Running with the Bears

Running with the Bears

Running with the Bears

( 5 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Greenville,
    California,
    United States
  • August
  • 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Denny

Lakeland, Florida, United States
16 6
2016
"My New Favorite Race"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Denny 's thoughts:

If you're looking for a small town race that makes an impact, this is the race for you!

Greenville, CA, is a small town, and when all of the runners and their families show up for race weekend the population of the city virtually doubles! Running With the Bears is an annual race that is a major fundraiser for Mountain Circle Family Services, which is a non-profit organization that works with kids in the foster care system.

I loved this race so much, I'm not really sure where to start when it comes to talking about it! The night before the race, there is a pre-race pasta dinner (proceeds benefiting MCFS) that takes place along with packet pickup. And this year there was a speaker at the event as well. (Full disclosure, I was the speaker!) Being that this is a small race, the expo flowed very smoothly and the line for packet pick up was never longer than 2 or 3 runners deep.

And when it comes to goodie bags... GOOD LORD! I can promise you've never gotten as many samples in a race goodie bag as you'll get from RWTB. It's ridiculous! And the products are all good too! And the finishers medals are legit, not at all similar to what I've gotten from other small races.

The aid stations for this race are also second to none. Each aid station is hosted by a different community group from town and they are all in a competition for best aid station. The runners vote based on favorite theme, best treat, and best overall, and the winner in each category is given a cash prize. The folks that host the aid stations really go all out, and it is legitimately difficult to decide which aid station is best.

All in all, I don't have anything bad to say about this race. The only reason the expo quality received 3 stars is simply that it's small and doesn't have vendors. But for a race this size, that's to be expected.

To read my full race recap and a detailed top 10 list for why I loved this race, check out http://dizruns.com/running-with-the-bears

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