The Veterans Day Race has turned into the Nicole Murray Invitational.

At Saturday’s 86th running of the Veterans Day Race in Butte, Murray, 53, claimed the female overall title for the seventh straight year. (Complete results)

She finished the 5-mile course in 33 minutes, 22.1 seconds for her 17th overall title in the storied race. Murray once again took home the Mary Whelan First-Place Trophy. That award was named after the winner of the first open division female race in 1976.

The victory means Murray has now run to a win on three different Veterans Day courses.

This year, the 5-mile race included two loops around the 2.5-mile race course. The change was made because of safety complaints.

Julie Clifford of Round Mountain, Nevada, placed second at 33:22, finishing one second ahead of Butte’s Michele Bazzanella.

Anaconda’s Spencer Fehr won the men’s title with a blistering time of 29:23. He beat second-place John Kirtley by 18 seconds. Fehr won the C. Owen Smithers First-Place Trophy, which was named after one of the co-founders of the event.

Rowen Sherbo placed third at 31:15.

James Holmes, 17, of Butte was the fastest male in the 2.5-mile race. He finished the course in 16:45. Fellow Butte Central runner Jim Bradshaw, also 17, took second in 16:59. Clancy’s Henry Sweeney, 16, placed third at 17:17.

Kherington Adams, a 13-year-old Butte Central eighth grader, was the fastest female in the shorter race. She finished in 19:50. Butte’s Suzie Kaluza, 64, took second at 20:57, and Meg Bradshaw, 43, placed third at 25:26.

Adams was awarded the Liza Merrifield Trophy, which was named after the first winner of the junior high race in 1973.

Connor Kachmarik, who won the 14-and-under male division in the 2.5mie race, took home the Martin Kearney Trophy, which was named after the 1940 winner and longtime race co-chairman.

Veteran Stephen Allen was presented with the John Wulf Lifetime Achievement Award.

In all, 72 runners and walkers completed the race on the breezy, cool Saturday in Butte. 

Montana’s oldest road race was created in 1934 by two World War I veterans, C. Owen Smithers and Charlie McAuliffe. Since then, the race has been held every Veterans Day (originally called Armistice Day) except during the World War II years between 1942-45. The event is one of the oldest races held annually in the west.