Two Bear event qualifier for Boston Marathon

This weekend’s Two Bear Marathon features a new course and the race has gained new status as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon.

The Wave organizes the annual fundraising run, which is set for Sunday, Sept. 10. This year the race begins and ends at Depot Park downtown and follows what organizers say is a more accessible course by eliminating the trail portion of the run.

This year also marks the first year the Two Bear as a qualifier for the famous Boston Marathon.

Art Krueger, Director of The Wave, says major cities in the state host Boston Marathon qualifiers, including the Governor’s Cup in Helena, Missoula Marathon and the Bozeman Marathon.

“To be a Boston Marathon-qualifier, that is a huge thing for our valley, and we anticipate this will only help in making the marathon a ‘bucket list’ event,” he said. “We are one of just a few races that qualify in the state.”

In addition to the new status, organizers hope the marathon and half-marathon course is more accessible to a variety of runners. The previous course was considered one of the most challenging in the nation, they note, because of the rough terrain and trail-portion of the race.

The full marathon previously began on the Whitefish Trail and the first 15 miles followed the trail and dirt roads before finishing on pavement around Whitefish Lake and ending at The Wave.

The full 26.2-mile run, along with the 13.1-mile half marathon, will now take place entirely on paved roadways. Both begin and end at Depot Park.

The change may not seem monumental for those outside the sport, but for the running community, it opens up significant opportunities to grow the race and generate greater positive impact for the community, according to race director Jacob Deitz. He said previous races were not optimal for the average runner.

“There were runners that loved the trail section, but it was not as accessible as we’d like it to be,” Deitz said. “We’d like to pull more runners in and being in Depot Park for the finish, we want to get the community more involved.”

As of Tuesday, about 200 runners had registered for both races.

“Registration has been a little slow, but we’re optimistic and we think in the future we will pull in even more runners,” Deitz said noting that previously the Two Bear had been capped at 250 runners.

Deitz spent more than 20 hours on the course, measuring distance and elevations as part of the accreditation process for the Boston Marathon.

“They have stringent requirements so that all the courses [across the nation] are on an even playing field, whether a person is running in New York or California,” he said.

All money raised from the Two Bear goes back to The Wave Scholarship Fund, which is committed to “bringing affordable recreation and fitness programming to people across the lifespan.” In 2016, more than 350 individuals received scholarships. Funds were also used to give swimming lessons to about 4,000 school children.

The Two Bear Marathon begins at 7:30 a.m. The full marathon heads north from Depot Park across the viaduct on Baker Avenue to Colorado Avenue, turning onto to Wisconsin Avenue, then following East Lakeshore Drive to Hellroaring Creek before turning around to retrace the route. The race goes south on Spokane Avenue to East Second Street heading past the WAG dog Park onto Armory Road. The course then makes a large loop heading east on Voerman Road before passing near North Valley Hospital and then heading north along the city’s bicycle path along the Whitefish River eventually making its way to East Second to finish at Depot Park. The half-marathon follows the southern portion of the course.

For more information, including how to register for the Two Bear Marathon, visit http://twobearmarathon.org/.