Runners take off from the starting line at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette)
The annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk kicked off under sunny skies and temperatures near 70 degrees earlier Saturday morning. Nearly 150 people signed up for the event, which usually draws around 200 or more, but likely saw less registration because of concerns over COVID-19. The event provided face masks to all participants and spaced running groups 10 minutes apart to allow for proper social distancing.
Runners take off from the starting line at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Ken Oyer prepares his bear head before the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A table cloth embroidered with bears hangs between some trees at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Molly Hamant hangs up the starting line ribbon at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Anita Pendleton puts on a pair of jeans over her bear costume before the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. Pendleton and her friends all dressed up as COVID-themed bears, and Pendleton was Smokey the COVID Bear, advocating against the spread of a COVID firestorm. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Sherry VanBuren, left, helps Anita Pendleton put on a pair of jeans over Pendleton’s bear costume before the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. Pendleton and her friends all dressed up as COVID-themed bears, and Pendleton was Smokey the COVID Bear, advocating against the spread of a COVID firestorm. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Leland Martin takes a cell phone photo of Fran Four (not pictured) before the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Christine Lane and Ethan Lane, both left of light pole, make their way toward the registration table and pin their numbers on at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)A bear costume meets the tops of tennis shoes at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Maureen Zagel sports a COVID-themed bear costume, including hand sanitizer and an extra face mask on her costume, at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)James Faulkner and his son, Michael, in carrier, say hello to some of the other bears at the starting line at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Alan Kenyon checks out the claws on his bear costume as he prepares for the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Runners and walkers in bear costumes wait at the starting line for the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)From left, Randy Spaulding, Ilyse (covering ears), Chrsitian (voering ears) and Misty Spaulding prepare for the air horn to start the Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Lisa Routh, left, and Marvin Davis check their phones before the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. Routh and Davis have been doing the Bear Run for five years in a row this year. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Ana Rosal, left and Haley Bean, right, prepare for the start of the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Runners take off from the starting line at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)Runners take off from the starting line at the annual Bear Run 5K/3K Fun Run and Walk at Bear Creek Park in Colorado Springs on Nov. 7, 2020. About 150 runners signed up for the event, which provided masks for all the participants, spaced groups 10 minutes apart at the starting line and was hosted in a different location than usual to allow for social distancing. (Forrest Czarnecki/The Gazette) (Forrest Czarnecki)
