FORMAT
100k, 50 mile, 50k, half marathon, and 10k.
95% of the course is on soft surface and single track dirt trail.
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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 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 = 475 ft.
- Half Marathon = 900 ft.
- 50k = 2,175 ft.
- 50 mile = 3,400 ft.
- 100k = 4,250 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 inside Bear Creek Lake Park at designated lots, near the Start/Finish area. Please view the race guide for further details and map.
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 for water and electrolyte drink, and all runners will be responsible for carrying their own refillable hand-held bottle or hydration system. With an average distance of only 2.5 miles between each aid station, you’ll appreciate not needing to “overload” your bottles with fluids. Paper cups will be provided for soda, however you will be required to throw your cup away before leaving the aid station. Also, following the trail runner mantra of “leave no trace”, any runner found intentionally littering on the trail will be disqualified from the race.
HydraPouch: One option for runners to run “light”, without a bottle, is the HydraPouch, a soft rubber, hand-held pouch with a clip that will allow you to fill and drink your fluids quickly at each aid station. (Some runners in the Half Marathon & 10K may like this option, however hand-held bottles are recommended for the ultras.) HydraPouches are now available at Runners Roost – Lakewood, and may also be purchased at www.hydrapouch.com.
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 average pace. The course limit is 15 hours.
| Distance | Final Lap Start | Elapsed Time/Mileage | Finish Line Closes | Course Limit |
| 100K | 6:00pm | 11 hrs & 30 min / 50 miles | 9:30pm | 15:00 |
| 50M | 6:00pm | 11 hrs & 30 min / 37.5 miles | 9:30pm | 15:00 |
| 50k | — | — | 6:00pm | 10:30 |
| 1/2 Marathon | — | — | 11:00am | 4:00 |
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 receive crew assistance at the Start/Finish area ONLY. Crewing assistance at other locations on the course will not be allowed. Runners may leave a drop-bag at the Start/Finish, and also may receive crew assistance at the Start/Finish area. Any runner receiving crew support outside of the Start/Finish area will be disqualified.
Aid Station Grub
- Gatorade
- Soda
- Water
- Cookies
- Fig Newtons
- Pretzels
- Chips/Crackers
- M&M’s
- PB&J Sandwiches
- Bananas
- Melon
Race Hotels
The Courtyard Denver Southwest/Lakewood has a special hotel rate for the Bear Chase!
Book online or call 303-985-9696 and provide the group code “BCR”.
- 10K
- $55
- 350 Racers Max
- Half
- $80
- 650 Racers Max
- 50K
- $100
- 200 Racers Max
- 50 Mile
- $120
- 300 Racers Max
- 100K
- $140
- 100 Racers Max
A portion of every registration will be donated 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
3 Amazing Trail Races
Rock Hawk / Chase the Moon / Bear Chase
Rock Hawk
May 26, 2018 / Half, 10K, 5K
Castle Rock, CO
Chase the Moon
July 27 – 28, 2018 / Team Relay, Ultra
Highlands Ranch, CO
Record Holders
- 100K
- Women
- Men
- 100K
- Kaci Lickteig (8:40:45), 2014
- Michael Robbert (9:44:51), 2017
- 50 Mile
- Courtney Dauwalter (6:36:14), 2017
- Patrick Stewart (6:36:36), 2015
- 50K
- Malia Crouse (3:56:32), 2016
- Benjamin Zywicki (3:21:13), 2014
- Half
- Katie Blackett (1:29:31), 2012
- Joel Hamilton (1:15:16), 2011
- 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 for all races due to the massive flooding at the lake.
