The Bear Water Run is one of three popular races in the Twin Cities for runners looking for that final tune-up race before participating in an upcoming marathon. I ran Bear Water five years ago, prior to running the 2009 NYC marathon. The Bear Water 20 mile course is two full laps around White Bear Lake, using a combination of residential streets, paved trails and county highways. It begins and ends at a county park on the NW corner of the lake. The course provides a variety of challenges along the way. The south side of the lake has a number of elevation changes, while the NE side of the lake funnels runners along a narrow shoulder of a local county road. The course also has many twists and turns along the route.
It was a beautiful day for a race with sunny skies, calm winds, with a crisp 39 degree air temperature at the start. The air temp rose steadily over the next few hours to a comfortable 55 degrees by the time I crossed the finish line. Today's participant field was smaller than last time I ran. In 2009 there were 600 runners, but today's race was about 400. With the nice weather I decided to run an aggressive (for me) marathon pace around a 7:15/mile and carry it as deep into the race as I could.
The first 10 mile lap was no problem. I was right on my target pace when I began the second lap. However, the field of runners had thinned considerably as I started my second lap. So much so, that at times I had no awareness of any runners in front of me or behind me. This made it feel much more like a training run than a race. It's always easier to maintain pace with other runners around to challenge you. I lost some ground to my pace among the "hill" miles (12-16) on the south side of the lake.
The final 3 miles to the finish along the county road shoulder was also a bit of a challenge. Sunny temps in the mid 50's began to feel warm. There was also a large group of troops in backpack and full gear out for a training hike along the east side of the lake. The troops walked in small groups of 5-10 and were spread out along a 5 mile stretch. This proved to be a bit of an obstacle course, while also trying to avoid oncoming traffic. Many of the troops passed on words of encouragement which was appreciated and I reciprocated as best I could with a thanks for their service. But I lost some pace over this stretch before re-entering the county park and on to the finish line.
I finished with a time of 2:25;44. 3 minutes faster than my 2009 time and my fastest 20 mile race by 26 seconds, among the four I've completed. My overall pace was 7:18/mile. 3 seconds slower than my goal, but still a good tune-up run for next months marathon. I finished 23rd overall among 399 finishers and 2nd among 36 in my age group. A 50 year old guy smoked me by over 15 minutes, finishing 5th overall in the race! I guess I'm becoming one of the old guys in races that use 10 vs. 5 year age group categories. I was no competition for him, who frankly ran an outstanding time no matter what the age.
Now it's on to the Twin Cities Marathon on October 5th. My only marathon this year. Praying for good weather, as the Metrodome, which for over 20 years, provided indoor shelter for the runners to prepare for the start of the race. But the Metrodome is long gone and the new stadium is several years away from taking it's place. So for the first time, runners will be exposed to the elements, before the start of the race. Should be fun!
Race results:
