Two Bear adds half-marathon race

Organizers for the 2008 Two Bear Marathon race have added a half-marathon race to the annual event in response to requests from the running community.

Both the marathon and half-marathon will take place on Sunday, Sept. 21, with the full-marathon starting at 7:30 a.m. and the half-marathon starting at 9 a.m. Both races will finish at The Wave, in Whitefish.

The half marathon will start on Upper Whitefish Lake Road and basically follow the second half of the full-marathon course.

"The half-marathon really opens the Two Bear experience up to a wider range of runners," race director Gayle Weinberg said. "At 13.1 miles, it's still a challenging run, but not quite as daunting as our full marathon."

Expenses for both races will be paid entirely by race sponsors, so 100 percent of the entry fees can go to The Wave's scholarship fund. The fund provides low-cost and no-cost memberships to The Wave for those who couldn't otherwise afford them.

Runners are encouraged to register early, as the field will be limited to 300 runners. Entry fee for the half marathon is $75 until Aug. 21 and $100 from Aug. 22 to Sept. 20.

Registration information and race details can be found online at www.twobearmarathon.org.