Robertson: Old Glory on high this 4th of July

What celebrates American freedom quite like running up a mountain toting the stars and stripes as they fly in the wind?

Doing it to honor fallen veterans, according to Great Falls-area trail runners.

Six people rolled eastward out of the Electric City in the early-morning hours of Independence Day to haul Old Glory to the summit of Highwood Baldy Mountain, 7,670 feet above sea level.

"It was just a way to get your day started right, put a little more meaning into the day," said Gary Schoenhals, who organized the run via a Facebook post on the Great Falls-based Treasure State Trail Runners Facebook group.

In the post, Schoenhals gave a simple purpose.

"Why?" he wrote on June 29. "Because we can, and some of our great vets and fallen soldiers can't."

That was good enough to draw a small crowd, as it should have been.

Several of those who showed up are also members of Team Red, White & Blue, Schoenhals said, an organization dedicated to enriching veterans' lives through involvement in fitness activities. Their red shirts with the image of an eagle and letters "RWB" on the front are visible at most major races.

Schoenhals hopes to run Highwood Baldy again in 2016, and he wants to open the event up to anyone who may be interested in spicing up his or her Fourth of July.

"Hopefully next year we can make it a little bigger," he said.

And it shouldn't sound intimidating, Schoenhals added. "There were six of us who went up at varied athletic abilities. … It was great. It wasn't a race or anything."

Starting so early gave people a chance to enjoy the rest of their holiday.

"We could do the run, get it over and people still had the rest of the day," Schoenhals said.

And they could do it knowing they paid homage to those who cannot.

Mark D. Robertson writes a weekly recreation column for the Tribune on basically anything outside — slow pitch softball to ultramarathons. He can be reached via email, mrobertson@greatfallstribune.com, or by phone, 791-1470. You should also follow him on Twitter, @GFTrib_MRob.