FORMAT
100K, 50 Mile, 50K, Half Marathon, and the Baby Bear 10K.
99% of the course is on soft surface and single track dirt trail.
The Bear Chase Trail Race
The Bear Chase Race Endurance Festival is a 100K, 50 Mile, 50K, Half Marathon and the Baby Bear 10K trail race at beautiful Bear Creek Lake Park, in Lakewood, CO.
An excellent race for first time trail and ultramarathoners, runners will experience a variety of challenging terrain and sweeping panoramic views throughout the race. The course is pretty fast (by trail/ultra standards), and not overly technical.
Voted Best Trail Race in Competitor Magazine’s “Best Of” runner poll, 2010-2016.
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Elevation
Approximate elevation gain & change:
- Baby Bear 10K = 310 / 320 ft.
- Half Marathon = 900 / 1,800 ft.
- 50K = 2,060 / 4,120 ft.
- 50 Mile = 3,500 / 7,000 ft.
- 100K = 4,375 / 8,750 ft.
Weather
- Date: Last weekend in September
- Avg Low: 41°
- Avg High: 76°
- Record Low: 29° (1985)
- Record High: 91° (1992)
- Avg Precipitation: 0.03″
- Avg Snow: NA
Parking
Parking will be in designated lots near the Start/Finish area at Soda Beach. Runners will be granted free entry before the race start. After the start of the race, spectators who wish to leave the park may do so but will need to purchase a daily park pass for reentry. Vehicles with an annual Bear Creek Lake Park pass may reenter the park at no additional charge. See race guide for complete details. (Please note there is NO runner parking at the SUP Marina.)
Cup-Free Racing
In an effort to minimize trash on the trails, The Bear Chase is a CUP-FREE RACE. We will not provide paper cups at aid stations, and all runners will be responsible for carrying their own refillable hand-held bottle, hydration system, or Speedcup. With an average distance of only 3.1 miles between each aid station, you’ll appreciate not needing to overload your bottles with fluids. Also, following the trail runner mantra of “leave no trace”, any runner found intentionally littering on the trail will be disqualified from the race.
Course Cutoff / Limit
There will be a hard cutoff for all ultrarunners at 6:00pm. Any runner who has not started their final lap by 6:00pm will not be allowed to continue. 100K runners missing the hard cutoff will be given credit for a 50M finish, but will be excluded from age group awards. After 6:00pm, we will have rolling cutoffs at each aid station following a 16:45/mile average pace.
| Distance | Final Lap Start | Elapsed Time/Mileage | Finish Line Closes | Course Limit |
| 100K & 50M | 6:00pm | 11 hrs & 30 min / 50 & 37.5 miles | 9:30pm | 15:00 |
| 50K | 6:00pm | 11 hrs / 18.7 miles | 9:30pm | 14:30 |
| 1/2 Marathon | — | — | 11:00am | 4:00 |
| Baby Bear 10K | — | — | 11:00am | 3:00 |
Runner Tracking
Friends and family can follow your progress along the Bear Chase course in real time!
Pacing
100K and 50M runners will be allowed the assistance of pacing after 3:00pm. Runners may only have one pacer at a time and “muling” (i.e., carrying food/fluids/clothing) is not allowed. All pacers will be required to check in at the Start/Finish prior to pacing, and may only begin pacing from the Start/Finish.
Crewing
Runners may leave a drop-bag at the Start/Finish and receive crew assistance at the Start/Finish area ONLY. Crewing assistance at other locations on the course is prohibited, and any runner receiving crew support outside of the Start/Finish area will be disqualified. (Crew and spectators are welcome to cheer runners along the course, but must NOT provide aid outside of the Start/Finish area.)
Aid Station Grub
- Water
- Gatorade
- Soda
- Cookies
- Fig Newtons
- Pretzels
- Chips/Crackers
- M&M’s/Skittles
- PB&J Sandwiches
- Bean Tortilla Wraps
- Bananas, Oranges, Watermelon, Pickles
- LET’S GO!
- EARLY BIRD (Thru 4/30)
- REGULAR (5/1 – 7/31)
- LATE (8/1 – 9/17)
- WEEK OF (9/18 – Race)
- 100K
- $175
- $185
- $195
- $205
- 50 Mile
- $155
- $165
- $175
- $185
- 50K
- $135
- $145
- $155
- $165
- 13.1 Mile
- $95
- $105
- $115
- $125
- 10K
- $65
- $75
- $85
- $95
A portion of every registration goes to the City of Lakewood and Bear Creek Lake Park to help fund open space preservation projects.
Check out the other races in the
Bear Chase Race Series
4 Amazing Trail Races
Rock Hawk
North Fork
Chase the Moon
Bear Chase
Rock Hawk
May 6, 2023
Half Marathon, 10K, 5K
Castle Rock, CO
North Fork
June 3, 2023
50M, 50K
Buffalo Creek, CO
Chase the Moon
June 30, 2023
Team Relay, Solo Ultra
Highlands Ranch, CO
Record Holders
- 100K
- Women
- Men
- 100K
- Kaci Lickteig (8:40:45), 2014
- Cory Logsdon (8:26:37), 2018
- 50 Mile
- Courtney Dauwalter (6:36:14), 2017
- Patrick Stewart (6:36:36), 2015
- 50K
- Kim Dobson (3:54:23), 2018
- Matt Daniels (3:11:59), 2022
- Half
- Corey Conner (1:29:15), 2018
- Joel Hamilton (1:15:16), 2011
- Baby Bear 10K
- Heather Utrata (38:39), 2010
- Matthew Kempton (34:21), 2012
2013 results are not eligible for course records since an alternate course was used due to the massive flooding at the lake. 2020 race not held due to COVID-19.
