A smaller marathon and half-marathon event that's been described as friendly and enjoyable by several runners who participated in its inaugural running in 2008, the Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon, Half Marathon & 5K saw more than 300 runners cross the finish line in all rac...es combined, along a course that takes the field on an out-and-back route from Groveton High School into the nearby Davy Crockett National Forest, whose 160,000 acres are home to plentiful wildlife and East Texas woodlands, streams and grasslands.
Marked by rolling hills and an overall elevation change of about 400 feet, the course starts on the high school's track and field complex and takes runners on a combination of mostly paved roads mixed with short intervals of hard-packed gravel track at both the start and the half-way point. The course follows almost entirely a north-south route, in town along Cemetery Road and Dial Road and then onto Highway 3158 for the long stretch northward into the forest, where runners reach the halfway point on County Road 501.
After the turnaround on 501, the field then runs back along the same course they've just run, all the way back to the finish line at the high school on West 4th Street. Runners have a seven-hour time limit to complete the race, whether they're running the half or the full 26.2-mile marathon (which is a double-loop out-and-back along the same course). There's also a one-mile "Possum Walk" designed for kids and families, which is for runners and walkers and follows a half-mile course out to Possum Walk and back.
Both the half and the full marathons start at 7:00 AM, followed by the Possum Walk at 8:00 AM. Last but certainly not least, the "Bear Chaise" run that gives the event its name starts "anytime," organizers add, whenever spectators arrive to bring out their chairs and cheer on the runners. read more
Checking weather...
