I spent the weekend in Logan watching and helping out a bit with The Bear 100. This is a wild, hot then freezing 100 mile trail run. On top of that you have over 21,000 feet of climbing; bring your best legs and an iron stomach. It starts in Logan and ends at Bear Lake on the Idaho side. The temperatures reach into the 80's during the first half of the course with almost no shade. The trail is rough and dirty. With the heat it's very easy to lose your stomach early on in this race. If you survive the heat of the day then you have 30 degree temperatures to deal with as the sun goes down. When the sun says goodnight it gets very, very dark and freezing cold. There's no cell phone coverage at all on this race, if you get lost or have a problem along the course, you're in trouble. The Bear is a tough race for only the toughest runners on the planet. Waiting and watching at Tony's Grove (mile 52), runners say the climb to the half-way mark is BRUTAL, rivaling any climb at Wasatch. There's another big climb out of Franklin Basin (mile 62) as you make your way to Beaver Mountain. To finish the race, runners scramble straight down through fist sizes rocks and loose dirt as they cross into Idaho. It's amazing to watch as runners finish, surviving an actual bear attack might be easier than surviving The Bear 100. Congratulations to all the finishers; Celeste Collman tagged her 2nd Bear on Saturday. Michael Gruber has his finish after training on a treadmill in Iraq all summer. Steve Newman conquered his first 100 miler. Bruce Nelson got it dialed in and got his finish. Les Vierra ran with an injured foot but still got it done. Jim McGregor has mastered Wastach (14 times) and can now add The Bear to his resume. Tony Christensen has himself a new buckle for his collection and Tom Remkes continues to impress with a sub-24 hour run. Cheryl Meltzer is a tough runner and getting better & better, look out Karl. Congratulations to Jonathan Stuart on a very inspirational finish, incredible! Nice work Phil & Leland; your race scares the heck out of me. Can't wait to try it. Results at www.bear100.com
