On Saturday, June 23 at 8:15am, 300+ race participants will discover why the Wild Bear is so aptly named. Featuring a one-third mile, open-water swim on scenic Range Pond; a 16-mile bike race; and a 5K run – 2 miles of which is off road on trails; the Wild Bear is the best short-distance adventure race that rural Maine has to offer.
“Range Pond is pristine,” says race organizer Will Thomas of Tri-Maine Productions, “and the bike ride is chalk full of surprises.”
Now in its second year and at capacity for both the triathlon and the duathlon, Wild Bear was designed by Tri-Maine to be more of an adventure race than its series predecessor, Iron Bear. According to Thomas, Range Pond State Park is a fantastic venue – a wooded setting with rolling landscapes and a “real backwoods Maine wilderness feel.” Whereas Iron Bear has more of a college, campus feel, Wild Bear is just that – wild.
“It’s kind of hard core out in the back woods of Maine,” relates Thomas. “At the same time, Wild Bear is clearly a ‘first timer, friendly race.’”
Participants may wish to test the bike course once or twice before they do the race. The ride starts out as a 4-mile flat course. There is a sharp right hand turn, and then, bang. There it is. A wall. The ride turns up for .25 miles with an average gradient of 10%. “Last year there was a lot of carnage,” relates Thomas, “People didn’t expect the steep gradient, and their gearing was not where it should have been. Chains came off. People came off their bikes. More than a third of the field walked their bikes to the top.”
Oh, and watch out for the train. Thomas tried to determine its schedule to work around it, but apparently there is no pre-determined schedule. People could get stuck waiting behind the train, kind of like the pro cycling peloton in the 2006 edition of Paris-Roubaix.
Beginning promptly at 8:15AM, racers will go off in waves of 50-60 people by age category. The fastest swimmers will go first. Thomas is looking for a winning time in the neighborhood of 1:05. He has sited local triathletes Rob Smith and Kurt Perham as possible winners. But watch out for the ladies. A majority of this year’s participants are woman, and a “wild bear” with a fast time could be hiding among them. There are also a bunch of unknowns participating from states as far away as Colorado, South Dakota and Florida. In fact, a total of 11 states are represented at this year’s Wild Bear.
The only thing certain about this race is that it is sure to be wild!
Did you participate in the Wild Bear last year? If so, tell us about your experiences. What should readers know?
Sounds great for us over 65 couch potatoes. We do have Ironman and half iron man races in our area. Our iron man winners end up in Hawaii in other words its for pros. We need something that is more fun and "Wild". We live in southern British Columbia, no bears but lots up north.
My letter is to find out if we could use the "Wild Bear" name such as "Oliver's Wild Bear". In time if it goes over we could start some friendly cross country competitions.
This is all in my head and mind at present but I know it would work.
Please advise if there is a trade mark infringement here.
E.H. Rick Kellow
Posted by: Rick Kellow | July 19, 2007 at 11:08 AM