As Rich DeSimone stood waiting for the start of the Western States Endurance Run to begin, he listened as an announcer prepared the runners for the grueling race ahead.

Alongside 400 other competitors in the mountains of Squaw Valley, Calif., where they would soon run 100 miles, climb 19,000 feet up before crashing 21,000 feet down rocky terrain under a blistering sun and pitch- black midnight, DeSimone heard the words that would emphasize the long journey he took just to reach this level of competition.

"We could not endure without the unspoken support of our companions on the trail and the palpable support of friends who waited with aid at the checkpoints, paced us through the night and kept us on the trail this day and months of training before," a man read from a Los Angeles Times opinion editorial written more than 20 years prior.

The words and their meaning had not changed, because in the sport of ultrarunning - completing distances more than the 26.2 marathon - it takes more than just the single competitor to complete a race.

For months, the 55-year-old runner joined up with fellow Helenans, ran the hundreds of miles of trails that loop around the outskirts of the city and conversed with dozens of other ultrarunners.

When he passed from daylight into darkness, forded rivers and took a moment to eat a sports bar and get a drink at one of the Western States' 25 checkpoints, DeSimone had nearly 50 people watching him progress over a Web site that showed just where he was on the course, thanks to a microchip in his yellow wristband.

His 19-year-old son, Clayton, drove to walking paths to catch him as he arrived at accessible points. Meanwhile, friends and relatives watching him from hundreds of miles away left messages on his answering machine throughout the 30-hour event calling him crazy, but always encouraging him on.

"I believe a great part of this is social," DeSimone said about his hobby. "Most towns in Montana have some kind of running community and Helena has an excellent one."

Though now halfway through the summer, the biggest season for ultrarunning is still in full effect and those who enjoy completing the tough, sometimes dangerous distances can be seen criss-crossing trails, climbing mountains, even running in the dead of night to prepare for the events.

In fact, it's hard to compete in an ultramarathon across the United States without running into a Montanan.

DeSimone wasn't the only competitor from Montana to complete the Western States Endurance Run that began on June 23.

Nikki Kimball of Bozeman won the race for a third year in a row in 18 hours, 12 minutes and 38 seconds.

Cheering her on and filling up waterbottles and packing gooey energy bars was Montana Senator Max Baucus.

The two became friends when Baucus aspired to tame the rugged run. He contacted Kimball to get tips and training advice.

"Over the last couple of years I've kind of begun to know him. And of course, what brought us together was running," Kimball said. "Finishing Western States is a dream for many ultrarunners. Because that was his dream, he wanted information from me."

Baucus qualified for the event when he completed the JFK 50-miler in Maryland in under 11 hours, but during the race he took a stumble, hitting his head on a rock and spilling blood down his face. Just 12 miles in, he had to complete the rest of it with the injury.

Of course, he got some interesting looks from volunteers and competitors the like. Kids along the trail declined to high-five him, a few even responded with a resounding "Ewwww!"

The blow didn't slow him down in the race, but more than a month later, the senator found he had problems dressing himself before a speech. He couldn't remember how to tie his tie or even button up his shirt.

He ended up needing surgery to relieve swelling in his brain, and after a motorcyle accident left him injured a few weeks later, he declined the opportunity to run the race.

It's stories like Baucus' war wounds that are often told among runners when they head out on a jaunt. It's what brings them together.

"Lots of times, people with similar interests get together," Kimball said. "If my passion was chess I'd probably go somewhere where chess is big.

"With running it's particularly good, because if people run about the same pace, you can be quite social."

But long distance runners share more than just memories of their favorite runs. They are often willing to give training tips on how to overcome a particularly tough race, like Western States.

DeSimone said he needed that advice to prepare for and overcome the terrain.

"I have three things working against me: I'm old, I'm bigger than most people and my feet aren't good," DeSimone said. "To balance that out, I had to have brains."

The scientist who works for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said he is no doubt the calculating sort.

He devised a training schedule that included some eight-hour runs over rocky trails, hill repeats to strenghthen his legs and a headlamp-assisted midnight run to get used to running in the dark. Though the Western States had volunteers dishing out meals and food on the course, he decided instead to pack his own nutritional bars so he could monitor his calorie intake for specific areas of the course.

In the end, it helped. He finished in a time of 28 hours, 17 minutes and 46 seconds and received a bronze beltbuckle for completing in under 30 hours. Those who do it in under 24 get a silver buckle, among the most coveted clothing accessories for American ultrarunners.

As it turned out, the planning not only helped him finish the race but became a source of inspiration.

For 16 weeks he had a daily plan that he was able to follow and each day bring him closer to his eventual goal. His sense of achievement came not only from the single race, but the preparation leading up to it.

Baucus said it is definitely much easier to get out and run when he has a plan.

Following footpaths that lead him by the Potomac River in Washington D.C., the senator finds time to run four or five days a week, usually in the early morning.

He, like DeSimone, first began running in his college years as a way to release tension.

After winning his first senate election in 1978, a friend named Bob Fitzgerald asked him if he wanted to participate in a "real" race.

Baucus agreed to run the Governor's Cup, but didn't put a lot of emphasis on it. At first.

"I didn't think much about it, until I opened up the paper to find out Bob had told them I'd be running the marathon."

He immediately began preparing and finished his first 26.2-miler in 3 hours, 40 minutes.

"I thought: 'Not bad for my first marathon,' " Baucus said.

For all three runners, it was easy getting caught up in the sport since they have the perfect training grounds.

Kimball, who had been a collegiate Nordic skier and biathlete, left her home in upstate New York to workout with others in Bozeman.

"A lot of athletes move to the Bozeman area in particular because other athletes are here and we know they are," she said. "One of the reasons I moved here was because I knew I would have more training partners here than in upstate New York."

Even though Kimball could have trained at an Olympic training center right around the corner at Lake Placid.

DeSimone has heard of other runners' training routes, and sometimes it makes him cringe.

"People in Houston, they run up and down the stairs. And in Florida, they run the ramps to the interstate. There's no hills," he said. "They're having to fly for their weekend runs.

"It's hard to think that there's a place more friendly for running than Helena."

Or a place with so many people just like them.

Every Tuesday, anywhere from 40 to 60 participants congregate at the Vigilante Stadium for a track workout.

The noon get together began about five years ago as an informal meeting between a few friends on their lunch break. Since then it has ballooned to an e-mail list of more than 120.

They rent buses for competitions like the Montana Cup, and develop a schedule to help people peak for their particular races.

"It's pretty amazing to have that big of a group in this small of a town," said Brian Wieck, one of the founding members. "The numbers just show that its a fairly good running town."

Technology has been a big factor. With the internet, running groups are able to communicate and attract new members.

The Helena Running Club is just one of seven Montana groups listed on www.runmt.com. They allow runners of every ability and welcome newcomers who are looking for a challenge.

All it takes, Wieck said, is for people to overcome their fear and give it a try.

DeSimone has learned that lesson, and still remembers the ending of that first introduction to his 100-mile journey:

"Western States proves that honor lies not so much in reaching the finish as in daring to arrive at the start."