Marathon Runner Outruns Black Bear In Maine

How do you get away from a black bear if you can't climb a tree or can't swim in a nearby lake? You run! We have the story of a junior at the University of Maine and his lucky escape.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Would you rather drown or be eaten by a bear? Moninda Marube from Kenya, junior at University of Maine, finished third in the 2012 Maine Marathon, faced that choice this week. He was out on an 18-mile training run on a trail near his home in Auburn, Maine, when he saw two huge black bears on the path in front of him. He told the Lewiston-Auburn Sun Journal he knew black bears can climb trees so he didn't. He thought about jumping into Auburn Lake but can't swim - bears can.

So Mr. Marube ran toward a vacant house and screamed. He says the bears pursued him, but he got to the house first and broke into a screened-in porch. He says the bears sniffed but did not try to break through that thin mesh screen. Mr. Marube had finished second in a race just the day before, but he told the Sun Journal he would have won that race if he'd been chased by bears. And unlike steroids, I don't think being chased by bears isn't against the rules.

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