More than 100 already signed up for Bear Paw marathon

As of Wednesday, 143 people have signed up for the Bear Paw Marathon which is set for Saturday, June 6, 2020. 

  Ninety-five people have signed up for the half marathon as well as six for the 1-mile. 

    People interested in signing up can register at https://runsignup.com/Race/MT/Havre/BearPawMarathon . 

    Bear Paw Marathon Director Rachel Hutchison said people can also access the registration at the marathon website at https://www.bearpawmarathon.com .

   Open registration from Jan. 1 to March 31 is $90 for the full marathon, $70 for half, and for the 1-mile kids are $10 and adults are $15. All who register receive a T-shirt. 

    Businesses interested in sponsoring the marathon can call the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce at 265-4383. 

  Chamber Executive Director Julea Robbins said the marathon is in need of more volunteers and water tables to be set up. 

   Posters and coasters, featuring the website for people to register, will be distributed to local businesses in the surrounding area.

    Hutchison said magnets will soon be distributed as well. 

    She said the Bear Paw Marathon is a brainchild of hers and her friend Sarah McKinney.

“Sarah and I have run several half marathons in the state together, and we would train out in the Bear Paws, and on one of those runs we came up with the idea that if we can train out we can run out here, and we could have a race right here in Havre,” she said.

Hutchison said that she and her friend have been working toward this goal for a couple of years and added that previous Chamber Director Jody Olson, now retired, had been instrumental in making the race happen.

“She caught the vision, helped us find the grant funding we needed, and she is actually staying on as our fundraising director, so we are very excited that she is still involved,” Hutchison said. “Really, the whole city caught the vision ’cause as we started talking about and looking for letters of support they flooded in.”  

“The Chamber is here to facilitate and make it happen,” Robbins said. 

“This could be a really good thing for us. We expect to bring in a lot of tourist traffic,” Hutchison said. 

She said the reason they decided to hold the race that weekend is because there is so much happening in the Havre community for people to get involved in.