A female grizzly bear with two cubs disrupted an ultramarathon in Canada late Sunday, when she charged nearby campers and then then followed them.
The Divide 200 race had to be rerouted, but nobody was mauled, Trail Runner Magazine reported.
The campers were near Winnow Mountain Lake in Alberta, Canada. The race started Friday south of Calgary, in southern Alberta.
The racecourse was rerouted out of an abundance of caution.
No Time To Waste When Bears Charge
Competitive trail runner and Goshen County resident Joe Wilson told Cowboy State Daily that he’d heard reports of the grizzly incident in Canada.
It struck a chord with him. He hasn’t raced in the Divide 200, but he’s run other trail races that have routed through grizzly country.
Among runners, there are dark humor jokes, such as quipping about making sure you can outrun any nearby competitors if a grizzly shows up on the trail, he said.
However, bear safety during trail races is no joke, he added.
When racing in grizzly country, he always carries bear spray.
“And it can’t be in a pack where you can’t reach it. It’s got to be in a holster where you can get to it right away,” he said.
That’s good advice. Bear safety experts say there isn’t time to fumble around with bear spray when a grizzly charges.
Trail Running A Grueling Sport
Trail running has steadily gained popularity, but it isn’t for the meek.
Events such as the Boston Marathon are run on city streets. Trail races take place on backcountry hiking trails, sometimes interconnected by gravel roads.
They vary in distance. Some are the standard marathon distance, just over 26 miles. Others are shorter.
But some stretch to ultramarathon distances of 50 or even 100 miles, and can take days to complete.
In August, Wilson ran the 100-mile ultramarathon course in the Lean Horse trail race in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
“That was my first, and probably last, 100-miler. I don’t think I’ll do that again,” he said.
‘Brain Fog’
Wyoming’s premier event, the Big Horn Trail Run in the Dayton area, doesn’t take runners through grizzly country.
However, Wilson said he’s competed in events in grizzly country, and that definitely put a twist on things.
In addition to carrying bear spray, it’s important to stay alert in grizzly country, he said. And that can be challenging when grinding out mile after mile during a race.
“You can get into that spot brain fog, where you’re not thinking clearly to begin with,” he said.
“If you’re not careful, you can be a sitting duck,” Wilson added.
Bear Conflict
As more people take to the mountains and forests, the potential grows for conflicts with grizzlies.
It’s not only trail runners and hikers; mountain bikers can have run-ins with grizzlies as well.
Things ended the worst way possible way near Glacier National Park, Montana, in 2016. Mountain biker Brad Treat, 38, and a friend surprised a bear at close range, and it attacked Treat.
Reports from the time indicate that Treat might have collided with the bear at a high rate of speed.
Wilson said that incident hit him hard. He knew Treat, who in college was on the University of Wyoming’s cross-country running team.
Wilson at the time ran cross-country for Utah’s Weber State University, and he and Treat competed in some races.
“He was a great runner and a wonderful guy,” Wilson said.
Three Bears At Jenny Lake
Wilson said when he’s training on his home turf in Goshen County, he doesn’t carry bear spray.
There are mountain lions there, but they’re shy and elusive, likely because they’re frequently chased by hunters with hounds, he said.
But in grizzly country, there can’t be any exceptions to the bear spray rule, he said.
He recalled recently admonishing a friend who went on a training run in the Jenny Lake area of Grand Teton National Park and initially didn’t plan to take bear spray.
“I told him, ‘You will take bear spray. You have to take bear spray,’” Wilson said.
“And sure enough, he ended up seeing three bears,” Wilson said.
Luckily, the bears, a female with two cubs, never got close to his friend, but it was good to know he had the spray, in case he needed it, Wilson said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
