YOSEMITE VALLEY, California – Jon-Kyle Mohr was nearly finished with an epic 50-mile run from June Lake into the stunning landscape of Yosemite Valley. According to the LA Times, he had been planning it for years and was less than a mile from the finish when a sudden collision with a bear derailed the whole thing.
The bear had apparently collided with Mohr while on the trail. He said he felt a powerful shove in the dark, sending him stumbling and, as he looked at what he made contact with right in front of him, a large, adult black bear was starting to come back at him. Several people made their way over with headlamps, shouting “BEAR!” as the 33-year-old runner began to react.
Mohr yelled and clapped his running poles on the pavement, while people from a nearby campground joined in on the shouting and banged pots and pans together. Fortunately the bear left, leaving the runner with a few scratches.
Mohr was 15 hours and 59 minutes into his run, seven-tenths of a mile from the finish. When it comes to risks on an ultra-marathon like his, dehydration, accidentally leaving the course, and injuries are the main concerns, not a bear.
“It was just a really strange, random collision. If I had rested my feet for 20 seconds longer at any point over the sixteen hours, it wouldn’t have happened.” – Jon-Kyle Mohr
