Race Director John Weaver (weaverjt@retired.appstate.edu)
We are hopeful that we will be able to have The Bear Race this coming July 8th. As you know, we are hosted by the Grandfather Highland Games and, therefore, linked to their having the Games. If they can not hold the Games, we can not have the race. We (The Bear Race and Grandfather Highland Games) are also mandated to follow the guidelines for group gatherings set forth by the State of North Carolina as well as the federal government. In hopeful anticipation, The Bear Race organizers are planning for the race with the understanding that plans might have to change. To simplify the process and put The Bear organization at as little risk as possible in the financial sense, we have made the following decisions for now.
We plan to have online registration on May 4th at 7:00 am. The registration link will be posted on our website (thebearrace.com) as soon as we know the race will be run. The registration link site will then be activated on May 4th at 7:00 am. We hope to register 800, but this is dependent on state guidelines at the time and the National Parks Service – Blue Ridge Parkway. We hope to get a confirmation from the Highland Games, federal and state agencies by May 1st to continue plans to run the race. We really need to prevent spending funds on preparation or having to refund as last year if possible. We are confident you understand our situation. We will post updates on our website (thebearrace.com) as well as send any updated information to the entry list and wait list from last year as soon as it warrants, to keep you informed.
We will have a completely new online registration. We are only using the cancelled and refunded entry list and wait list from 2020 as an information conduit.
