marathon & 5K is one of the most popular annual events in the area.  

671 runners representing more than 20 states made their way to the Silver Valley last Saturday to take part in the race, making it the biggest edition of the race to date.  

“It was really good,” Enich said. “Everything ran super smoothly. The energy was amazing.” 

The race kicks off in Wallace and follows the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes to Kellogg, where runners finish outside of Radio Brewing. While no changes were made to the racecourse, there were a few changes before the race started that may have been beneficial to the race.  

“Because of the construction at the 6th Street Bridge, we dropped the runners off near Wallace High School instead of down by City Limits,” Enich explained. “Sarah with Sol & Serre was down there and had the energy way for people as they warmed up.”  

The Jackass is organized in a way that keeps things light and fun while also encouraging people to be competitive. Keeping that fun, energetic spirit alive over the course of 13.1 miles can be challenging for some races, but running along the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes gives the organizers an unforeseen advantage.  

According to Enich, the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes requires that there are volunteers at every road crossing, no matter if it’s a busy traffic area or not, which means that runners encounter the race volunteers at steady intervals. Those volunteers are encouraged to play music, dress in costumes, and turn their stations into mini parties for the runners to enjoy along the way.  

Each year, the race gets bigger and bigger, with the pool of runners – and some volunteers - expanding across the country. Why do people love the Jackass so much? Enich believes it’s the atmosphere.  

The energy provided by the volunteers, the fun attached to picking up registration packets, and the race’s afterparty are all things that, Enich believes, grow the race’s popularity.  

Earlier this year, the Jackass was named the best half-marathon in Idaho by RaceRaves, and after another successful year, it’s likely to receive the honor again.  

“We really want the quality to be above any other race in the area,” Enich said. “I think a lot of people, myself included, have bucket list races they want to do each year, or they want to run a race in every state and ours has really blown up because of word of mouth.”  

Missoula runner KaeLoni Neville was the top female finisher on Saturday and took to social media afterward to gush about the experience.  

“What an incredible race,” Neville wrote. “I have so many feelings right now. I wasn’t supposed to be racing this race and crazy enough it didn’t feel like I was racing it. I was chatting with my racemate, cheering on other runners, and even dancing! That definitely does not feel like racing to me.”  

Enich made sure to shout out the race’s sponsors Radio Brewing, Sol & Serre, Silver Mountain, and Prospect Fitness, as well as the volunteers. 

“Our volunteers and sponsors are just so amazing,” Enich said. “Their energy is always so high and one of the compliments I tend to hear a lot is that our race is well-organized. We couldn’t do any of it with them.”