When you’re running on a trail, you know there’s a chance of bumping into some of the wildlife that calls the area home. Depending on your location, that could mean snakes, deer, or even mountain lions. But if you’re in Whitehorse, Canada, that means bears.

At the Yukon River Trail Marathon, not just one, but two grizzlies wandered their way onto the course, CBC News first reported. Brendan Morphet, who was leading the race, was the first person to spot the bears.

“I yelled and yelled. They wouldn’t go anywhere,” Morphet told CBC News. “I figured, ‘Eh, maybe I’ll go yell again, maybe it buggered off.’ And as I came around again, I could see it making its way toward me, kind of doing a little run, and then I just—I was gone.”

And while having to backtrack because of the bears cost Morphet the lead, he came in second with a time of 3:26:51. Race director Ken Sylvestre told CBC News there would be no time adjustments to account for any detours.



“Well, it’s a wilderness race. There are bears. We’ve had bears before,” he said. “We want to be as clear as we can that there are bears out there and individual runners have to be comfortable dealing with that.”

Sylvestre also said they’re considering “minor changes” to next year’s race—in addition to the conservation officer pamphlets and the bear warning that they already give to runners—to make sure everyone knows what to do in case they see a bear on the course.

Erin Loxam, a spokesperson for Yukon’s Department of the Environment, told CBC News that a conservation officer should always be called in the case of a bear sighting.



“Conservation officers rely on the public to call the tip line and report your bear sightings,” she said. “Especially one that could be aggressive or have the potential for human-wildlife conflict.”



While Morphet said his run-in with the bears was terrifying, he had a good race experience overall.



“There was a lot of sportsmanship that happened later when I really crashed,” he said to CBC News. “I came out unscathed, and I have a great story to tell about it. It could have ended a lot worse.”

Danielle Zickl Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

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